Black Water Rafting Experience Waitomo Caves Tour

I did the Abyss Tour and it was absolutely amazing! I haven't found an excursion like this anywhere in the world; definitely worth flying halfway around the world for. They have so many surprises and activities in the cave for you to do! A must stop if you visit New Zealand! The caves they offer are filled with wonders no where else in the world.

This was awesome! Our guide, Ellen, was knowledgeable and funny. She adapted to the needs of our group quickly and made the experience that much better. We saw Glowworm from right away scattered around and then once we got deeper into the cave we saw them in larger groups. It was magical!

Our black water rafting experience with Waitomo Cave Tours was absolutely unforgettable! The entire five-hour tour was perfectly paced, adventurous, and so well run from start to finish. Our guides, Mitch and Ollie, were fantastic. They made us feel completely safe and secure throughout every part of the journey, even during the more adventurous sections. Their energy, professionalism, and clear instructions gave us total confidence the whole time. Along the way, they provided warm drinks and snacks, which was such a thoughtful touch and really helped keep everyone comfortable during the experience. Seeing the glowworms in this way was truly magical and something we would highly recommend to anyone visiting Waitomo Caves. If you’re considering it — don’t hesitate. This is hands down one of the best ways to experience the glowworms and an absolute highlight of our trip!

Our black water rafting experience with Waitomo Cave Tours was absolutely unforgettable! The entire five-hour tour was perfectly paced, adventurous, and so well run from start to finish. Our guides, Mitch and Ollie, were fantastic. They made us feel completely safe and secure throughout every part of the journey, even during the more adventurous sections. Their energy, professionalism, and clear instructions gave us total confidence the whole time. Along the way, they provided warm drinks and snacks, which was such a thoughtful touch and really helped keep everyone comfortable during the experience. Seeing the glowworms in this way was truly magical and something we would highly recommend to anyone visiting Waitomo Caves. If you’re considering it — don’t hesitate. This is hands down one of the best ways to experience the glowworms and an absolute highlight of our trip!

Fantastic and unique! Seeing the glowworms should not be missed on any trip to the country. Evie was an excellent guide and told us about the plants on the walk to the cave. Does not require special skills or caving experience.

Our group/tour leaders Jeffery & Kiwi were such a wonderful person- professional, thoughtful, kindness, full of sense of humour …. 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻 It was a good experience. I would strongly recommend to people around me to join this activity

My partner and I recently did the Black Labyrinth experience with Tim and Luke as our guides. We were both a little nervous as we aren't really water people and hadn't done a lot of caving. They made us feel right at home, and were very fun and engaging. The length of the tour was stated to be about 3 hours, which was fairly accurate. We were advised to be there 30 minutes before the start, which was unneeded as the tour includes all the preparation (wetsuits etc.). The preparation covered everything, including a safety fall, which was half safety and half an opportunity to get an embarrassing photo of everyone. The experience was amazing. There's plenty of places in New Zealand that sell you on 'glowworms' but this experience really had glowworms. Thousands of them, it was really interesting and engaging. We had a group of 7. One of the guides said they can have up to 12 people, which I feel could slow the experience and detract from it, but I thought 7 was about perfect, as the tour moved at a good pace. The water was cold (duh) but nobody seemed to be struggling too much. My partner isn't a swimmer, but she felt at ease the entire time. It felt like an 'adventure' without being risky. We got hot soup after the tour. It was nice for me, as I can't have dairy, but they had a dairy free option, which I really appreciated. They had some cool souvenirs, and I got a tie dye hoodie, which looks terrible/amazing and I will wear it everywhere. It was a great day, and it will be one of the highlights of our NZ holiday. P.S. if anyone from the team reads this, give Luke a pay rise. He commiserated with me about my bad football team.

My partner and I did the Black Abyss Waitomo tour over the weekend and what an absolutely incredible experience it was. Tim and Ollie were outstanding guides — knowledgeable, funny, and genuinely supportive the whole way through. I mentioned early on that heights make me a bit nervy, and they were brilliant: patient when I needed it, but also encouraging enough to help me push past it and enjoy every moment. The tour itself far exceeded our expectations. Having only eight people in the group made it feel personal and unrushed (apart from the shock of that chilly water). The balance of adventure, challenge, and learning was perfect, and the guides shared their cave knowledge in a way that was both informative and entertaining. Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for an unforgettable Waitomo experience. It’s an absolute must‑do.

Good experience if you can tolerate the cold. It helps if the group you go with aren't a bunch of noisy young guys.

Excellent tour . Definitely worth it. Guides extremely knowledgeable and fascinating to understand about the caves and glow worms . The duration was just enough