Shotover River Rafting Trip from Queenstown
Queenstown, New Zealand
Shotover River Rafting Trip from Queenstown
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Queenstown, New Zealand
- 5 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Shoot the rapids on the Shotover River on this half-day tour from Queenstown, a great choice for thrill seekers. Under guide supervision, you'll brave six wild rapids including Aftershock, Squeeze, Toilet, and Pinball, raft through the Oxenbridge Tunnel, and drop into Cascade Rapid. Instruction and all necessary equipment (wetsuit, life jacket, spray jacket, booties, helmet) are included. This trip requires confident swimming, moderate fitness, and participants must weigh between 40 and 120 kg due to safety restrictions.
- Shoot the rapids on New Zealand's Shotover River including six challenging rapids
- Use of wetsuit, life jacket, spray jacket, booties, helmet included
- Hot showers available post-adventure
- Centrally located meeting point for coach transfers
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
What To Expect
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 116 reviews
Anne_H, Jan 2026
A great and fun experience with wonderful guides! Plenty of thrills on the water and on the way there in the bus with the sheer sided walls of Skippers Canyon Rd! Enjoy!
David_C, Jan 2026
So much fun and is such a beautiful river. So lucky to be in that environment. I highly recommend it. My whole family loved it.
Japjot_K, Jan 2026
Highlight of our trip to NZ. Special shout out to our guide Muzz. Would recommend to all adrenaline seekers!
Robert_K, Jun 2025
Great team of guides that took us down the river and a “must do”. I was impressed with the van drivers being able the traverse the goat track of a road. No way would I attempt to drive what they did. Challenging but fun.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Kia ora Robert,
We're so happy to hear you found the rafting both a challenge and a blast. It truly means the world to us to be called a 'must-do.' Our guides will be thrilled to know that they helped create such a memorable experience for you.
Best wishes,
Challenge Rafting
Mike_C, Jan 2025
Fantastic trip from start to finish. Well organized, great staff with great knowledge made the day memorable 10 out of 10 well done.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Kia ora Mike,
We can’t thank you enough for your awesome 10/10 review. We’re so happy to hear you had a fantastic experience with us. It truly makes our day to know that our team’s knowledge and organisation made your adventure memorable.
Wishing you all the best,
Challenge Rafting
Vanessa_D, Jan 2025
The raft team and our guide Zane were focused on both safety and fun! We practiced the required skills in calm waters to get us through the rapids safely. We also had great conversations I. The raft between multiple rapids which added the each raft team camaraderie and some friendly competition between rafts! Having an opportunity to choose to jump in the water was really appreciated too and a lot of fun! I felt so confident in being able to tackle each rapid under Zane’s direction. An amazing and absolutely must do activity. Can’t wait to go again! Note - you really do need to have a reasonable level of fitness and you absolutely MUST be able to swim.
Response from Host, Jan 2025
Kia ora Vanessa,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and leave us a 5-star review. It sounds like you had a great day out on the water with our team. We'll be sure to pass your feedback to Zane and the crew. We appreciate your recommendations.
We look forward to seeing you again next season. Thank you for joining us.
Best wishes,
Challenge Rafting
John_A, Nov 2024
Great white water, knowledgeable and very personable staff. Felt in very safe hands and a great experience start to finish
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Kia ora John,
Thank you for leaving us a review. We're thrilled to hear about your experience. Thanks so much for joining us.
Best wishes,
Challenge Rafting
Peter_C, Feb 2024
Our guide KC made the white water rafting even more enjoyable. A very funny fella with loads of interesting stories to tell. He got the team of 6 people on the raft involved throughout the experience. A true New Zealander. Thanks KC
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Kia Ora Peter,
Thank you for your review and for sharing your experience. We're so happy to hear how much you enjoyed your rafting adventure with KC. Thank you for joining us.
Best wishes,
Challenge Rafting
Scot, Jan 2024
From the start to the end, an overall engaging excursion. The guides were fabulous! The bus ride to Skippers Landing was filled with intriguing stories and funny anecdotes while pointing out rock formations and the harrowing cliff drop from the edge of the road.
Our raft guide Morgan was the best! Instructive and friendly, her knowledge of the history and years of experience on the Shotover River made the entire trip so much fun.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Kia Ora Scot,
Thanks so much for your review and for sharing your experience. It sounds like you had an epic day out with our team. Thank you for including us on your Queenstown adventure. We appreciate your support. We can't wait to see you again.
Jack_C, Jan 2024
Had such a great day, when we weren’t tackling rapids you had time to take in the amazing views of the mountains surrounding us.
Response from Host, Jan 2024
Kia Ora Jack,
Thank you for you 5-star review. We're happy to hear how much you enjoyed your Queenstown rafting adventure. Thanks so much for joining us.
Alicia_J, Dec 2023
The rafting team and guides are excellent. They make you feel safe and try to give you some history while you drive out to the water.
What is not cool, is leaving someone behind and blaming the person for it while the tour pick up was running late and I was in the bathroom. A simple headcount for people like me who got there early to check in on time would keep for
Leaving me behind but because everyone was delayed had to use the restroom and ends up being blamed for ‘wandering off’ then has to pay for my own taxi to the rafts. Yes I am a bit bitter about that.
The two staff were not accommodating or quick to find a solution. Instead blame game stalled while I wait for help on how to move forward which was awful to experience.
Raft team and the actual activity helped make up for this lack of customer support and awful customer experience.
Bring a towel! And something warm if you run cold they will have lockers there for you. Wish I could have tipped guys/gals who are so alert, proficient, knowledgeable and experts in rafting. They are the best!
