What's Included
- Guided white water rafting on the grade 5 Wairoa River in Tauranga
- Comprehensive training and extensive safety briefing
- Highly skilled and entertaining guides
- All on river equipment including wetsuits, helmets, lifejackets, paddles, fleece tops, wetsuit booties and splash jackets
- All transport
What's Excluded
- Swimwear
- Towels
- Photo package from the Wairoa river is not available, but you are welcome to bring your own small waterproof camera or GoPro.
What to Expect
If you enjoy a thrill, you will love this epic white water rafting adventure in Tauranga, New Zealand. Wairoa River is a challenging grade 5 course full of boulder gardens, waterfalls and many rapids. With names like "Mother's Nightmare" and "the Rollercoaster", these rapids are sure to get your heart racing. You will even get the chance to paddle over a 3-metre waterfall, plunging into a churning pool of white water that lies beneath it.
This rafting tour isn't for the faint of heart, but your trained local guide will be by your side the whole way to ensure your safety while on the water. Your guide will also provide any on-river equipment you may need to keep you warm and safe throughout your journey.
This exciting white water rafting tour lasts a half day (4 hours), meeting at the river at 9:30 am.
Meet at the Wairoa River, at 1378 State Highway 29, Tauranga and park at the gravel car park at the intersection of Ruahihi Road, Lower Kaimai and State Highway 29, Tauranga. Across the highway, you will see a grass paddock upstream of the powerhouse, where your guides will be set up. The meeting point is 50 mins drive from Rotorua or 20 mins from Tauranga.
Please note that due to Wairoa being dam release, this tour is only offered 26 days a year. They are available every Sunday during summer months with some additional dates in spring and autumn.
Frequently Asked Questions
You just need to bring your swimwear, shorts, and a towel. You will be provided everything else you may need, including wetsuits, fleece tops, wetsuit booties, and splash jackets depending on the weather conditions. Life jackets, helmets, and paddles are also provided to everyone.
Basic swimming skills, good water confidence, and moderate English skills are essential! No rafting experience on your part is necessary as full and comprehensive training will be given. You will also need to have a reasonable level of fitness, and a sense of adventure.
The tour is GoPro friendly - if you have one feel free to bring it along. Please bring a chest mount or alternatively, the supplier has a limited supply available to rent.
Yes. All participants should be able to swim due to the grade 5 nature of the river. This tour also includes a cliff jump during the tour.
Reviews for Wairoa River Rafting
21 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Backpackerdeals and Travello reviews.
We’d love to hear about your experience! Share your feedback with us, and get rewarded!
All Reviews
Policies
- Participants must be under 120kg
- This tour is not suitable for pregnant women
- Any booked participant under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be excluded from rafting without a credit refund
- Participants are required to know how to swim due to the grade 5 nature of the river. There is also a cliff jump during the tour.
- Participants should be aware that the supplier cannot absolutely guarantee their safety. Safety instructions must be followed at all times. Participants are required to have a good level of English to take part in this tour.
- To the extent permitted by law, all liability for damage to your property, disruption to travel plans, mental and physical injury is excluded
- A minimum of 6 participants in total are required for trips to run
- Once a booking is confirmed, there are no credit refunds unless the supplier cancels.
All customer cancellation & refund requests are also subject to our website’s own refund conditions.
Flexible booking
Book your experience stress-free and know we're here to help.
Get Instant Confirmation