Reviews and travel ratings on Rangitata Rafts Ltd in New Zealand (94% from 65 reviews) Whitewater rafting at its most breathtaking! More than your average trip. Few other rivers can offer you the stunning scenery paired with the thrill and excitement of some of the most challenging rapids. An awesome full day experience.

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  • Description

    Whitewater rafting at its most breathtaking! More than your average trip. Few other rivers can offer you the stunning scenery paired with the thrill and excitement of some of the most challenging rapids. An awesome full day experience.

    Optional transport from Christchurch (or self drive) and two meals to keep your energy levels buzzing! One scheduled trip per day ensures we maintain the friendly, relaxed atmosphere our clients rave about. With 2.5 hours on the river, there is time to practice maneuvers and get ready for the action and fun ahead, including grade 5 rapids. An opportunity to swim in the beautiful calm sections or an optional leap off a Jump Rock – all under the direction of our world class Guides, no previous experience required. Check out our video on YouTube. Backpacker accommodation available at our beautifully situated lodge.
    Or enjoy a fun rafting experience on the beautiful Lower River section. This trip can be as gentle or as crazy-fun as you like, just let your guide know which you prefer. Fantastic Grade 2 fun for the whole family.

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    Get your adrenalin pumping at 'Pigs Trough'

    Get your adrenalin pumping at 'Pigs Trough'

    having an excellent time on the river

    having an excellent time on the river

    Great activity to do even on a rainy day coz you do get wet!

    Great activity to do even on a rainy day coz you do get wet!

    Enjoying a swim in the calmer sections

    Enjoying a swim in the calmer sections

  • Location

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  1. General
  1. BobnBrenda's avatar

    Bob Kusesia

    United States

    Leave space in your schedule for just wandering - many cities have lovely parks, domain lands and botanic gardens. Albert Park in central Auckland is awesome.

    02 June 2010.

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Reviews for Rangitata Rafts Ltd

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
CHOW's avatar

CHOW

Australia

Ranking: 10/10

AWSOME DAY OUT! Loved everything! THe food was amazing as well as the rafting itself!! Couldn't hoped for a better day. …

AWSOME DAY OUT! Loved everything! THe food was amazing as well as the rafting itself!! Couldn't hoped for a better day. The guides are so cool (Jason, Simon etc) and ofcourse thanks to the awsome bus driver Billy! Overall, highly recommanded for anyone whos looking for an awsome day!

Reviewed 04 October 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
BeckyF's avatar

Becky Foley

United States

Ranking: 9/10

The guides were very knowlegable - one saved my life when our raft tipped!

The guides were very knowlegable - one saved my life when our raft tipped!

Reviewed 9 months ago and experienced in February 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
louisemartensson's avatar

louisemartensson

Sweden

Ranking: 10/10

Do you think you've already done everything in New Zealand. Maybe you don't have so much money left. Save some extra for…

Do you think you've already done everything in New Zealand. Maybe you don't have so much money left. Save some extra for the waterrafting in Rangitata! You're going to love it!

In Ragitata the have grades 1-5, all in the same river. I promise you, if you're just doing a grade 3, you're going to be disapointed! This one was great!

The day starts with a early lunch, following a drive to the river. Where the guides, in a fun way, explain how it's going to work in the water. Then the fun starts!
And why would it be enough with just rafting? You're also going to jump from som rocks, 5 and 10 meter high. Greatfun!!

When you're coming back, after three hours in the water, they cook you a nice BBQ.

What can I say; AMAZING!

I'll highly recomand you to try this out!

Reviewed 15 March 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
Marinathebraveone's avatar

Marinathebraveone

Switzerland

Ranking: 10/10

Best start ever in a country! First day in NZ an absolutely nice and relaxing day in this beautiful lodge! And the 2 day…

Best start ever in a country! First day in NZ an absolutely nice and relaxing day in this beautiful lodge! And the 2 day... oh my gooood... pure adventure on the rangitata river!
Jump from the Rock was wicked and the big wave was even better!!!!!!
I would do it everytime again. Thanks everybody for that great day

Reviewed 09 March 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
Richie's avatar

Richie

New Zealand, Aotearoa

Ranking: 9/10

What an awesome day! Thanks to all the staff at Rangitata rafts for taking on our Staggs Party group. Especially to Dave…

What an awesome day! Thanks to all the staff at Rangitata rafts for taking on our Staggs Party group. Especially to Dave and Teru - the fantastic guides that ended up with our group, you guys were awesome & we throughly enjoyed the whole day. Also thanks Billy for putting up with us on the bus. Great service, great location & experience, overall good value for money. Photos were very well done, however I didn't get any due to the cost. Will definately reccomend Rangitata Rafts to everyone!

Reviewed 21 February 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
NicoleM's avatar

NicoleM

New Zealand, Aotearoa

Ranking: 8/10

Had a fun day rafting the Rangitata River. The staff were very friendly, and the cliff jumping was awesome!

Had a fun day rafting the Rangitata River. The staff were very friendly, and the cliff jumping was awesome!

