Waitomo Adventures Ltd — Attraction in North Island

First, incredible is an understatement. This was our favorite part of our trip.

Things to know: My group did the Tumu Tumu Black water rafting tour. There were four of us— two in our twenties and two in our fifties. Thankfully all of us have really good mobility and had no issues completing the tour.

However, we were all surprised by the amount of fitness and dexterity required. We knew we would only be tubing for a short period of time, but we weren’t expecting the intensity. An adventurous spirit and able body is absolutely needed. This was nothing like any cave tour that any of us have done, and we have done several around the world. Lots of clambering, hoisting, balancing, army crawling through tiny tunnels or swimming through water over our head. With that being said — if you can’t swim, the guides will tow you on their back (as they did for a couple of people in our group. They did a great job of helping them to feel safe and secure.) Also, they did tell us that there was alternative routes if the crawling tunnels were too claustrophobic of an option.

The full day tour description states “Spend the rest of the day walking wading swimming jumping clambering climbing and navigating your way through the gigantic streamway passages.”

THAT is an accurate description of the tour, but for four hours instead of eight, and with a short section of tubing.

Again — it was amazing and we regret nothing — but if you don’t have a good level of fitness, or are not comfortable climbing/balancing on rocks, this might not be the tour for you.

Our guides were literally incredible. We knew not to tip since it isn’t custom to NZ, but we really wanted to — they deserved it. They took phenomenal photos as well (free of charge!)

Things I wish I had done:

You really should bring soap/shampoo as the instructions state. I didn’t think it would be necessary, but you will be covered in mud when you come out.

Fingerless fishing gloves would be helpful as many of the rocks are sharp. Several people in our tour were complaining of sore hands at the end.

Bring a separate plastic bag for your wet clothes!! I brought a backpack with other things in it; somebody else in our tour had a brown paper bag. Not sufficient for sopping wet swimsuits at the end.

When choosing boots at the tour, pick a pair that has holes in them. This is the opposite of what we all thought to do — but holes allow drainage, and your boots will be full of water 😉 drained boots = lightweight.

Eat a really, really good protein filled breakfast. You will be starving. They do serve a hot drink of orange juice as well as a bite of chocolate part of the way through the tour.

I hope this is helpful. Just do it! Again, it was absolutely...

Experience of a lifetime! My girlfriend and I recently both graduated from University, and to celebrate decided to do a little tour around the north and south island. Our first stop was Waitomo. After looking around at a few caving companies, Waitomo Adventures looked like by far the genuine experience. We decided to stay in Waitomo for two days before continuing on south, and booked ourselves into the Tumu Tumu Toobing the first day, and the Lost World 4-hour trip the second. We were pretty excited to go spelunking, as we'd never done it before, but we had absolutely no idea what a magical experience we were in for. The pictures online looked amazing, but they hardly do it any justice. Tumu Tumu Toobing was the perfect introductory trip, yet still allowed for a few optional tight squeezes (we opted-in, and they were a ton of fun). Our favorite part was "Arya Alley," a unique underground section of the cave consisting of a tunnel with a river flowing through it, as well was very incredible acoustics, as made clear by the guide who started to eerely whistle as we drifted through in a chain of inner tubes, illuminated only by an absolute forest of glow worms above our heads. It was a must-experience for anyone passing through Waitomo. The next day we descended into Lost World. My girlfriend was slightly trepidatious as we stepped out onto the abseil platform, but the guides were impeccable and reassuring, and we were fully clipped in and safe in our harnesses the whole time. Before we knew it we were descending into a misty and surreal cavern and struck with complete awe at what lay before (and beneath) us. Throughout the 4-hour experience you can look up at any time and be blown away by the magnificent stalactites and the sheer scale of the rock formations around you. It was a truly magical trip, reminiscent of something from the Jurassic era. On top of the absolutely stunning caves, the knowledgeable, capable, and quintessentially kiwi guides, and the mind-blowing nature of the whole experience, they'd just built a new "Adventure Lodge" which showcased the absolute best homemade (from scratch) pies AND breakfast I've had in New Zealand. I was told they're even building a day spa on the bottom floor! We're definitely planning to come back new time we're in NZ. I will be recommending Waitomo Adventures as an absolute must for anyone visiting the down...

I did the Haggas Honking Holes. As a person who is into really adventurous activities, I was satisfied. It's a unique, fun, and interactive experience. It's a good mix of abseiling, crawling and climbing through waterfalls, rivers, and tunnels in really beautiful and scenic caves with lots of interesting formations. It's physical, but not overly demanding. If you haven't done caving before, are claustrophobic or afraid of heights, it may push you outside your comfort zone, but in a totally fun, rewarding, and safe way. If your looking for an adrenaline rush, there a few sections that will satisfy you, although they are a bit short lived. The guides were personable and engaging and did a great job throughout. I felt safe and comfortable with them the entire time. I didn't get cold at any point (like I read in some other reviews for some of the water based activities in Waitomo). Overall, we spent around 2.5-3 hours in the caves, which felt like a sufficient amount of time. The group was a bit bigger than ideal (around 10 people), so more time than I would have liked was spent waiting around for each person to complete each abseil or climb one by one. I would have liked to have spent more of the time engaged in activity rather than waiting, but it didn't take away too much from the experience. I still felt content with the amount and variety of things we did. The glowworms weren't very impressive (I've seen a lot better for free in several other places around New Zealand), so I wouldn't recommend this tour if your main focus is the glowworms, but it is a nice little addition if you've never seen them before. I haven't done any other similar tours to compare this to, but overall, I'd say it's pretty good value for your money. If you've done lots of adventurous things before, it probably won't blow your mind, but it definitely fun. It's maybe a bit on the expensive side, but I'd say its worth it, as its a pretty unique experience you don't find many other places. It's a great introduction to a more advanced...