On the Water
5 hours
Free cancellation
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Recommended by 96% of travellers
96% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$305
per adult
Challenge Rafting
Challenge Rafting
4.5
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Full view
About
Challenge Rafting operates exciting half-day trips on the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers in Queenstown. The Kawarau River is suited to first time rafters or those wanting a taste of rafting and is accessed by vehicle. The Shotover River is accessed by vehicle through the historic Skippers Canyon forged out by goldminers during the big Gold Rush. This road is inaccessible in winter and for this reason Heli-rafting is offered in winter on the Shotover River.
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4.5
183 reviews
Excellent
138
Very good
31
Average
8
Poor
3
Terrible
3
AsBeautifulAsYou
37 contributions
Jan 2024 • Family
We were first time White Water Rafters, and chose the easier Kawarau River Rafting with Challenge Rafting Queenstown NZ.
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, but it was heaps of fun. The Challenge staff are amazing! Very professional & loads of fun, with lots of silly Dad & Ozzie bashing jokes. And I was extremely grateful for the huge attention to safety, like double checking the fit of life jackets, and the Safety Officer in a Kayak who followed the Rafts to help scoop anyone out of the water if needed. It was a wonderful afternoon out on the water.
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, but it was heaps of fun. The Challenge staff are amazing! Very professional & loads of fun, with lots of silly Dad & Ozzie bashing jokes. And I was extremely grateful for the huge attention to safety, like double checking the fit of life jackets, and the Safety Officer in a Kayak who followed the Rafts to help scoop anyone out of the water if needed. It was a wonderful afternoon out on the water.
Written 25 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a 5-star review and sharing your experience. We thank you for choosing to raft with our team. We're glad you felt safe and enjoyed the thrill of your Kawarau River Rafting adventure. We thank you for joining us in Queenstown.
Kind regards,
The Challenge Rafting Team
Written 30 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
James H
6 contributions
Jan 2023 • Family
The whitewater was definitely the best, but the scenery, the water, the river, the guides and the fun all added up to an amazing experience! Our entire family loved it. Coupled with a ride in the jet boat to reach our rafting point, and you couldn’t ask for a better value activity. The smiles say it all.
Written 23 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We're so glad you and your family enjoyed your experience with our team. Thanks heaps for joining us. We loved being part of your Queenstown adventure.
Written 26 March 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Michelle K
9 contributions
Jan 2024 • Family
Experience was great. Guides excellent. But very disappointing we could not get one photo of the experience. We felt guides could easy have a helmet cam and we could buy ones we wanted. This was very disappointing
Written 14 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Michelle,
We thank you for taking the time to share your review and feedback. We apologize for your disappointment with photos. We have passed along this feedback to take on board for all future customers. We appreciate your support and thank you for joining us in Queenstown.
Written 30 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Charles P
Orange, CA16 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Excellent and adrenaline rushing event with expert driver (Ben) and jet boat pilot (Lincoln). The drive was somewhat scary as the road was narrow and nothing but gravity on the downhill side, but certainly not as bad as other reviews have made it. The jet boat ridewas exhilarating and we really had a good time i would highly recommend it! Don’t waste your time going on in the boats doing 360s in the lake. Take the shuttle to Skipper’s Canyon and you’ll be very happy with the thrilling experience.
Written 27 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cassie W
Windaroo, Australia876 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
What a morning this was. We arrived at the meeting point which was well organised - they were ready with lists of passengers and loaded us onto buses to take us out to the rafting base building.
As we got off the buses we were directed through a bit of a factory line, first receiving a wetsuit and wetsuit boots that we took down to the change rooms to put on. I did find the change rooms very crowded and for the shy among us - they are mostly open so have your swimmers on under your clothes as you will be stripping off and putting your wetsuit on in front of the everyone else (of the same gender). They had open lockers in the change rooms for clothes and we were told to bring valuables back out to the other room, where they had a single locker that would contain all valuables for everyone in our group, and was locked after we left I assume.
From here we went back upstairs into a production line to get a wetsuit jacket, life jacket and helmet. They do have helmets suited for go-pros and provide string for extra security. You then get on another bus that takes you down the skippers canyon road to the spot where you will start the rafting. This was all fine except for our driver stopping the bus five minutes before we got to the end to take a leak off the side of the road. Guess he either couldn't wait a few minutes or didn't want to do it in front of the boss. While on the bus we signed the release forms etc.