Reviewed 12 February 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
chels's avatar

chels

Australia

Ranking: 10/10

A day filled with beautiful Scenery, lots of laughs and great company. By far the best rafting trip with very exciting g…

A day filled with beautiful Scenery, lots of laughs and great company. By far the best rafting trip with very exciting grade 5 rapids! The staff were fantastic and very friendly and got us back to our ship in time. We had a great time on the river and the drive to and from and will definatly do it again next time in NZ. Recomend it to anyone who wants to have a good day out with everything arranged on the river. We also got a chance to purchase a very cheap CD of photos to document the trip, hot showers and food. Definatly a 10/10 :D

Reviewed 17 January 2011

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
mandiholtz's avatar

mandiholtz

New Zealand

Ranking: 10/10

Thanks for an awesome day yesterday! We all had a blast :) Our guide Jason was awesome, he made our trip so much fun...w…

Thanks for an awesome day yesterday! We all had a blast :) Our guide Jason was awesome, he made our trip so much fun...was a day full of laughter...I'll be recommending it to everyone...best day I've had in New Zealand so far!!!

Reviewed 13 December 2010

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
Shanel's avatar

Shanel

Australia

Ranking: 10/10

Excellent staying at the rafting lodge the night before (best place we stayed for our whole trip), had a quick bike ride…

Excellent staying at the rafting lodge the night before (best place we stayed for our whole trip), had a quick bike ride down to the river in the morning before going rafting. Great trip down the river with heaps of time for swimming down the river.

Reviewed 23 November 2010

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
GarethRJones's avatar

Gareth Jones

United Kingdom

Ranking: 10/10

What a Day out!!! Loved every second of it great staff great location 10/10 all the way!!!
If your in the great NZ you…

What a Day out!!! Loved every second of it great staff great location 10/10 all the way!!!
If your in the great NZ you have got to get to Rangitata Rafts and get stuck into white water rafting!!!

Gareth Jones

Wales/UK

Reviewed over 1 year ago and experienced in December 2009

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
racheldonn's avatar

racheldonn

United Kingdom

Ranking: 10/10

My boyfriend and I visited Rangitata Rafts in October 2009. We landed in Christchurch and went straight there as we al…

My boyfriend and I visited Rangitata Rafts in October 2009. We landed in Christchurch and went straight there as we already had booked the lodge accommodation for 1 evening, with rafting in the morning.........Finding the lodge was a little tricky but that was probably due to our map reading!!

The accommodation is simple, but that’s the best thing about it. It’s warm and cosy. When you get there you can cook dinner in the kitchen (there aren’t really any nearby shops, so ensure you take your food supply with you) or watch a movie, play a game or sit on the wonderful veranda and take in the view and fresh air. You can either book a dorm style room with bunk beds or a double room (no rooms come with en-suite).

So, the rafting…the next morning, we got up, had breakfast and mooched around a bit, then it was time….We had a safety briefing, got all our gear sorted and then headed off in the mini-bus to the river. The river is fantastic, such great scenery and wonderfully quiet. I’ve been rafting before and usually on commercial rivers, where several tour operators go, but on the day we went we were the only raft on the water! Perfect. There were 5 of us in the raft, including our instructor (Cam P) and off we went. We practiced different seating positions and again, were told safety tips. What I really liked was the way Cam described what it would be like if we did go over and how we would react in the water. No other operator I’ve rafted with before has done this (and believe me, I’m terrified of going in so this was actually really reassuring for me).

During the trip on the river you can play around, jump in from over hanging rocks etc. After all the fun you head back to the lodge for a hot shower and a BBQ, where you relax and watch a video of your adventure and can buy the photos. All in all this was amazing and I would 100% recommend this company for rafting. It’s in a beautiful area, with the best staff !

Reviewed over 1 year ago and experienced in October 2009

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
SteveMcPeace's avatar

SteveMcPeace

Ranking: 10/10

We had our most amazing experience in New Zealand on the Rangitata River! Thanks to heaps of ice-blue water, a clear sky…

We had our most amazing experience in New Zealand on the Rangitata River! Thanks to heaps of ice-blue water, a clear sky, a great and really funny guide and a fantastic crew it was one of those unforgettable days. Although we mastered all the rapids, we ended up in the water anyway. First for a voluntary swim and then at the end of our 10 (!) meter jumps. Sooo scary!!! Thanks again to the Rangitata Rafting crew.

Franka and Steffen

Reviewed 17 May 2010

Rangitata Rafts Ltd
LouiseVicente's avatar

LouiseVicente

New Zealand

Ranking: 10/10

I found myself bouncing down the Rangitata River, only 2 hours from Christchurch on a crisp, cold day at the end of the …

I found myself bouncing down the Rangitata River, only 2 hours from Christchurch on a crisp, cold day at the end of the season. The previous week it had rained hard and the water level was high, 150 cubic metres of water per second rushing through a narrow gorge, setting us up for some serious white water. Mind-blowingly beautiful were the surroundings, reassuringly wonderful the guides, rafting the Rangitata was all we hoped it would be and more. Despite being terrified for 50% of the 2.5hour journey, everyone had a blast. This trip is a must for anyone wanting a few hours of heart racing fun.

Reviewed 13 May 2010