RAFT FISH NZ LTD, MOHAKA RIVER
RAFT FISH NZ LTD, MOHAKA RIVER
The most convenient way that you can book a trip with us is reaching out to Deon today – please get in touch.
River Grade System
Fast moving water with riffles and small waves. Few obstructions, all obvious and easily missed with little training. Risk to swimmers is slight; self-rescue is easy.
Straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels which are evident without scouting. Occasional maneuvering may be required, but rocks and medium-sized waves are easily avoided by trained paddlers.
Rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe. Complex manoeuvres in fast current and good boat control in tight passages or around ledges are often required; large waves or strainers may be present but are easily avoided.
Intense, powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise boat handling in turbulent water. Depending on the character of the river, it may feature large, unavoidable waves and holes or constricted passages demanding fast manoeuvres under pressure.
Extremely long, obstructed, or very violent rapids which expose a paddler to added risk. Drops may contain large, unavoidable waves and holes or steep, congested chutes with complex, demanding routes. Rapids may continue for long distances between pools, demanding a high level of fitness.
Raft Fish NZ offer Napier and Taupo vehicle transfers, including airport transfers. Prices are dependent on numbers. Please get in touch for further information.
We have a fantastic selection of wetsuits, fleeces, splash jackets, and splash pants, along with wetsuit boots, helmets, and lifejackets in various sizes just for you! All you need to wear underneath is your swimwear or lightweight synthetics—please leave the cotton garments at home when you’re on the river! If you have your own wetsuit, feel free to bring it along, but remember to wear one of our lifejackets for safety.
As a rule we do not provide lunch for most of our day trips. The exception is our cruise ship special. more details below. We are happy to provide food ,Please just ask us. Most of our overnight expeditions are fully catered, lunches included.
Absolutely! A little bit of rain usually doesn’t bother us, and rafting can be a fantastic choice when other activities might be on hold due to weather. If the forecast looks really challenging, we’ll make sure to let you know and cancel if needed as soon as possible.
Each trip will have a minimum age requirement. This varies from 2 for our half-day grade 2 trip, up to 11 for our grade 3 trips. We do not allow unaccompanied minors.
We offer a variety of lifejackets and gear with size guidelines to keep everyone safe. For the best fit, we recommend a minimum weight of 10 Kg and a maximum of 200 Kg.
This information helps the Department of Conservation gather anonymous aggregate totals, so they can better understand how everyone enjoys the beautiful public conservation areas!
Yes we are. Providers of adventurous activities in NZ are required to be audited and registered by the Health and Safety at Work (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2016. Our Audit is provided by Adventuremark and we are registered with Worksafe, listed as Mohaka Rafting Limited.
It’s very unlikely! The weather that brings heavy rain to Napier doesn’t typically impact the upper Mohaka river catchment, which is where we need the rain to help flood the river. We keep a close eye on the automatic flow gauges in the Mohaka and nearby rivers, and if there’s any chance of the river getting too high, we’ll happily cancel a trip for safety.
No consumption of alcohol during you rafting trip. You are welcome to bring a drink or two to enjoy after the trip (in moderation please!). If you are coming on an overnight expedition with us, you can bring alcohol to consume with evening meals (again, in moderation!), but no glass containers please.
No – our rafts, vehicles and base building are all smoke and vape free; it is our workplace. There may be opportunities to light up if we stop for lunch if you wish; please pack out your butts. Please do not ask us to carry your tobacco products in our drybags – make your own arrangements.
We want you to have the best experience possible on our rafting adventure! To ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment, we kindly ask that you arrive sober and in good spirits. If you arrive under the influence, we’ll need to reschedule your booking and, unfortunately, we won’t be able to issue a refund. Thank you for understanding!
Yes, we will do our very best to accommodate you. Please get in touch in advance so that we can make whatever preparations are needed.
We’d love to take you on our special fishing trips. Just reach out to us if you’re interested! Click here
We embrace every season here at Raft Fish NZ, so please contact us anytime throughout the year.
We get the latest timings directly from the Napier port website and then confirm the final docking times with the cruise ships about 24 hours before arrival. This way, we know exactly when your adventure will begin! If your ship arrives earlier than expected, no worries! Just remember our advice: disembark as soon as you’re allowed, and we’ll be there to greet you.
The meeting point for of our cruise ship trips is thePort of Napier. If we do not have 6 people we must start at Napier city. Please ensure that you get off the ship as soon as you are allowed to so so. I will be waiting for you with my orange T shirt on. Please do not get on a shuttle bus into Napier city unless I say too. If you do, we may not be able to wait for you to get back to the port.
Certainly, we will ensure your timely return to your vessel prior to its departure.
Unfortunately, that might not be possible! Most cruise ships tend to dock for about 5-8 hours, and for a fantastic grade 3 trip, we’d need your ship to be in port for at least 10-11 hours. If you’re lucky enough to be on one of the rare cruise ships that could make this work, feel free to reach out, and we’ll explore what we can arrange! Just keep in mind that this would require some advance planning and would be an exclusive experience for a minimum of 8 guests.