Lee_W, Dec 2023
Such fun with the most gorgeous scenery. Our guide was also amazing and very knowledgeable. Just the bus ride up was a little scary!
Patricia_E, Dec 2023
Great day!! Well worth it! Highly recommend. Guide was friendly and we felt very safe. The road to get there was the start of the adventure!
Nicole_N, Dec 2023
My first rafting experience and it was so much fun! The guides make you feel safe and they go through a lot of safety protocol with you.
William_W, Dec 2023
Besides the rapids and the professional expert or the guides; the trip to the put in was worth the price of admission!
Great experience all around.
Bill Woodman
Ann_D, Nov 2023
We came as a family for what has turned into an EPIC vacation. It was so much fun. The rafting was fabulous and the staff were all amazing. Always felt safe while having so much fun.
KinLengRoy_L, Nov 2023
Amazing and friendly guides, along side an exciting river with great views. This experience exceeded my expectations
breeya_m, Nov 2023
My most memorable moments was, looking at all the beautiful waterfalls and learning some history about the Kawarau river also seeing some ancient equipment that were used back in those days for gold mining. Another thing would be the Guide Tutors they were so funny they made the trip even better.
Vicki_S, Jan 2023
The rafting & rapids were great fun & the scenery was magnificent. Very professional & funny guides & I felt our safety was in good hands.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Hi Vicki, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We love hearing about your experiences and are so glad you had a great time out with our team. Thanks heaps for joining us in Queenstown.
Caroline_J, Jan 2023
By far the best experience of our stay in NZ. Our guide was amazing, the scenery spectacular and the fun non stop. Highly recommend to anyone wanting the experience of lifetime
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Kia Ora Caroline, Thank you so very much for taking the time to leave us a 5-star review and shae your review. The views in Queenstown are the best. So happy to hear you had a great time with us on your visit. Thank you for including us on your Queenstown adventure!
marcxianwenyu, Jan 2023
I was bit disappointed about the whole experience. I understand the safety is very important, but the whole experience feels like a military training. We had to focus on paddling and following on the instructions given it was not that scary at all!!! We didn’t have much time to enjoy the beautiful scenery or get relaxed. I hope the trip could have been more relaxing.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Kia Ora, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry you didn't enjoy your experience with our team. We will take on board for others in the future. Thank you for joining us in Queenstown.
Andrew_P, Dec 2022
The 5 rapids were the quick to pass through but the highlight of the experience. A lot of preamble and training to get to that point. It was fun but didn't rate the over some of the other experiences we did in Queenstown.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Kia Ora Andrew,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are glad you had a great time with us and are sorry we weren't your favourite. We appreciate you joining us in Queenstown.
Nick_W, Dec 2022
The rapids were great! The instructors did a phenomenal job of overselling the safety and preparedness in the shuttle there (which was beautiful in and of itself to someone from the U.S.), on the riverside, and throughout the early stages of the rafting so that when the challenging parts came, it was exhilarating, but never felt dangerous. Great great GREAT fun, and breathtaking vistas - the best I’ve seen in my 40yo life.
I will do this again.
Our instructor was brilliant, charming, knew when to be serious, and when to cut up.
Honestly just a perfect experience.
Before this, I had been white water rafting with my family once before as a 14yo boy (to give you some perspective of the experience going into it). My wife had not done it before in her life, and had a blast. Though she will tell you it’s quite the workout!
Fantastic memory I will never forget.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Kia Ora Nick, Thank you for your 5-star review and wonderful feedback. We are so glad you and your wife had such a good time with our team in Queenstown. The views here are spectacular and it's such a treat to share them along with a great adventure with you. Thanks heaps for joining us. We appreciate your support and hope to see you again for a rafting trip in the future.
Glen_H, Dec 2022
Working with 5 other strangers to keep the raft upright, and the thrill of beating the rapids . The instructor we had on our raft was very experienced and made the trip a heap of fun as well .
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Kia Ora Glen, Thanks so very much for taking the time to share your exhilarating experience. Thank you for joining us in Queenstown. We appreciate your support.
Linds_I, Nov 2022
Our Guides Gabe and Will were Amazing!
They gave us plenty of training to get through the rapids without any issues, They knew how to navigate the water and especially the BIG water (rapids) we had the best time.
We worked as a team and had a ball, Will definately do this again and recommend this to everyone!
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Kia Ora Linds, Thanks so very much for taking the time to leave us, Gabe and Will such a wonderful review. We're glad you felt prepared for your adventure with us. Thanks for your recommendation. We hope to see you again for another rafting trip in the future.
Linda_F, Mar 2020
Had a great time rafting Shotover river. The guides provided a safe experience. They were knowledgeable and fun.
Response from Host, May 2022
Thanks for your great review. Glad you had an enjoyable time out on the Shotover River with us and felt safe throughout your experience.
Frary_K, Mar 2020
We had a group of 9. The guides were great, they told stories and jokes. We had a blast, would do it again.
Joel_D, Feb 2020
Was great fun. Don’t worry about what you’re wearing; you’ll get down to your swimsuit before putting on the wetsuit and wet-shoes they give you. Guides were great, lots of scenery in between the rapids.
Cheryl_M, Feb 2020
Just when you think your trip can’t get any better you discover it can!!! This is a great day on the water!!! Our great guide Raju kept us entertained throughout the trip and our raft mates made it that much better!!! This is a great recreational ride with only a couple really exciting rapids. The ride through the tunnel is my highlight for sure!
Mark_R, Feb 2020
What rush. We had a great team and skipper Glenn aka Horse. We all took direction well. No one fell over.
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