The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co, Waitomo

Definitely an experience of a lifetime. We bundled up in a wet suit and wellies and then scrambled, walked, floated, jumped backwards off two waterfalls, and enjoyed the beautiful glow of the glow worms in the dark water on the black labyrinth experience. It was a workout definitely! Our guides were great at navigating and getting the most clumsy of us (ahem me) through it! Highly recommend!!!

What an awesome experience! We (27F, my mum and my dad) did the Black Labyrinth route. It is a great level of adventure - it is accessible to people with no caving experience etc while still being exciting! It is a fantastic route, filled with walking through stream beds in the cave, drifting along on the rubber rings under glow worms, and 2 backward jumps off small ledges into the next part of the stream (these are avoidable, but they are fun and not too scary!). Of course the glow worms aren't as bright as they appear in the publicity photos, but they are still very impressive, so many of them, looking like stars in the sky.The guides and support available are great. Everything is well explained and organised, and things flowed well and kept moving, which is especially important in the water so you don't get too cold. They even had some hot juice for my mum who got very cold (with the wetsuits provided I wasn't cold, but my hands were a little by the end). Cam and Kellie (not sure if I've spelled those right, sorry!) were our guides and they were wonderful: good fun, helpful, supportive and upbeat - thank you for making our New Year's Day amazing!It's an expensive activity but well worth it, so much more special than just walking through caves!

i did the blackwater rafting but it sounded more promising than it was. the rafting" part was mostly walking through ancle-deep water

Absolutely fantastic experience! Our travel agency had a little mix up of paperwork and the entire team went above and beyond- upgrading us to a private tour. The cave was awesome and one of the highlights of our entire trip!

Best day of my life! LOVE U! For whoever wondering if the Black abyss would be too tired to join for beginners: no it isn’t! Totally relaxing with seasoned professional with Max and Peddy and others- MUST GO in NZ!! ALL AROUND THE YEAR!!

I’ve done a lot of cool s&$t in my lifetime. This was easily one of the coolest experiences of them all. I’m not certain if the amazing nature or the incredible guides that expertly guide you through the experience is best. I’m so impressed and still on a high from my time at Black Water. What a freaking blast! Well done Yellow Bucket Brigade!

This tour was way better than we expected!! We did this on our honeymoon + birthdays. Pippin was the best tour guide (and singer!). Matt was awesome too — really personable. Felt totally relaxed and had a blast tubing through the caves. I’d 100% recommend over just a walking or boat tour if you are active. I’m so glad we decided to explore the caves this way. There’s fun, mystery and a little adrenaline in it for you. You can really tell the guides enjoy what they do. Also, the water may be a bit cold but don’t let that deter you!! You won’t be uncomfortable. Biggest tip is bring shampoo/conditioner/body soap with you for the post-tour shower.

I rate this as one of the must do" activities if you're visiting NZ! The Labyrinth tour is perfectly safe (can be slippery)

Worth the thrill, but not if you're CLAUSTROPHOBIC and GERMOPHOBE. A wetsuit will be provided at the place, yes they smell but your nose will get used to it and you won't smell it once you're in the water.It's a cave, so if you're CLAUSTROPHOBIC and don't like dark spaces, then this is not for you. The cave itself is pretty spectacular, especially seeing the glow worms, but you might have to go into tight spaces so keep that in mind. They do have different tours that don't involve you getting wet or into tight spots. You can just walk tour.

My partner and I did the Labyrinth Black Water Rafting Experience. We had an awesome time. Our guides, George, Ellen and Aaron were fantastic. Very energetic, funny and incredibly knowledgeable on both the caves and the worms themselves. Due to the weather and the weekday we went my partner and I were the only ones on the tour with the guides so they completely tailored the tour to us and our wants. While floating down the river we got to turn our head lamps off and look up at the glow worms on the cave ceilings and that was such an unreal part of the experience. Massive props to the team for ensuring we had such an incredible experience. Thanks guys :)