Absolutely, we’ll make sure you get back to your ship on time!
It really depends on your schedule and how much time you have before you need to be back on your ship. We’re hopeful that your trip will go ahead as planned, and we’ll let you know if anything changes. In the rare case that we need to cancel the trip due to time constraints, we’ll provide a full refund. Our friendly advice is to disembark as soon as you can.
If your ship happens to be re-routed or can’t dock in Napier for any reason, no worries! We’ll take care of it by canceling the trip and providing a full refund.
We provide a light lunch for you, either before or after your rafting adventure! Our delicious spread is sourced from local favourites, featuring tasty club sandwiches, a variety of cakes, hot drinks, and more. Just let us know when you book if you have any dietary needs, and we’ll be sure to accommodate you!
Absolutely! Many of our adventures are flexible, so just reach out and we’ll do our best to make it happen for you!
We take a little break from running expeditions during the busy Christmas to New Year period. This is a super busy time for us, and our dedicated staff will be at work every day. Preparing and running an expedition during this time would be quite a challenge! Plus, there are so many people out there enjoying the beautiful outdoors, which can put a bit of strain on the campsites and amenities we use. By not running expeditions, we can help ensure a more enjoyable experience for everyone. We hope you understand!
We have all the awesome rafting gear you need for your river adventures, plus cosy camping supplies for those relaxing moments off the river! Don’t forget to pack some warm clothes for the evenings, a trusty rain jacket just in case, your favorite toiletries, and some bug spray if you like. If you want, we can send you a full packing list to help you get ready!
We’re so excited for your upcoming adventure! Just a quick heads up about what to bring along. Since most of our adventure expeditions include a thrilling helicopter ride, there are a few guidelines to follow.
We provide waterproof bags and barrels for your gear, so remember to pack light and keep it all tidy for our river journey together. Here are a few things we suggest leaving behind:
Of course! We’d be happy to help. Just let us know, and we’ll have a liner all set for you when you get here.
Absolutely, we’re excited to go camping together! Most of our tents comfortably fit 2, 3, or even 5 people, so you’ll have a buddy to share with from your group. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re not sharing a tent with anyone outside of your booking. Plus, we’ve got cozy foam and inflatable air mattresses to ensure you have a great night’s sleep!
Absolutely! All our over night expeditions come with delicious catering, including tasty lunches on the first and last days, unless we’ve made other arrangements together. Our camp menus are designed to be generous and satisfying, featuring a variety of dishes to please many different tastes. We’re happy to customize the menu a bit! We’ll check in with you a week or two before your trip to make any final tweaks.
If you do have a specific dietary requirements we’ll do our very best to meet your needs within the fun world of camp cooking! We can certainly accommodate vegetarian and gluten-free options, but full kosher meals might be a bit tricky for us. Just reach out ahead of time, and we’ll team up to make it work!
Yes, fishing on an expedition is a great way to spend a few hours at camp. It is your responsibility to have a licence, know your seasons, catch limits and so on. There are a few places where we have agreed with landowners not to fish as a condition of being allowed access. Please catch and release, unless you have made specific arrangements with us to be able to cook your catch. We can provide fly and spinning rods, waders, footwear and all other fishing gear you may require. We can show you how and where to catch the big one haha.
The most convenient way that you can book a trip with us is by contacting Deon. Please email or phone or use our online contact form. Click here
Absolutely! If you’d like, you can reserve a raft or even a few for your group. Just reach out, and we’ll help you set it up!
We’d love to offer you exclusive bookings! You’ll enjoy a private experience without any other clients in your vehicles or rafts. While this option is a bit pricier than a standard booking, we recommend reaching out to us well in advance if you’re interested. We can’t wait to help you create unforgettable memories!
Absolutely! We love providing personalised gift vouchers. You can choose one for a specific adventure (like a group of 4 on a grade 2 trip) or select a dollar amount, which can be used towards any of our amazing trips. Just a little note: these vouchers need to be paid for in full before we can send one your way. Reach out to us to arrange a special voucher for someone you care about!
We happily accept bookings for groups of all sizes! If your group isn’t large enough to fill a raft, don’t worry—we’ll help you find some friendly faces to join you on the water. For larger groups, we can split into multiple rafts, and remember, rafts can be just as much fun with a few empty seats too!
If your group is smaller than our minimum size, no need to worry! We often combine several smaller groups for trips, it’s no problem at all.
Most of our adventures run smoothly, but sometimes, a trip may not meet the minimum numbers needed to go ahead. This usually happens early and late in the season. If that happens, we’ll reach out to you and work together to find a great solution! This could involve changing your dates, merging with another group, or suggesting an alternative trip. And if we can’t find a perfect fit, we’ll, of course, provide a full refund. Your happiness is our priority!
Please let us know as soon as possible if you can no longer come out rafting with us. In all cases a minimum of 4 days notice of cancellation is required to avoid any cancellation fees being charged.
On-line Bookings
Off-line Bookings (Exclusive Trips)
We may use our discretion and modify our cancellation policies in your favour. If we do so on one or more occasions, we are under no obligation to do so on any further occasions.