Challenge Rafting — Attraction in South Island

Don't under estimate how long this activity takes when you're planning your day. It's an exciting event. We did the shotover river which is the more difficult trip. The 45 min bus drive over the unsealed road that twists and turns where you could drop off at the cliff is truly exciting and that bus driver definitely deserves a pay rise. The guides were informative and fun, had plenty of jokes and history about the area. They do their best to remind you of the dangers of the activity but despite their attempts there's still an ignorance and illusion of safety which adds to the fun. The 2 hour rafting is beautiful and exciting. The first bit is easier to get everyone used to the commands and paddling the boat. You do need a good level of fitness as if you're not paddling you're most likely going to end up in the water. At times you come up to other rafters and the guides joke around and encourage races in the calm bits and splashing of each other. My partner struggle with his long legs in the boat for that time, suffering many cramps one which resulted in me and another passenger falling off during the squeeze as the boat ended up vertical against the rock face due to failure to lean right. It is a dangerous activity and despite all my efforts I left the trip with a split lip and busted up hand. But that's also part of the fun. I appreciate that my guide didn't baby me over my bloody lip and continued joking around but also ensured I was comfortable before getting back in the boat. The scariest bit wasn't being in the rapids itself but not knowing where my partner was once he was also outside of the boat. Overall a good experience and grounding moment. This review would be 5 star if it wasn't for the retail staff back at Queenstown. The check in was lacklustre, with the staff member on her phone for a minute before looking up at us. The staff selling the merchandise was equally uninterested in us purchasing anything and honestly seemed...

BEWARE: The overall rafting experience was beautiful and the guides were awesome and safety conscious, but they offer no option for any photos or videos of the experience.

You are not permitted to take your action camera with you for safety reasons, so you are reliant on them to take photos/video. It seems they are too worried about litigation and the use of photos/videos against them.

They took some group photos but when asked about the photos after waiting many weeks, all they can say is sorry we had a technical issue, so we have no photos to provide, tough luck! Pretty cold and impersonal attitude in this respect.

The rafting company has to understand that foreign visitors paid a lot of money for probably a once in a life time visit to New Zealand. Then avail themselves of the many activities and document them. It's sad that such a beautiful experience is marred by a simple yet non-existent service offering!

Also, No choice in company to choose. Only one company is permitted to white water raft the...

We had a lovely experience with white water rafting in Queenstown. Truth be told, it does that matter what company you book through because they contract out a rafting company. That rafting company has great guides who are entertaining and good at what they do. I never felt unsafe in the raft. Our guide was super deligent ensuring we would follow his orders. We had loads of fun going down the river. Was an amazing experience and maybe one of my favorite moments of New Zealand! Definitely worth the money.

Do be warned you have to paddle, listen to the guide and you will probably get wet. You're also in a wild environment where stuff can go wrong and you can get hurt. If you don't feel like follow orders or getting wet don't do it. You will make it harder for the other people in your boat and you...