At the river the guides did up our life jackets and we were given some safety demonstrations by a guy named Chief who frankly seemed a bit nuts at first. It became apparent that he was the boss. He divided us into groups and I have to be honest and say that I wasn't overjoyed to be in the last group with Chief as our guide. He seemed very gruff and yes, a bit nuts.
As we started down the river Chief drilled us on various exercises in the boat like getting "down" into the boat, hanging on to the ropes, and paddling in various directions. The canyon is beautiful and the water is absolutely amazing. The water was very low for our visit which Chief said could make things a little bit difficult. As we floated along Chief pointed out various things that had been left behind from the gold rush. He also showed how high the river can get in the wet season.
Once we started going through the rapids I quickly realized that Chief was the guy you wanted to be with. A couple of the other boats flipped on the first set of rapids but we went through quite easily. At another set of rapids our boat got stuck and was close to flipping but Chief was jumping in and out and moving us around and telling us what to do and we made it through. By the end I was extremely grateful to be in Chief's boat! I still think he is a bit nuts but has a good sense of humour and totally knows his stuff :)
When we made it back to the base building we lifted the boats out of the river and onto the trailers then walked back up to the building. Here you take off your helmet and life jacket and hand them back. You clean your wetsuit jacket and boots in barrels of water and hang them up. Then you walk into the wetsuit room where you strip off your wetsuit and this time it is in front of everyone of all genders, then walk back down to the change rooms to get dressed. Again for the shy among us there is not a lot of room or privacy and in the shower cubicles there are no shelves to put anything, presumably to encourage you to just shower and then get dressed back out with everyone else.
I came away from this trip with a new-found respect for the river and the knowledge required by the guides to get everyone through safely. My arms were REALLY sore afterwards but now I can say that I have been white water rafting!
As we got off the buses we were directed through a bit of a factory line, first receiving a wetsuit and wetsuit boots that we took down to the change rooms to put on. I did find the change rooms very crowded and for the shy among us - they are mostly open so have your swimmers on under your clothes as you will be stripping off and putting your wetsuit on in front of the everyone else (of the same gender). They had open lockers in the change rooms for clothes and we were told to bring valuables back out to the other room, where they had a single locker that would contain all valuables for everyone in our group, and was locked after we left I assume.
From here we went back upstairs into a production line to get a wetsuit jacket, life jacket and helmet. They do have helmets suited for go-pros and provide string for extra security. You then get on another bus that takes you down the skippers canyon road to the spot where you will start the rafting. This was all fine except for our driver stopping the bus five minutes before we got to the end to take a leak off the side of the road. Guess he either couldn't wait a few minutes or didn't want to do it in front of the boss. While on the bus we signed the release forms etc.
At the river the guides did up our life jackets and we were given some safety demonstrations by a guy named Chief who frankly seemed a bit nuts at first. It became apparent that he was the boss. He divided us into groups and I have to be honest and say that I wasn't overjoyed to be in the last group with Chief as our guide. He seemed very gruff and yes, a bit nuts.
As we started down the river Chief drilled us on various exercises in the boat like getting "down" into the boat, hanging on to the ropes, and paddling in various directions. The canyon is beautiful and the water is absolutely amazing. The water was very low for our visit which Chief said could make things a little bit difficult. As we floated along Chief pointed out various things that had been left behind from the gold rush. He also showed how high the river can get in the wet season.
Once we started going through the rapids I quickly realized that Chief was the guy you wanted to be with. A couple of the other boats flipped on the first set of rapids but we went through quite easily. At another set of rapids our boat got stuck and was close to flipping but Chief was jumping in and out and moving us around and telling us what to do and we made it through. By the end I was extremely grateful to be in Chief's boat! I still think he is a bit nuts but has a good sense of humour and totally knows his stuff :)
When we made it back to the base building we lifted the boats out of the river and onto the trailers then walked back up to the building. Here you take off your helmet and life jacket and hand them back. You clean your wetsuit jacket and boots in barrels of water and hang them up. Then you walk into the wetsuit room where you strip off your wetsuit and this time it is in front of everyone of all genders, then walk back down to the change rooms to get dressed. Again for the shy among us there is not a lot of room or privacy and in the shower cubicles there are no shelves to put anything, presumably to encourage you to just shower and then get dressed back out with everyone else.
