About waitomoblackwaterrafting.com
waitomoblackwaterrafting.com is an independent guide to black water rafting in Waitomo, New Zealand: tubing, abseiling and glowworm floating in the caves under the King Country. This page explains who runs it, how it is financed and where prices and age limits come from.
Who is behind this site
waitomoblackwaterrafting.com is run by Patrick Kühne, an independent travel publisher based in Markkleeberg near Leipzig, Germany. He builds and maintains a small portfolio of guides to attraction tickets and day tours. Every page here, from the check-in rule to the cold-water notes, is researched and updated by him, and he also answers the e-mails.
What this site does
In Waitomo, black water rafting is run by The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. and by The Waitomo Experience. The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co., New Zealand's first black water rafting company, founded in 1987, runs the Black Labyrinth, three hours of tubing on an underground river, and the Black Abyss, five hours that add a 35-metre abseil, a zipline and waterfall climbing, both in Ruakuri Cave. The Waitomo Experience runs small-group tours through the Okohua Glowworm Cave on a family farm outside the village, with caving, swimming and tubing. The tour names alone do not tell you which one you should book. That depends on age limits, fitness, group size and how much adrenaline you actually want. We lay out what separates them and show live prices, so the choice can be made in one place. The booking itself happens on GetYourGuide or Viator, not on this site.
How we earn money
When you book through one of our links, GetYourGuide or Viator pays us a commission. Your price stays exactly the same: the commission comes out of the platform's margin, not your pocket. Our tables list the tours by review count, not by what pays us more, and the facts on each tour come from its own listing.
Where our data comes from
Prices, ratings and review counts are pulled from the live APIs of GetYourGuide and Viator and refreshed automatically several times a day, so the number on the page is the number at checkout. Tour details, age and weight limits and check-in rules come from the operator's own listings and are re-checked regularly. Found something out of date? Write to us and we will correct it.
What we are not
We do not run any cave tours and we are not affiliated with The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co., The Waitomo Experience, Discover Waitomo or any other Waitomo operator. They run the experiences; we describe them. Anything binding, such as cancellations, start times or the meeting point, is settled by the operator's own channels and your ticket.
Contact
Questions and corrections, say a changed age limit or check-in rule, are answered by a person, usually within a day or two. Our e-mail address, postal address and VAT ID are listed in the legal notice.