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Glow Worm Kayaking Adventure

4.7
13
Navigate your way along the lake waters by the light of the stars & moon with your expert guide!

Navigate your way along the lake waters by the light of the stars & moon with your expert guide!

Highlights

  • 3-hour evening glowworm kayak tour
  • Numbers are limited to 7 for a small-group experience
  • Enjoy magical views of thousands of twinkling glow worms
  • This epic kayak adventure is suited to paddlers of all skill levels

Kayak your way across a beautiful lake as the sun sets and experience a truly magical evening as you are guided to an incredible secret cave, home to a constellation of glow worms.

The destination is just a 15-minute drive from Rotorua, you will drive past the Whakarewarewa forest before you descend to a beautiful lake for your glow worm kayaking adventure.

Upon arrival at the lake, your guide will get you all geared up for a relaxing evening paddling along the shoreline. Experience the beautiful native New Zealand bush and lake scenery, home to a special habitat of Dab chick species.

Paddle through secret caves in the capable hands of your expert kayaking guide.

Experience the magic of the glow worm caves as night descends. When you come out of the cave you will get to admire the starry night sky as you return to the beach.

Tours are limited to a maximum of 10 people per guide to ensure a truly authentic experience is maintained on every trip.

This is a truly magical experience that you do not want to miss!

Adult $120.00 (13 years and over)
Child $60.00 ( 4 - 12 years)

What's included

  • 3-hour guided kayak tour
  • All kayaking equipment and wetsuits provided
  • 4 x small Glow Worm Cave locations (weather and group ability dependent)
  • Star Gazing (if clear skies)

Duration

  • Allow approximately 2.5 Hours

Location

Restrictions

  • Minimum age: 6

Child Friendly

  • This experience welcomes families with children.

Notes

  • Please Note Important: Each participant under the age of 16 requires one adult per participant to supervise them. Suitable for anyone with low to moderate fitness and families with children over the age of 4. .

  • We provide a shuttle service from and to the Rotorua Information Centre at 1167 Fenton Street Rotorua or your Rotorua accommodation if it is located centrally in Rotorua. This can be selected as an "extra" when booking for an additional charge of $10 per person.

    If you have not booked a pick up - you need to select "NO PICK-UP - Meet at Lake" on the booking form.

    Child Age: Under 13 years.

Authenticated Reviews & PhotosAll of our reviews are from people who have booked and paid for this activity thru Bookme

Authenticated Reviews & PhotosAll of our reviews are from people who have booked and paid for this activity thru Bookme

4.7

13 reviews

Showing all 13 authenticated Bookme reviews

Anna McCrossan from New Zealand wrote on 24 April 2021

Great experience

Our family had a lovely time on the Glowworm Kayaking adventure. The scenery was beautiful, the trip well organised and our guide Jonathan was amazing. We will be back again. Thanks.

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Erica Jiang from New Zealand wrote on 24 April 2021

Love it

Love it, family friendly.

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andrem4 from New Zealand wrote on 22 April 2021

Great time

A great night out, highly recommend the experience especially with the kids.

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Trish Dixon from New Zealand wrote on 09 February 2022

Horrible and unprofessional

Called to reserve and woman answered phone with kid crying in background and a regular hello. I thought I misdialed. The van driver was confused as to how many passengers were booked and went back to our hotel and waited for an unknown group. No phone number for these participants. I would not have minded the wait if the van wasn't so filthy, no air conditioning and inoperable rear windows. The van was a total beater. Finally arrive at the dimly lit shed to pick up life jackets and kayaks. The guide from France gave us PFD, paddles and we boarded out kayaks. The water was very choppy with whitecaps. (My husband and I are both experienced outrigger canoe paddlers in Kona, HI and have rented kayaks on many occasions.) The instructor took the single passenger on her boat and began paddling towards the center of the lake but close to shore. It was very windy and she had us paddling parallel to the waves. My husband and I felt it would be better to paddle further out to a point then pivot towards the cave to avoid capsizing. The water was so rough we capsized.It was very difficult for me to get back up as I had a torn rotator cuff and my PFD was to large and going over my head. The guide was useless and did not come to assist us uprighting our kayak. She was panicking more than I was. She was more concerned that my husband retrieve the paddles floating away than him making sure I was OK. At that point I went ashore and and was not interested in continuing the trip. I told my husband to continue the trip. I thought he had, but the guide ask him to find the oar. So he missed the trip as he did not know where the cave entrance was and it was getting dark. When the guide returned she drove us back to our hotel. There were no apologies or admission that she should have 1. ensured everyone's PFD was properly fitted 2. explained the directions to the cave 3. assisted my husband and I when she was informed I was unable to use my right shoulder to right the kayak I should have at least received a call from the outfitter to apologize and offer some refund or a rain check. The tour should not have continued under the weather conditions of that night. If you want a well organized professional tour of the glow worm cave book with Waitomo Caves Adventures. BTW this incident traumatized me so much it has taken me over a year to be able to do this review.

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Akshay Bhandari from New Zealand wrote on 28 January 2021

Glow Worms

Loved every bit of it.

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From Glow Worm Kayaking Adventure

Thanks for reviewing us. great to hear

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This award identifies a business with a high level of professionalism, a keen awareness of the impact it has on the environment and a commitment to a customer centric approach.

This award is evidence of a sophisticated tourism business that consistently exceeds visitor expectations. Their proactive leadership and management ensure the business's focus on continuously improving their economic, social and environmental performance to create genuine, constantly evolving and sustainable tourism experiences.

This award recognises the best sustainable tourism businesses in New Zealand. It denotes exceptional customer experiences at the heart of everything the company does. This business is leading the way in making the New Zealand tourism industry a world class sustainable visitor destination.

When you see the Qualmark logo, your activity of choice is endorsed by New Zealand Tourism's official quality assurance organisation and backed by leaders in the industry. It's your trusted guide to iconic activities and experiences that are awarded for their exceptionally high level of quality, safety and sustainability.

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