I came away from this trip with a new-found respect for the river and the knowledge required by the guides to get everyone through safely. My arms were REALLY sore afterwards but now I can say that I have been white water rafting!
Written 24 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to review your trip with us. The raft guides have a lot of knowledge and experience, and are great at coaching on the water. We are delighted that you recognised this, and enjoyed your trip. We will pass on your positive feedback to Chief! The river levels aren’t at its highest in the summer, but the crystal clear water makes it a great way to cool down in the heat. Thanks again for coming out with us and we would love to have you back to experience one of our high water trips.
Written 6 March 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
FerdaMravenecCZ
CZ1 contribution
Jan 2012 • Couples
You'll not get what you paid for. We paid for 4-5 grade rafting and it was only garade 2 because of low water level. It was boring 2 hours of sitting in a raft and doing nothing. We weren't warned about it and they didn't give us any discount. So Challenge Rafting company is terrible money miner company - DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICES.
Written 6 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tennisTucsonAz
tucson az24 contributions
Could have been fun but when a problem developed on the river the staff of Challenge Rafting was not up to the challenge . The paying customers were left in the cold for 1 1/2 hours while a submerged raft was attempted to be freed. did not happen. RESULT: trip shortened and rushed. Guides were obviously more interested in getting us back quickly b/c as our guide explained they are paid by the trip and not overtime to return and remove trapped raft. sauna they advertise was refused ,no hot drinks available just atrip back to sell us photos that were not ready. If you judge a company by how they respond to problems Challenge Rafting in Queenstown failed miserably NOT EVEN AN I"M SORRY
Written 8 March 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stephen A
16 contributions
Apr 2023 • Solo
A horrific death-defying experience for a strong swimmer. Even though the guide provided ample safety and risk information and training, what happened was not expected. At the first level 5 rapid, the raft dropped down the 3-metre-high rapid, flipped up and over due to the force of the water resulting in the 6 of us either thrown into the vigorously turbulent water or holding on under the raft. Due to the turbulence, I was held under water for about 30 seconds not able to see or determine which way was up. Eventually I surfaced and caught my breath, only to find myself soon dragged underwater again by the fall of the second level 5 rapid. After surfacing and catching my breath a second time, the experience was repeated at the third level 5 rapid. I eventually entered a fast moving rapid-free stretch of water where I was able to see and reach for a rope attached to a raft and pull myself to the shore, gasping for air and coughing up water I had swallowed during this ordeal of several minutes and several hundred meters. Luckily the 6 of us were left without series injury, however we were very much in shock. Unfortunately, the only way out of the canyon was to return to the raft and complete the journey that included 2 more level 5 rapids, which we managed without further incident. I would recommend this activity for only those who are extremely strong swimmers and are willing to take high risks.
Written 13 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora,
We are sorry to hear about your experience with us. We appreciate your review and feedback. It is advised this activity is for strong swimmers who are willing to take risks. Could you please send us an email at manager@raft.co.nz with your booking details so we can learn more about your experience to better suit our customers in the future. We hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Queenstown.
Written 23 April 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Michelle M
59 contributions
This is the total Queenstown package. Great 40min Jet boat ride, Challenging enough rapids to get the heart racing, swimming down a rapid, cliff jumping, and swimming in the beautiful clear river. Great guides. Amazing scenery. Highly recommend. Thanks to Mark, Gabe and the crew on a wonderful morning on the river.
Written 29 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora Michelle, Thank you for your 5-star review. It sounds like you had an awesome experience with our team. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience. We appreciate your support and look forward to another trip with you again in the future.
Written 28 March 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
paul h
Northampton, UK23 contributions
Dec 2022
Our best of many trips on a 5 week holiday in New Zealand. We have done 5 trips around the world over the last 25 years and this was the best. Kasey was an exceptional guide and Charlotte a great bus driver and photographer!
Written 23 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora, Thank you for your wonderful review. We are thrilled to be your best rafting trip ever. We hope to see you again for another adventure. Thanks so much for joining our team in Queenstown.
Written 28 March 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No questions have been asked about this experience