I did the five-hour Black Abyss tour here in February, 2025. LOVED IT. I know there is a shorter…read moreversion but there is nothing I would leave out from my experience. A good chunk of that time involved extensive suiting up, then extensive training on the abseiling gear before finally descending into that deep, dark cave. It's a little tricky, and like many of the activities that follow it can challenge your fitness a bit. You will need to do a lot of maneuvering in the water with an inner tube, some climbing up wet, rocky slopes, and a very fun zipline in the dark. But when you're finally just drifting through the caves, gazing up at that bioluminescent galaxy, it's rewarding on a level that must be experienced to be understood. Our guides were Cally and Evie, and they were exceedingly professional and knowledgeable, and their enthusiasm and charisma left a very positive impression. Super cool experience!!!

This was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I would recommend to anyone visiting New…read moreZealand. This is not just a basic rafting trip. You get to travel through caves, jump off of small waterfalls, and see the one-of-a-kind glow worms. Pippin and Lore were wonderful guides with great knowledge and comfort of the cave network. Please give this a try!

It was a great time visiting this cave in NZ. 1.5 hours drive from Auckland. The weather was great…read morenot too hot just overcast. The entrance was beautifully designed with wood and asymmetrical form. Loved the architect who did this. There were scheduled tours so advise to get tickets early. The cave was well preserved. Our guide was very knowledgeable. The limestone formation has its own origin . No photo, video . Very restricted because they considerate it sacred. There were snacks and coffee shops. Souvenirs and digital photos can be purchased

I had no idea what a glow worm was or that there even was such a thing before this tour and now I'm…read morequite knowledgeable about them. There are no photos allowed on the tour which is actually great because the more your eyes adjust to the darkness, the more glow worms you see. We were allowed to take a photo as we were exiting our boat ride. Our tour guide was knowledgeable about the cave and its history. In fact, he is a descendant of the family that owns it. The highlight was the short boat ride along the river that formed the cave. That is where the glowworms really shine like stars. So cool.

The owner/hosts, Richy & Lynn welcomed us, like long lost family. Richy loves his village, made…read morefabulous recommendations and encouraged us to stay longer to relax in the area he loves. Lynn sees to breakfast. I can't imagine anyone leaves the table hungry. The rooms are clean and quiet. The property is covered in flowers and birds. They recommended Spellbound tours for the caves, Huhu for dinner and told us of a waterfall we had mostly to ourselves. Think of your visiting your favorite Auntie & Uncle, that is Richy & Lynn.

A hidden gem that if i could keep a secret i would, just so they would have always have an opening…read more Owners are friendly and helpful and always there. Provided us with a little breakdown of their town and offered a few extracurriculars. Recommended a small late night glow worm hike and even gave us a map and flashlight(torch) to use. Nice little renovated en suite with all the little creature comforts you would need for the night! Awesome no hesitations to stay there again if we ever find oursleves back here.

My wife and I really enjoyed this tour. We had a fantastic guide who was very knowledgable about…read morethe caves, the history, as well as knowledge of the surrounding Waitomo area. On top of a great tour, the advantage of Caveworld is that you can take photographs. This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that you can (with the right settings and perhaps a tripod) get some amazing photographs of the glowworms and their bioluminescence. Challenge is, most people don't have the right settings and often get results that leave a bit to be desired. Also, you'll see lot's of flashes going off throughout the tour so if you are put off by this, you might consider another "no photography" tour. Ultimately lots of people have great pictures of stalactites and stalagmites but few of the actual glowworms. As I appreciated the option to try to photographs these caves and their inhabitants, I really would recommend Caveworld.

We purchased a tour for 10am cave tubing to see the glowworms with Caveworld. The tour guides were…read morevery friendly and knowledgeable and provided a fun filled tour for our group. Definitely do not hesitate to book this tour as it the more adventurous way to see the glowworms. You go underneath the caves with your headlights and tubes. They provide all the gear including life jacket suits. You go through a slide and jump off mini waterfalls while admiring the glowworms inside the caves. It was such a memorable experience for us!

