Tongariro River Rafting

Welcome to Tongariro River Rafting ™ : we’re a fun, friendly, family-owned company offering the best white water rafting in the Taupo region, from our awesome home base in Turangi. For down-to-earth Kiwi backcountry fun, we can’t be beat! The Tongariro River is our absolute passion, and there isn’t an inch of it that we don’t know like the backs of our hands. TRR is owned & operated by local outdoor-adventure legend Garth Oakden. Come and explore New Zealand’s remote backcountry with us! TRR founder Garth knows exactly what it’s like to be seduced by the rugged beauty and laid-back outdoor lifestyle of the Taupo region – he arrived here 30 years ago for a 6-month rafting stint, met his wife Leigh, and never left! Garth and Leigh built Tongariro River Rafting ™ from the ground up (or should that be from the river up?) 28 years ago. Since then, over paddlers have rafted, tumbled, bounced and laughed their way downriver with Garth and the TRR crew at the helm. With the rafting business flourishing, Garth couldn’t resist adding two of his other great passions to the offering: Mountain Biking and Fishing trips. Mountain Biking is an awesome way to explore the Southern Taupo region: we have trails to suit everyone from beginner to expert, including world-class tracks like the 42 Traverse and the Great Lake Trail. Hire Mountain Bikes from us to explore independently (we have kids mountain bikes and e-bikes too), or take advantage of our local knowledge with a guided ride. The Tongariro River is home to huge wild New Zealand brown and rainbow trout in their thousands. The fly fishing opportunities are legendary – even the Queen Mother, a keen angler, came to cast a fly here! Our raft fishing trips give you access to stretches of river you can’t reach by road. With Grade 3 rapids to navigate along the way, you get two awesome adventure activities in one hit.