What is the Best Black Water Rafting Tour in New Zealand? [2025]

© THL

Black Labyrinth Tour – The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co.

Time: 3 hours
Price: NZ$179 adult / NZ$135 youth (minimum age is 12 years old and 45kg+/99lbs+)
Tour highlights: Tubing, waterfall jumps, glowworms, caving and walking
Tour links: Viator

What to Expect on the Black Labyrinth Tour

The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co’s original and most popular tour is the Black Labyrinth tour. This 3-hour underground adventure has you equipped with all the caving gear you need – wetsuit, helmet, footwear, and most important of all, your inflatable tube!

At the beginning of the tour, your guides teach you how to do a “tube jump” into a stream nestled in native forest in preparation for the underground waterfall jumps ahead! Then you and your group will delve into the Ruakuri Cave with your guide, exploring the cave network with limestone formations and clusters of glowworms. Making your way through the caves involves a mix of scrambling through the cave on foot, minimal swimming, one or two waterfall jumps, and floating down underwater streams under displays of glowworms.

Your guides will share stories of local Maori legends, how these limestone caves and their features have formed, as well as telling you the unusual life cycle of the glowworms. They’ll also provide some sweet treats along the way, because who doesn’t love an underground snack?

Why Choose the Black Labyrinth Tour?

• It’s affordable! Travelling New Zealand on a budget, but still want to experience the adventure activities that the country is famous for? Then the Black Labyrinth tour is a fantastic option!
• It’s a shorter tour! If you’re travelling through the country on limited time but still want to squeeze in a Black Water Rafting adventure in, then this 3-hour tour is probably a better way to go, rather than taking the 5-hour Black Abyss tour.
• A great option for families! With a minimum age of 12 years old, it’s a great option if travelling with teens.
• Adventure without the adrenaline! The abseiling and waterfall climbing that is involved in the Black Abyss tour is not for everyone, while the Black Labyrinth option gives you an awesome adventure without the scary challenges.

Find out more about the Black Labyrinth tour on Viator.

© THL

Black Abyss Tour – The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co.

Time: 5 hours
Price: NZ$299
Tour highlights: Abseiling, ziplining, tubing, water jumps, waterfall climbs, glowworms, caving and walking
Tour links: Viator

What to Expect on the Black Abyss Tour

The 5-hour Black Abyss tour packs all the most adventurous ways to make your way through a cave into one Black Water Rafting tour. However, there’s no experience required, as you’ll have an experienced guide and be equipped with all the caving essentials! One of those essentials is your abseiling harness and clips, which you will be shown how to use in a hands-on training session prior to entering the caves.

Once you have learned how to abseil with a few fun competitions, it’s time to abseil down a 35m (115ft) tomo – a naturally-formed hole into the caves! The adventure continues with an underground zipline (we hope you’re not afraid of the dark!), then some underground snacks in the form for yummy New Zealand chocolate and a hot beverage to fuel you for the cave exploration ahead.

With an inflatable tube, you’ll literally leap into an underground stream and float under a galaxy of glowworms with your guide telling you local stories of Maori legends, how the caves formed, and more about the fascinating glowworms. The rest of the cave network will be explored with a mix of tubing, swimming, floating on your back, and some fun surprises along the way. Finally, making your way out of the cave is the next challenge with a couple of epic waterfall climbs!

Why Choose the Black Abyss Tour?

• The most adventurous tour! If you have a “go big or go home” mantra then this Black Water Rafting tour is a must-do!
• Great value for money! For just a $100 more than the Black Labyrinth tour, there’s more than double the amount of experiences crammed into this super comprehensive tour.
• A fun challenge! Experiences are all the more memorable when you push yourself out of your comfort zone or do something you have never done before. This tour definitely touches on all those aspects!

Find out more about the Black Abyss tour on Viator.

© Hamilton-Waikato Tourism

Lost World Half Day Adventure – Waitomo Adventures

Time: 4 hours
Price: NZ$575
Tour highlights: Abseiling, glowworms, caving and walking

What to Expect on the Lost World Tour

Get ready for an incredible adventure as you descend into the depths of the Earth on this thrilling abseiling experience! The 100 m (328 ft) abseil takes about 20 minutes of the total four-hour journey, but it’s an exhilarating ride you won’t forget. You’ll slowly make your way down alongside your instructor, who’ll be on a separate rope but will provide you with information, reassurance, and a backup safety tether.

