Wairoa River Rafting

Wairoa River Rafting

190

Take on the mighty Wairoa River in an adrenaline pumping rafting expedition you’ll never forget!

The Grade 5 Wairoa River rafting is renowned for having some of the best white water action in New Zealand. Kaituna Cascades run the whole of the river including the bottom three rapids and the lower waterfall!

After a good safety talk and a few light jokes, your into it.  A few small waves and the first rapid “Humpty Dumpty” will have you nicely warmed up – before heading straight into ‘Mothers Nightmare’ which has a technical grade 4 rock garden entrance followed closely by a sweet 2 meter waterfall.

Then the action doesn’t really slow down for the next hour or two !

Experience the thrill of ‘The Rollercoaster’ –  a long hard and violently fun staircase of whitewater that will get even the hardest of souls going. Feel the rush of ‘The Waterfall’ which has an awesome 3 meter drop into a churning pool of white water!  And then continue down through the rest of the Wairoa Rivers amazing boulder-strewn rock canyon in a combination of awesome grade 3 & 4 rapids and waterfalls.

There are also 2 optional cliff jumps for those that just want more adrenaline….!

The Wairoa has it all – come check it out for yourself 

Also please note – This is an exciting grade 5 rafting experience and is NOT suited for older or bigger people, or people that aren’t comfortable in the water. We have a weight limit of 120 kgs.

Book Now

Kaituna Cascades Wairoa River Rafting 2
Whitewater Rafting on the Wairoa River in Tauranga NZ

PLEASE NOTE:
The power company only release water on certain Sundays, 26 days a year over the Spring/Summer/Autumn period for us to go rafting. SO GET IN QUICK

The Flow dates for 2025/26 are:

September 2025  Sunday 28
 October 2025  Sunday 12, 26
 November 2025  Sunday 9, 23
 December 2025  Sunday 7, 14, 21, 28
 January 2026  Sunday 4, 11, 18, 25
 February 2026  Sunday 1, 8, 14/15, 22 
 March 2026  Sunday 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
 April 2026  Sunday 5, 12, 19
 May 2026  None

Check in Time

9.30am - meeting at the river or return transport available from Rotorua leaving at 8.30am.

Duration

Allow 5 hours (leaving from Rotorua) or 3 hours meeting at the river - with around 2 hours on the river.

Availability

Due to Wairoa being dam release, this combo tour only runs 26 days per year, every Sunday during summer months, with some Spring and Autumn releases too.

Location

The river is located just outside Tauranga at 1376 highway 29, 15 minutes from Tauranga or 50 minutes from Rotorua.

Conditions

Age 13 - 65 years. Swimming skills are required. NOT SUITABLE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN or THOSE WITH HEART CONDITIONS. MAXIMUN WEIGHT is 120kgs - must be fit and healthy.

We Provide

The best guides on the river, custom built rafts, wetsuits, helmets, lifejackets, paddles, fleece tops, wetsuit booties, and splash jackets.

Price Includes

Transport available - but self driving is recommended.

What to bring

Swimwear, Shorts & Towel. We are GoPro friendly, feel free to bring yours along. Please bring a chest harness for your GoPro.

Minimum Numbers

This tour requires a total of 4 people to go ahead.

Gallery

design
TA logo primary@1X

Health & Safety

We are taking all precautionary safety measures to give you a safe (and amazing) trip down our iconic Kaituna River, Wairoa & Rangitaiki Rivers. However River Rafting is an adventure activity with a degree of risk which increases with the grade of rapids. Rafts can capsize, and people may fall out of the raft in fast flowing & violent water, people may be injured.
The Kaituna & Wairoa River’s are class 5 rivers and both have waterfalls and hard rapids.
Grade 5 = Very difficult rapids, High-powerful-irregular waves, difficult to negotiate, the extreme for commercial operations. This said – The Kaituna river is an amazing river & is normally good for most fit and healthy people”

PARTICIPANTS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT KAITUNA CASCADES CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY.

Layer 2@1X 1
  • star rating  Super fun with my teenage son. They picked he was super water confident so they gave him a good thrashing up front and he loved it. Friendly guides and the... read more

    soulman2019
    June 5, 2022
  • star rating  Brilliant! We had heaps of fun. Guides were friendly and made us feel safe and comfortable. Highly recommended to all!

    Mahn
    January 1, 2022
  • star rating  Such a wicked experience! Great staff who provide plenty of laughs as well as very clear safety guidelines. Highly recommend.

    Tinkx66
    May 30, 2022
  • star rating  Most amazing experience ever, very professional people, will definitely recommend this to anyone. Great team, briefing and photos

    lezanim
    January 1, 1970
  • star rating  Pete and his crew were fantastic. A smooth operation ensured we had a fantastic time and a great adventure. I would recommend this experience when you visit Rotorua.

    jaybee5ng
    May 29, 2022
  • star rating  Second time here, never fails to disappoint. Had a great time with our guide Elvis. Heaps of fun! Will be back again

    Imthecaptainnow
    January 1, 2022
  • star rating  Cole is the man!! Everyone was lovely, the rafting was super fun, loved the historical backgrounds too.

    Taylor S
    February 1, 2022
  • star rating  OMG what a rush! Epic scary fun, magic scenery, a must-do trip! Our guide Elvis was a masterful raft captain - they all were - the guides were having as... read more

    ruthyflee
    February 1, 2022
  • star rating  Professional team had a super fun time and felt safe and looked out for. Would highly recommend this company. Will be coming back for another ride.

    annemareer2018
    April 2, 2022
  • star rating  Bluey and the boys were awesome! Hands down a great experience with friendly and very capable guides. Lots of laughs and thrills! Can’t wait to get back on the water... read more

    Frazbroon
    July 9, 2022
TA logo primary@1X