Queenstown Shotover River White Water Rafting

A great experience for us first time rafters! Felt very well taken care of by the professional guides and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly on the water with Francie :)

It is a great experience packed with heaps of fun and frights. Our tour guide Raju made it incredible for us explaining the history behind the landscapes and was exceeding with his safety procedures. 10/10 would recommend

My wife and I (62 and 64, respectively) thoroughly enjoyed our day of rafting in the Shotover River. Our guide, who happened to turn 38 years old that day, was a Nepalese gentleman who, in addition to being a fantastic and very demonstrative river guide, was a font of knowledge about the river, its history and, much to everybody's enjoyment and edification, Nepalese farming! Given the fact that the combined age of any two other people in our raft didn't equal either of ours (five people in the raft, plus the guide), we were a bit worried that we would not be able to handle rough waters. Luckily, this time of year the water is fairly low and the rapids were not too severe. We were even allowed to jump into the frigid water and float down the river on our backs several times. This resulted in us having to actually utilize the techniques demonstrated to us for getting back on the raft from the water. Even if the water were to be a bit more active, my guess is that our guide would have been able to keep us out of trouble. The equipment provided (wet suit, complete with boots, a water jacket, helmet and safety vest) was in pretty good shape, clean and did the jobs they were supposed to do. The changing facility is very well run and the changing room comes with cubbyholes to store your clothes and a locked area for your valuables. The safety instruction provided was very detailed, informative, and was demonstrated well. The scariest part of the day was the 45 minute ride from the site where you get outfitted to the actual rafting site. The road we took is called Skippers Canyon Road and it offers AMAZING views of the Mt Aurum Recreation Reserve. If you are afraid of heights, you should do what my wife did as our tour guide gave us the history of the road: she closed her eyes the entire time. Usually, a 45 minute bus ride before you actually start your activity is a huge negative. That's not the case here. Google Skippers Canyon Road and you'll understand why. Communication with the tour provider was fantastic. The meeting point is right along the waterfront in Queenstown and the coordination of checking in and getting driven (10-15 minutes) to the rafting site is seamless. The rafting trip ends at the equipment distribution site, so there is no need for another harrowing 45 minute bus trip. There are hot showers available (everybody we were with took advantage of them) at the equipment facility. This tour (including the incredible bus ride) is money well spent and is a great way to spend a half day in Queenstown.

This is an excellent trip. My son and I are whitewater kayakers and this rafting trip was a thrill. Light rapids and scenery! Professional and fun guides.

Wow! The river was not high but the guides were hilarious and talented. The photos are free and the water deliciously cold. The rafting was fun and we popped out to float a bit. Equipment was in good shape. Bring a towel. The showers were tepid but welcome.

Had the best time with friends, was so funny and big shoutout to our instructor Benji - from the Manny gals

Really enjoyed it, very professional

An amazingly exhilarating experience with a professional outfit. This is a must do for anyone who is looking to do something adventurous. Our guide Matt, was sensational and looked after our group of four perfectly. This tour is more suited to people who feel safe in the water. The bus trip to the site is an adventure in itself with a winding gravel road adjacent to steep cliffs. Once at the starting point, the guides gave clear concise instructions and an honest assessment of what you might expect, including the risks, which are real. That said, our group consisted of two 65 year olds and two 50 year olds and we never felt that we were in any danger given that our guide was very experienced (and awesome) and the way all of the tour guides operated. The rapids were amazing and it was much more ‘full on’ than I had expected. Thoroughly recommend this to any adventure seeking persons.

I did the Kawaru river first to see all of the LOTR scenes, and it was super fun! Our team leader/guide was Sia and she did an amazing job. My friends and I got to jump into the river multiple times and had a blast rafting. We had so much fun we immediately booked the Shotover river since it has higher level rapids. We got lucky enough to raft with Sia again and it was even better than Kawaru river. We went during low water levels but the rapids were still exciting to go through. The wetsuits they provide are extremely thick so I recommend jumping/falling in as often as possible!

I did the white water raft with realnz in Queenstown twice in one trip. Both times were excellent. The first time we were fortunate enough to have Sia has our raft master. She was a lot of fun and let us have a good time. We enjoyed the K river so much we decided to do another river on our trip. Thankfully we got Sia again and she performed exceptionally again. Overall amazing experience and anyone passing through queenstown should do this raft adventure.