Frequently Asked Questions
We design our day trips to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. We're not crashing through whitewater or hiking up mountains. They are scenic and gentle trips on mostly flat water and short hikes.
If, however, you are looking for more of an adventurous trip, we can teach you how to paddle whitewater on our courses.
Our multiday trips are entirely self sufficient. This means we carry everything we'll need for the time we are in the wild. Backpacks can be heavy although non of our trips have strict time pressures on them so we can take our time.
As with every adventure, there are elements of challenge, uncertainty and some inherent risks.... but then it wouldn't be an adventure without these elements!
Appropriate clothes for the day (enough layers/waterproofs if the weather looks wet)
Swimwear
Water bottle
Towel
Hat
Camera
Dry bags & dry backpacks
Helmets
Boats and paddles
Hearty lunch
We meet centrally in Queenstown, behind the bakery on Duke St. However we can very easily pick you up at your accomodation if it's easier for you.
Just let us know when you book.
The quick answer is 14 years old. However we are open to making exceptions for individuals or groups. Drop us an email and we'll talk about it. [email protected]
Whilst we don't have a strict age limit, we are constricted by the size of our equipment. The youngest client we've taken is 10 years old, our oldest has been 77 so far.
Our packrafts are also single person boats, it is not possible to have two people in our single packrafts. Everyone joining us on trip must be able to physically be in control of their own boat.
Additionally all of our guest must be capable of carrying their own backpack which weighs around 7kg full loaded.
Not at all. we'll teach you everything you'll need to know to have an amazing time out on the river with us.
Yes it can do. However we'd encourage you to bring as much of your own gear as you can in order to get used to what you'll be using on your personal missions.
If you haven't got any of your own kit and you're in the "try before you buy" phase, that's all good. We can supply everything you'll need.
Very rarely and exclusively to our courses graduates.
We'll send a full and comprehensive packing list at time of booking.
To give you an idea though, we supply as much as we can. We only ask that guest supply their own 60-80ltr backpack and sleeping bag. We can suggest places to hire these if that's going to make things easier for you.
We're constantly revisiting and revising the food on our trips and like to allow our guides the freedom to surprise guests but typically it might look something like this:
Breakfast:
Porridge with cocoa nibs and goji berries.
Lunch:
Fresh ciabatta rolls, some fruit and something sweet (a bar, a cookie or similar).
Dinner:
In the interest of keeping weight to a minimum and true to authentic back country adventures, we normally take dehydrated or freeze dried meals. These can be butter chicken, Morrocan lamb, Thai green curry, Mediterranean lamb with black olives, wild mushroom risotto, Beef bourguignon, southern style beans.
If you have particular preferences or dietary requirements, please let us know before hand.
Rental Questions
- Rental Bookings are for course graduate only or for individuals who can provide some evidence of some level of training or education.
- Book through the website or drop us a line if you have specific requirements. Our booking system has online will show all availability
- We’ll send you a confirmation email with all the details of your booking.
- Collect your raft from our base in Queenstown. All gear will be ready for you 8pm the night before your booking or alternatively you can pick it up the morning of your first day. If you’ve arranged postage then you’ll collect your gear from your friendly postman.
- Go have an amazing time!
- Clean and (if possible) dry the gear before dropping it back to us (or posting it)
- Drop us a 5 star review, because you’re awesome.
- Enquire about your next mission.
We charge for the days the boats are out of circulation and unavailable for other customers so that would be a 4 day booking.
Nope. You’ll let us know the day you need it and we’ll ensure that it arrives on time. You’ll only be charged from the day you receive your gear. Similarly, we won’t charge you for the days the boats are in transit back to us via post. You rental period will end the day your drop it off at the post office.
Defo. We are not affiliated exclusively with any particular brand so we can give you free and impartial advice on what boats would suit your needs. We can also process the order for your and import your packraft to make it easier for you.
We do our best to repair the boat and just charge for the price of repairs, however, if the packraft is beyond repair or it’s gets stolen, or lost, or destroyed in the campfire then sorry fella you’ll have to pay for a replacement.
That’s all good. We get that plans change and you’ll need a little flexibility. We’ll make an estimate of how long you’ll need the packrafts for and, provided you tell us before hand, we can bill for any additional days once you’re back home.
Too right there is! We run courses for first time packrafters which is a great way of meeting new keen paddlers to get amongst it with. We also organise social trips through the Packrafting Association of New Zealand (PRANZ), which you should totally become a member of, we give discounts to PRANZ members.
The Packrafting Trips NZ website is full of the best packrafting trips in New Zealand, which effectively makes it a list of some of the best packrafting trips in the world! We also have a location profile that talks about some of our favourites for you to check out.
Absolutely. Yes you do. These rentals are not designed for complete beginners. If you've never been paddling on a river before, perhaps one of our courses is a better place to start or a guided trip.
Yes you do. We run guided trips and courses out in the backcountry, so unless we know you're coming, nobody will be at our offices to help you.
If you would like any more info about our operation or our Safety Management Plans, please get intouch and we can forward the information to you.