OMG! We stopped her after seeing the "photo interest" road sign while driving from Taupo to…read moreWaitomo. It was a spur of the moment decision. What a spectacular spot! I'm not sure I've ever been somewhere this unique. We ended up walking quite a ways on the Te Waihou Walkway along the beautiful Blue Spring. It was otherworldly in how crystal clear the waters were. Underwater vegetation was plentiful and swaying with the current. This is absolutely worth your stop. The hike is longer than you think it is, but completely worth it. We also encountered lots of interesting birds. This is easily one of the most naturally beautiful places I've ever been on Earth -- solely rivaled perhaps in my travels only by some alpine springs I've hiked along in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks in the USA. I have never seen water this clear and underwater colors this vibrant from the surface.

This place was beautiful! I ran across it while researching places to go in New Zealand. By the…read moretime we got here, I forgot what this place was. We decided to spend 30 minutes here. As it turns out, this was not enough time. This is worth spending at least an hour here if not more. It will take you 10 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the main viewpoint. As you walk down the path, you'll catch glimpses of a stream. But this is no ordinary stream - it has crystal clear water and beautiful plants growing in the stream. The blue of the water combined with the green of the plants create a beautiful combination that looks like something out of a Monet painting. From the main viewing stand, if you look across the stream, there's a nook, and the water there is a beautiful azure color, darker than the rest of the water. Beyond the viewing stand, the path continues, but this is as far as we got. I think the trail goes another 4-5 kilometers. If you are in the area, definitely check this out. It's a great detour when driving between Rotorua and the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, or to Hobbiton. Just plan to spend more time here than we did.

Lord of the Ring fans will definitely want to add this to their New Zealand vacation agenda. This…read morehilly farm site was extensively used in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The enthusiastic owner Suzie takes you on a wonderful 90 minute tour of all the exact filming locations on the farm. While the rocky, hilly and forested farm isn't the most ideal for sheep farming, the landscapes and scenery are incredibly enchanting...its no wonder Peter Jackson chose to film here. Suzie takes you through scene by scene, and even helps you stage photos to duplicate scenes from the movie, even with some props! The tours are small, limited to 9 people maximum, but as luck would have it my wife and I were the only ones, so we got a private tour! $60 isn't cheap, but for LOTR fans its totally worth it.

Best tour ever. I'm a huge Lord of the rings/hobbit fan and they spoiled us rotten with cool props,…read morephotos, facts, and more. I'd do it again and highly recommend. They were so nice and personable it really made the experience personal and not just another tour. I loved it!

The best way I can describe this place is the "Pompeii of New Zealand". I have to be honest to say…read moreI was not expecting more than another tourist trap, but it far exceeded my expectations! Firstly, the gift shop you enter the ladies are dressed in era appropriate garb and you automatically feel like you have kinda gone back in time a bit. So that was comforting. One of the nice ladies behind the register even gave me a bit of a "rainy day discount" since it was raining pretty hard at that point and she took pity on me. She also provided an umbrella upon request, which was very nice. You get an informative little laminated map card that tells you your route and all the things you are looking at. You start in the museum, which was one of my favorite parts! The Maori art they had in the museum were just incredible! Seriously, some of the woodworks were jaw-dropping in the grandeur of the piece and the ornate details. There is a piece below the story of the day the volcano erupted about the ghost war canoe that had me mesmerized for what felt like hours! It was just so beautiful and intricate! They did an excellent job explaining what happened, why the village was such a tourist hotspot prior to the eruption, and the aftermath. They even had handwritten excerpts from a journal of a family member who lost his family in the eruption that day. It was extremely poignant and I highly recommend taking your time to really appreciate the museum portion. There were a group of people who came in after me that literally just walked through it w/o even stopping once before going outside. The grounds are pretty spread out and you basically just see the excavation sites of the different features that existed in the village. Some have artifacts that were recovered on display, which are pretty neat, especially the bottles, tea cups, and welding tools. It is a bit somber. As you come to one of the last excavation sites, you start to walk along a stream and it is simply gorgeous! Because of the rain, I basically had the place to myself as the group that ran through the museum was long gone, and it was just very tranquil standing by the little waterfalls of the babbling brook with the sound of the rain on my umbrella. It was a great experience to have in a place like this. When you end the grounds tour you have a choice to hike down to a waterfall. This is a must! The waterfall is just wow and you can get right up to it! You hike down steps and dirt and then hike back up a different way, but the boardwalks by the waterfalls are just awesome! I had it to myself and it a pretty spiritual experience. I could have stood there in front of the initial thundering falls all day! The hike back to the visitor center is about 5mins and they have some great Maori inspired pieces and art work to purchase for souvenirs. All in all a great experience for the price of admission (with my discount it was $22US) and I left with a little trinket that will have sentimental value tied to that experience here!