As you descend, take a moment to look around at the upper levels of the cave and the giant stalactites (they look like massive green hands growing out of the walls – how cool is that?). You’ll spot unusual plants clinging to the sheer walls, and all the while, the roar of the Mangapu River echoes up from the caverns far below. It feels like you’re descending into the bowels of some gigantic prehistoric beast! Once you’re down in the cave, catch your breath because this is just the beginning. There’s so much more to see and do as you discover the massive vaults, including excellent glowworms and gigantic flowstone formations.

You’ll gradually make your way back to the surface through massive craggy caverns, ledges, and ladders, including the legendary 30 m (98 ft) “stairway to heaven” (we don’t want to spoil the surprise, but it’s pretty amazing!). The above-ground location is a beautiful landscape of farmland with native forest that Waitomo Adventures has planted over many years to help look after the climate and the caves underneath. It’s the perfect way to start and end your underground adventure!

Why Choose the Lost World?

• Great for abseiling! This 20-minute abseil is one of the best in New Zealand!
• Huge cavern! This cavern is one of the most dramatic underground landscapes in Waitomo!
• Great for beginners! With professional guides and no experiences needed, this is an epic start to abseiling!

© NZPocketGuide.com

Blackwater Rafting Adventure Tour – Kiwi Cave Rafting

Time: 4 hours
Price: NZ$300
Tour highlights: Abseiling, glowworms, tubing, caving, rock climbing and walking

What to Expect on the Blackwater Rafting Adventure Tour

Get ready for an exhilarating underground adventure with Kiwi Cave Rafting! This thrilling tour kicks off with a 27-metre (88-foot) abseil into a massive chasm, where you’ll be wowed by the stunning rock formations and plant life highlighted by refracted light. As you cave upstream, you’ll reach a breathtaking 400-square-metre (4,300-square-foot) cathedral-style cavern. Here, you’ll witness a glow worm display that’s absolutely mesmerising (we promise, it’s worth every step of the journey)!

The excitement continues with blackwater rafting downstream, floating through caverns filled with these luminous creatures. For the adventurous souls, there’s optional caving experiences where you can squeeze through narrow passages. Your unforgettable journey concludes with an invigorating 20-metre (65-foot) climb back to base. Don’t worry, a hot shower awaits to warm you up after your subterranean expedition!

Kiwi Cave Rafting has been sharing the wonders of Waitomo Caves for over 25 years. This family-run business employs fun-loving guides who’ll ensure your cave adventure is personalised, thrilling, and utterly unforgettable.

Why Choose the Blackwater Rafting Adventure Tour?

• A mix of caving experiences! Abseiling, tubing, rock climbing… What’s not to love?!
• Family-owned and operated! Enjoy a more personalised and intimate experience.
• Great if you have done Waitomo before! Locals and those who have experienced Waitomo are usually ecstatic to find this underrated caving tour!

© THL

Other Ways to Experience the Waitomo Caves

What if Black Water Rafting is not for you, or you are so mind-blown by the caves that you want to see more? Well, there are a few more options when it comes to experiencing the enchanting Waitomo Caves.

Ruakuri Cave

Time: 2 hours
Price: NZ$107 adult / $41 child
Tour links: Viator

Experience the very same famous cave than in the Black Water Rafting tours, but high in the cave network where the best limestone features have formed. On your guided tour, you’ll walk on raised platforms among milky white stalactites, stalagmites and other fascinating formations. There’s also the opportunity to see glowworms in the dark, as well as close up to their sticky lines!

Aranui Cave

Time: 1 hour
Price: NZ$75 adult / $34 child
Tour links: Viator

Nestled in native forest, this lesser-known cave is best described as the hidden gem of Waitomo. Your guide will take you into its network of high and narrow chambers rich in pink, white and brown stalactites. While glowworms are not the main focus of this tour, as with the other Waitomo tours, you will, however, get the opportunity to see large endemic insects called cave weta.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Time: 45 minutes
Price: NZ$75 adult / $34 child
Tour links: Viator

The most popular Waitomo caves tour, the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, not only gives you access to “Cathedral Cave” famed for its acoustics and dangling stalactites, but you’ll also enjoy a boat ride under the largest colony of glowworms in Waitomo!

Glowing Adventures

Time: 3 hours
Price: NZ$179 adult
Tour links: Viator

See the Waitomo caves exactly as nature intended on the glowworms cave tours with Glowing Adventures. There are no concrete floors, no walkways or artificial lighting in this cave network on a family farm giving you an authentic caving experience. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t magnificent features to behold, in fact, it’s quite the opposite with what looks like limestone waterfalls frozen in time, stalactites and, of course, beautiful displays of glowworms. Groups are limited to six people, while private tours and even photography tours are available.