Packraft Wanaka
Description
This is an adventure like no other, paddling one of New Zealand’s most spectacular mountain rivers in our fun, inflatable packrafts. Start your action packed day with a scenic shuttle drive beneath the towering mountains, glaciers and waterfalls of the Matukituki Valley. After refreshments its gear-on, safety brief and paddle tuition before heading down-river on our stable and strong packrafts. Ride the wave trains, paddle into calm eddies and float with the river flow. Enjoy a picnic lunch on the river bank and play in turquoise swimming holes as you continue paddling down river. By the time the day is done your guide will have you paddling like a pro. You'll be accompanied by one of our friendly 'shuttle support' dogs on the drive, please let us know if this might be an issue for you and we can arrange otherwise.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pickup/dropoff, run through trip details and risk disclosure
Take the shuttle deep into the towering mountains with a stop on the way for a short walk to Wishbone Falls. After a short break it's straight into the wetsuit to packraft down the river with views of glaciers, ancient beech forest and the unique wildlife of the braided riverbed.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- All children (4-14yrs) must be accompanied by an adult over 18
- Clients Must be able to swim
- Please supply weight, height, shoe size, dietary requirements and level of water confidence (high/med/low)
- Clients must read our Terms, Conditions & Risk Disclosure prior to booking (Please go to our website www.wanakariverjourneys.co.nz and click on the link at the bottom of the home page)
- Please talk to us if you are over 130kg to ensure we have the right size gear for you
Reviews(57)
This was a fantastic day, had the best weather and great people 2x couples from the US ,1 from Japan and a family of 5 from the central coast, Sue done an amazing job driving the bus and very friendly as was Brett, our head guid down the river, thanks to all who made it a great day.
What a great day out — thank you, Garry! It sounds like Sue and Brett really brought the energy, and having such a mix of people on the river together makes it all the more special. Hope you all got a chance to explore more of Wānaka!
Absolutely incredible! Amazing exploration though the stunning wild glacial valley on the river rafting tour. Very accessible rafting for beginners, informative guide and great photos taken. Best experience to be had in Wanaka!
Absolutely incredible — your words! Thank you so much. The Matukituki Valley really is something else, and we love that packrafting makes it accessible for all levels. So glad the photos came out well too — something to remember the valley by!
This is a must do while your in Wanaka if you want breathtaking views and adventure! Highly recommend to everyone as it's beginner friendly
Thank you — we love hearing that! The valley really does deliver on all fronts: breathtaking scenery, a real sense of adventure, and the fact that it's beginner-friendly makes it even better. Hope to see you back on the river in Wānaka!
This pack rafting experience on the Matukituki river is amazing. Our driver Sue was super friendly and we stopped at the beautiful Wishbone waterfall on the way up the valley. Guides Maya and Kaylee made sure we were safe and that we all had a fun time on the river. The scenery is absolutely stunning. Tasty, gourmet sandwiches awaited us after our paddling. If you get the chance, do this trip!
Thank you! Sue, Maya, and Kaylee are a brilliant team — and the Wishbone waterfall stop is always a favourite. So glad you got time on the river and enjoyed the sandwiches too! The Matukituki is a very special place and we love sharing it. Hope to see you back!
Wow! Just Wow! An 11 on a scale of 10! A perfect (mild) adventure thanks to perfect Wanaka weather, the professional organization, and our friendly and considerate guide, Pete, and driver, Kaylee. This is an extremely well-organized day from the timely pick up, the scenic drive to the Matukituki River at Raspberry Flat with about 25k on gravel roads, the leisurely float down the river with enough minor rapids to make it interesting, and the smooth return to civilization. The price is more than reasonable for the quality of the experience. The water level was low, but that didn’t affect the stunning scenery. Our group had the river to ourselves. The paddling and safety equipment was all top notch. The 2-person inflatable kayak was easy to handle and survived a couple of, oops, scrapes along the bottom. Pete’s instructions were clear and delivered with a Kiwi sense of humor and a smile. It was clear that he loves his job and SAFELY sharing the river with visitors. If (when?) we return to NZ again, we would love to book another ride down the Matukituki River.
An 11 out of 10 — we'll take that! Pete and Kaylee will absolutely love reading this. You've captured everything we hope every guest gets — the stunning drive to Raspberry Flat, the river to yourselves, Pete's clear instructions with a Kiwi smile, and the magic of floating through that valley. We'd love to have you back on the Matukituki if you make it to NZ again!
Great views and great guide. The river was low, but that was to be expected during the drought. Still made it even with low levels. Nice peaceful ride. Thank you!!
Thank you — we're so glad the views and the guide made it worthwhile even with the low water! Drought conditions can be unpredictable, but the Matukituki Valley has a way of delivering on scenery no matter what the river is doing. A peaceful ride through that landscape is pretty special in itself. Hope to see you back on the water again!
This was a really well planned trip, interesting commentary from the tour guides and got to see some back country that would be difficult to see otherwise. We had sue as our driver and Kayleigh as our river guide, both were excellent!
Getting to see backcountry that most people never reach is exactly what Packraft Wanaka is all about — and we're so glad Sue and Kayleigh made it special. They're a great team on the water and on land. Thanks so much for the recommendation, Lloyd — really means a lot to us!
We had a fantastic packraft trip. The entire team was fun and very professional, from Sue driving the shuttle bus, to Kaylee and Brent guiding us down the river. The scenery was spectacular. Definitely worth every $ spent on the trip.
What a team! Sue, Kaylee and Brent will love reading this — they each bring something special to the day and it's great to hear that came through from shuttle to river. The scenery on that stretch is just incredible and we're so glad it was worth every dollar. Thank you for the wonderful review!
Superb day in a valley with incredible landscapes. And for the record the sandwiches were very good. I recommend
Merci beaucoup — quelle belle description de notre vallée! On est ravis que la journée ait été à la hauteur, et très contents que les sandwichs aient fait partie des points forts! On vous recommande à notre tour — merci et à bientôt peut-être!
Kaliegh and Johnny did an excellent job. I was impressed with Johnny's driving, really cautious yet got us there timely. Because of road conditions we took a jet boat up the river. What a fun surprise that was. Kaliegh guided us on a hike for about 30-minutes with our gear. Be prepared for a bit of carrying through the woods. But, you'll get to see backcountry that you'd never have imagined otherwise. Lunch was amazing, a lot more food and yummy than I imagined. Kaliegh provided great information, all meant to help us have more fun out of the experience. She guided us through rapids and helped us find the best path for safety and a fun experience. But the biggest factor, you'll see NZ back country inaccessible in any other way. You won't see a car for hours. Nothing to hear but nature. Terrific fun time. Professional team. Highly recommend.
Kaliegh and Johnny will love reading this — what a wonderful review! We're glad the jet boat surprise was a fun twist, and that Kaliegh's guiding through the rapids and into the backcountry hit the mark. That's exactly the experience we want people to have — truly inaccessible New Zealand, with nothing but nature and great company. So glad the lunch exceeded expectations too! Thank you for the generous words and the high recommendation.