So going to all the touristy places this is one that you definitely want to come and see. In 1886 a…read morevolcano my tarawera had erupted in the early hours of the morning and molten lava and mud had covered a little village. Recently excavations have happened and items and parts of buildings have been discovered and restored. You'll walk through a museum to see the history of the town and then walk outside and see buildings around. Eventually this will lead you down a path to a beautiful waterfall and great views of the lake below. Entrance to the museum and walk is about $50 for a family if 2 adults and 2 kids but it's well worth it. Also you'll need comfy and sterdy shoes for the walk to the waterfall preferably runners, and be relatively fit it has a lot of steps! But so good for the views

The rafting was amazing! Such a beautiful setting and the rapids were fun to go through! It's about…read morean hour long but it was such a good time and was a perfect length. Great rapids and waterfalls, and fun guides! So glad we made this a part of our trip! Everyone was super friendly and helpful. They were full of jokes! Josh was an awesome guide.

Highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world! This was my wife's favorite outdoor adventure…read moreexperience that we did on our 3 week honeymoon. Such an incredible experience going vertical down a waterfall and then completely submerging underwater afterwards. The guides are hilarious and have amazing energy - you can tell that they love their jobs! We had never been white river rafting before so we had to try this. I think it was even more fun than the Nevis Swing in Queenstown. You are going over so many waterfalls, jumping into the water and floating down the river. There was one point were we stood up on the raft and then went over a waterfall. Our guide said that a group of 7 guys were in our same boat the day before and none of them new how to swim. The raft capsized on the largest waterfall and they all fell out of the boat. They were all fine thanks to the life jackets and the guide. You have to pay extra for the photos but it was completely worth it. I would recommend bringing a gopro and the head piece attachment. They have the helmets but I forgot the attachment so I couldn't bring my gopro. They don't allow the gopro sticks so don't bring that. Just bring your swimsuit, towel, and a change of clothes.

This one is a beautiful staircase waterfall that you can find off one of the side roads along the…read moreKarangahake Gorge. Pull into Waitawheta Rd and park alongside the slope as we did. Look out for the hidden tunnel downhill track enclosed by trees and green on both sides down to the waterfall. You can sneak a peak at the water as you make your way towards it. Only takes a few minutes each way- wonderful if you aren't feeling like doing a long or too intensive walk. Has a medium sized pool at the bottom for swimming but be careful as some parts are quite deep. Even climbing down to the rocks there is quite a few slippery spots. Continues down a stream towards the Karangahake. Quite cool water when we went and lovely to float in. There is bush around to sit and little pockets for changing if you aren't already in your gear. Gorgeous fall- so easy to get to, definitely worth seeing

Booked this rafting adventure last minute and everyone was so nice! Before going on the trip you…read moregear up in your wet suit, life jacket and helmet. They then make sure to go through the basics of rafting and what to do if the raft flips over! It's a short 2 min drive to the rafting start point but once you're in the water it is so much fun! It has been raining pretty hard, but the whole experience was great! There were two shorter waterfalls and of course Tutea falls. It seemed intimidating, but our guide Elvis helped guide us and everything went great! They even got some good pictures of us! We even had the opportunity to get in the water and feel the rapids first hand! Overall great experience, would recommend to anyone looking for a thrill!

Just from the things I've seen on like r, I can't wait to go and try these class V waters!…read morehttps://kaitunacascades.co.nz/