Tongariro River Rafting
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Whitewater Rafting
Prepare yourself for one of the most stunning white water rafting adventures in New Zealand.
You’ll start your unforgettable adventure with an on-shore safety briefing and paddle instructions with one of our experienced guides. You and the rest of the crew will then begin your white water rafting journey on grade 3 rapids – an ideal grade for experienced paddlers or first-time rafters.
In 2.5 hours you navigate over 60 heart-pounding, roller coaster rapids with an expert guide at the helm. Throughout the trip you’ll be treated to sights only accessed by raft. If you’re looking for things to do in Taupo, book with us and enjoy the spectacular unspoilt wilderness and adrenalin-pumping action!
Family Fun Trips
Every rapid tells a story – you’ve just got to know how to read it.
To discover the land, follow the river in this leisurely 1.5 hour trip down the soft, tumbling waters of the Lower Tongariro.
The magic of rafting comes alive for first time rafters, those who prefer a gentler pace and children. You still get to paddle and there are some small rapids to navigate but nothing too wet or wild.
Raft Fishing
The Tongariro River is world famous for its trout fishing. Most of the upper river however can only be reached by kayak or raft.
This wilderness section of the river, with its crystal clear pools and unspoilt runs, gets minimal angling pressure compared to the lower Tongariro and can therefore deliver exceptional fishing.
The upper river is open to anglers from December 1st to May 31st each year. For anglers seeking uncrowded waters and large numbers of quality fighting fish, this can be trout heaven.
Mountain Biking
We’re Southern Lake Taupo’s most experienced mountain bike operator
We’re Southern Lake Taupo’s most experienced mountain bike operator. We’ve been doing this since retro helmets were just helmets!
Southern Lake Taupo has some of the best mountain bike country in New Zealand. We know trails that ride through ancient beech forests, alongside magnificent trout rivers and past huge volcanoes.
We also have exclusive access to 3,800 hectares of trails including a genuine backcountry sheep station – some of the finest Taupo activities you’ll experience.
As we like to say “Trails end but tales continue…”
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Showing 13 reviews of 160.
Gary Koh
Ranking: 10/10
This was an amazing experience. This is a must do in Taupo. Incredible hospitality with utmost professionalism. Our guide - Jade - was entertaining, and really maximised our experiences on the rapid while ensuring safety at all time. The whole company / team is certainly one of a kind in its operations!
Tongariro River Rafting responds:
Hi Gary,
We are so glad to hear you had a good time rafting with us, and found all of Jade's jokes 'entertaining' and not 'corny'. He is a very valued member of our team and will be thrilled to get this feedback.
All the best,
The TRR Team.
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Alison B.
Ranking: 10/10
Grade rafting adventure. Absolutely loved it. Would have gone around again if had time. Great kit, staff informative and safety conscious. Rapids were fun, lots of laughing. Guide Jerum was amazing with instructions and made you feel perfectly safe while keeping it exciting. Highly recommended. Even saw a pair of blue ducks!
Jan
Ranking: 10/10
Wonderful experience, beautiful scenery, great guides, thoroughly recommend this to anyone.
Tongariro River Rafting is open for business… Visit Website …now's your chance to take a closer look.
John Olsen
Ranking: 10/10
It is nice to go on a tour where you are treated like family and not like a number. We have done many adventure based travel activities and haven't found any with as friendly and caring team as Garth and the team. Our rafting guide Hayley was awesome... Great local knowledge and she didn't race us down the river like we saw happen with the opposition company that overtook us at a rate of knots.
It was a beautiful part of the world and Hayley made sure we enjoyed every second of it. Great adventure with the rapids, even got to see New Zealand's rarest duck, the Blue Duck, (even with chicks)...After jumping in the river several times which was running at 7 degrees Celsius, the trip to the Thermal Pool and the cup of homemade Tomato soup was a welcome ending to a great afternoon.
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They catered for the young and old, as well as the adventure seeker. Highly recommend to anyone, certainly the best river rafting operator we have used...
