Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Black Water Rafting - How Strenuous?

Mr. free101girl and I are going to be visiting NZ in March and are considering a daytrip from Auckland to try black water rafting at Waitomo Caves. It sounds like a unique experience. Kiwis do come up with the coolest ideas. (I'm looking forward to Zorbing at Rotorua too.)

Anyway, has anyone here tried black water rafting, and if so, how tough is it physically? I have an adventurous spirit (no claustrophobia or fear of jumping backward into the water, etc.). However, I do have bad knees and the descriptions I've read mentioned some "clambering" over rocks in the dark within the caves. I can walk for miles on flat ground, but steep hills and stairs get to me after a bit. (After about 3 big flights of stairs I'm in some pain... 10 flights in a day and I'm done.)

Should I skip the black water rafting? My husband will definitely do it whether I go along or not. If it's too tough for a gimp like me, I can always do one of the regular cave tours and wait for him. Advice?

Most of the outdoors activities in NZ are more strenuous than the similar ones in the US, fwiw. I guess the kiwis are a fit and active people, and the lifestyle reflects that. When giving directions people will tell you that it is "walking distance" or "a short walk" when it is 5 miles away, for example. Tourist oriented activities are there to stay in business, so they make it a good experience, but all these things require a certain degree of fitness. Bad knees would seem to be a problem (I wouldn't do it, from a max dynamic load standpoint). You could try emailing the operator and asking their opinion (they may or may not take this kind of risk, though in general NZ sports are also much higher risk than the average in the US).

I recently did Black Water Rafting at Waitomo (3 hour trip). I felt the most tiring aspect was the paddling and by the end of the trip my arms were worn out. However, I'm not as young or as in shape as most of the other participants. My eyes must not be as good either, as I seemed to struggle with the darkness more than others :o

As far as walking, the short walk down into the cave and the short walk out of the cave are the only times I can recall where knees would be stressed. Inside the cave, the walking portions are kind of half walking, half floating so they are not so bad. Of course, there are certainly opportunities to twist an ankle if you are not careful.

The one thing that really bothered me about the tour was how disorganized it was in terms of equipment and the difficulty in find the right size. My socks were way too big, the boots big, the wetsuit small, the tube too big etc.

Overall, I felt is was a neutral experience. Not a waste of time/money but not a highlight of the trip. Zorbing on the other hand was ^ ^ ^

P.S. Do not stay at Waitomo. The lodging & food quality there is low.

Overall, I felt is was a neutral experience. Not a waste of time/money but not a highlight of the trip. Zorbing on the other hand was ^ ^ ^

Thanks for the very detailed reply. It's extremely helpful. Sounds like an activity I could manage just fine physically -- the question is whether I really want to do it, based on your description. I think my husband is still dead-set on it, but I may just do the walking tour.

Looking forward to Zorbing! :)

Thanks for the very detailed reply. It's extremely helpful. Sounds like an activity I could manage just fine physically -- the question is whether I really want to do it, based on your description. I think my husband is still dead-set on it, but I may just do the walking tour.

Looking forward to Zorbing! :)

A few comments from my trip a year ago:

(1) Zorbing is absolutely awesome. I think we eventually ended up going down 3 or 4 times it was so addicting.

(2) I didn't think that Blackwater Rafting was that strenuous, but again it depends how in shape you are. We did the longer version with the rappel down into the caves, and it was an absolute blast. Any specific questions feel free to ask.

(3) Totally on-spot was the comments about Kiwis understating things from an American/European perspective. Many of the activities would never stand up to lawsuits in the States, and "a short walk" really is 4 or 5 miles.

(4) You want real fun - try Sledging near Rotorua ^

Where else in NZ are you visiting? There may be other nice caves more easily accessible for you.

Where else in NZ are you visiting? There may be other nice caves more easily accessible for you.

We have a few days in Auckland and then we're taking a cruise around NZ, stopping in Tauranga, Christchurch (Lyttelton) and Dunedin (Port Chalmers) before cruising through Fiordland National Park and then up to Tasmania and onward to Australia.

I've toured loads of caves, but never one with glow worms.

try Sledging near Rotorua ^

We'll definitely look into it! Thanks for the insights.

I used to belong to an outing club with which I walked thru caves in southern Indiana. 'Twas interesting for a change, esp. seeing stalagmites & stalactites, but not my cup of tea on a frequent basis.

What effect do the glowworms have which people find so special?
Is there also a glowworm cave on South Island?
How tight/low does the "ceiling" get on the various black-water rafting/ tubing tours?

Is there also a glowworm cave on South Island?


I wasn't able to visit a glow worm cave in South Island, but there are a
couple of places I've run across where you can go see them in South Island.

IIRC, there is one by Te Anau.

http://www.affiliate.viator.com/brochure/product_show.jsp?ID=1010&PRODUCTID=1016&CODE=2264RJ400&AUID=2587

There are lots of caves you can see glow worms, but many are not well advertised.

Thank U, CPX!
Since everyone says that Milford Sound is a must-see, I suppose I can just as well do the glowworms at Te Anau.
Perhaps I should either:
Take train(s) Auckland--Wellington &or Picton--Christchurch;
or fly AKL--IVC or DUD, then drive clockwise to Milford, Queenstown, Greymouth & Christchurch??

Thank U, CPX!
Since everyone says that Milford Sound is a must-see, I suppose I can just as well do the glowworms at Te Anau.
Perhaps I should either:
Take train(s) Auckland--Wellington &or Picton--Christchurch;
or fly AKL--IVC or DUD, then drive clockwise to Milford, Queenstown, Greymouth & Christchurch??


Just plan out first couple of days, but rest leave it up to the weather
(I cant say anything about the weather when you visit ..) but you want to
visit Milford sound and Glaciers when the weather is good. You will enjoy these
places even better. I had made reservations for first couple of days and
planned the rest based on the weather.

I loved black water rafting in Waitomo. I have a bad knee myself and I don't know how to swim - but I had a great time. It was not too strenous at all. It was a highlight of my time in NZ. I thought it was worth every dollar and I would do it again in a minute.

This is who I went through --

http://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting.aspx