Welcome to Tongariro River Rafting – we’re a fun, friendly, family-owned company offering the best white water rafting in the Taupō region, from our awesome home base in Tūrangi. TRR is owned and operated by local outdoor-adventure legend Garth Oakden.
TRR founder Garth knows exactly what it’s like to be seduced by the rugged beauty and laid-back outdoor lifestyle of the Taupō region – he arrived here 30 years ago for a 6-month rafting stint, met his wife Leigh, and never left!
Garth and Leigh built Tongariro River Rafting from the ground up 28 years ago. Since then, over 200,000 paddlers have rafted, tumbled, bounced and laughed their way downriver with Garth and the TRR crew at the helm.
With the rafting business flourishing, Garth couldn’t resist adding two of his other great passions to the offering: Mountain Biking and Fishing trips.
Mountain Biking is an awesome way to explore the Southern Taupō region – trails to suit everyone from beginner to expert, including world-class tracks like the 42 Traverse and the Great Lake Trail.
The Tongariro River is home to huge wild New Zealand brown and rainbow trout in their thousands. The fly fishing opportunities are legendary – even the Queen Mother came to cast a fly here!
We’re a friendly, happy bunch. Not only do our river guides have a passion for the outdoors, we make sure they have a passion for people too. There’s nothing more rewarding than encouraging first-time rafters to have a go.
Based in Tūrangi (45 minutes from Taupō township), we’re surrounded by breathtaking mountain ranges, sweeping forests, and some of the most pristine fast-flowing waterways you could possibly imagine.
As proud conservationists, we’re passionate about preserving the Whiō (Blue Duck) – one of New Zealand’s most endangered birds, found only in clean, fast-flowing rivers like the Tongariro. Garth founded the Blue Duck Project to protect them from predators and pollution.