Peter
Ranking: 10/10
We did both the North and South Island for a 2 week family holiday. We found the Tongariro Family Float in the top 2 things to do in NZ as a Family. It has a great blend excitement, fun, education and good humour for both kids and parents. Great guide and hospitality both on the river and back at the shop. 👍👍👍
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Ben
Ranking: 10/10
I love tour operators who put people first, and Garth and the Tongariro River Rafting team clearly do that.
My experience began with a ride around the Tongariro River Trail. I was provided with a quality e-bike, helmet and map and was sent off feeling comfortable about the adventure ahead of me. The trail is fantastic, no significant challenges, shared with walkers and anglers and offering fun for all skills of all ages. Riding over the suspension bridge and getting the views of Turangi was a highlight.
Then it was into the cold water gear to hit the rapids. Our guide To was sensational. Knew his stuff, communicated with passion and had us covered every step of the way. You're well looked after with again, high-quality gear and experienced local knowledge.
The Tongariro River has to be experienced to be believed. Over 60 rapids across the 13km run, it's impossible to not be immersed in the beauty of the river. The trip itself was just sensational - To brings along hot chocolate for a mid-run break, along with chocolates to munch on. We also had the chance to see the Whio (Blue Duck) and Rainbow Trout on a few occasions. There is the chance to get out and swim and the footage they capture (including 360 degrees from a GoPro Fusion) are great for memories. Lastly, you wrap up by being driven to Tokaanu to warm up again in the thermal pools before returning back to the shed for warm soup and bread. Just an unreal complete experience.
I honestly can't recommend this team of legends enough. Seriously, a must do adventure for your trip to the Lake Taupo region.
Gary Walker
Ranking: 10/10
What a fantastic day and an Oarsome experience. We booked as a treat for our work team to say thank you for all their hard work and had the best experience ever. All of our Team finished wet, exhilarated and with huge cheesy grins at the experience we just had. With a fantastic guide in Rennie and awesome scenery to fantastically huge trout lots of fun rapids. I can definitely recommend this trip to anyone who wants to give rafting a try. Finished the day with a warm up at the hot pools and then the best home made tomato soup and bread before heading home. Well done guys and thanks for an awesome trip. Will definitely be coming back for more.
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Ian
Ranking: 10/10
This was a three hour trip down the wonderful Tongariro River near Turangi. What a great day out. Great introduction and briefing, great scenery on the river with plenty of challenges and white water. Our guide Charlotte was awesome with her stories about the local landmarks and superb handling of the raft. Would recommend this for everyone
Rowella Bacwaden
Ranking: 10/10
We had an awesome experience at the river and the staff were nice too ( hi Finn 😊😊)....thank you soooo much for the fun day. If you are in NZ then this is a must-do !!!!
Congratulations Tongariro River Rafting
Eileen H
Ranking: 10/10
There were 23 of us, 16 adults and 7 children. We had 3 boats and each instructors are great! Our one is called Jade he made our 2 hours water rafting a memorable esp we hv 4 kids under 10. Highly recommend everyone to this. $75 each so worth the $! Will definitely come back again!
Brad
Ranking: 10/10
Amazing place, amazing experience, team was super knowledgeable, funny and even put on a lunch afterwards!
Look forward to going back for the same thing over!
Tongariro River Rafting is open for business… Visit Website …now's your chance to take a closer look.
Jared London
Ranking: 10/10
The river trip is so much fun and in such a beautiful part of the country. I liked that they had a shuttle which picked me up from Taupo, very handy as a solo traveller. The guides were funny and made sure we were looked after, getting a dip in the hot pools as well as some delicious soup at the end.
Helen Turner
Ranking: 10/10
Loved everything about our trip and the company! Made a last minute booking the day before for a group of 5 and the whole team were very accommodating. Johnny and Kelly, our guides on the river, were very friendly and very knowledgeable. The hot chocolate and chocolate fish half way down the river were a very welcomed addition, as was the hot pools and soup at the end! We did grade 3 which was the perfect combination of teamwork to get down the rapids, but also some free-time to look at the fabulous surroundings. Stopping to jump off a small cliff was also very exciting.
Would 100% recommend. It will be a highlight of your trip!