Heli Rafting Adventure
Eco Rafting’s Full Day Heli Rafting Adventure is the Premier rafting trip in New Zealand and ranked one of the top 10 in the world.
The only access is via hike in or helicopter. We meet mid morning and get geared up in wetsuits, thermal undeclothes, diving booties, lifejackets, helmets and drytops. We then take a helicopter ride up into the mountains to the rafting put in.
Landing at the top of the first of 3 canyons we need to negotiate. You get a comprehensive safety briefing while the guides pump the rafts up.
After you are briefed we then train you to work as a team on the easier rapids that lead into the first canyon.
The start of the canyon is our first portage around a dangerous undercut cliff. We then head into the first canyon where the towering schist gorges overhang the river and have to be seen to be believed. They really are a natural wonder.
After an hour on the river we stop to explore a side canyon where a crystal clear creek pounds out of a deep crevice and over a waterfall. You have the option of leaping off a small cliff and swimming behind the waterfall. We then climb onto a rock ledge for a team photo. After a photo we jump into the waterfall and get flushed out of the side canyon into a deep pool that joins the main river. This is the trip highlight for many clients.
With two more gorges to negotaiate we have a bite to eat to recharge the energy levels before paddling into the next gorge where we have to portage the raft around an unrunnable rapid. We then complete an abseil down a huge rock and back into the raft.
We then peel out into the current and negotiate a technical section of grade 4 whitewater before pulling into shore above the last grade 5 rapid for the day. There is the option to walk around this bigger rapid for the less confident and meet the rest of the crew at the bottom. After this we have another hour of big volume grade 3 whitewater before getting back to the vehicles and high fives all round, home James!
Half Day Helicopter Adventure.
For the Half Day we put in below the last gorge and raft for 2 hours back to the vehicles through big volume grade 3 whitewater. We stop on the way to light a fire and boil the billy for a cup of hot chocolate or tea. Nothing beats a cup of billy tea with its unique smoky flavour sweetened with native Manuka honey – the most powerful natural antibiotic known to man.
The Half Day adventure is a great intermediate trip and a good option for people that want to head into Franz Josef for the afternoon and sample some of the great food available in the restaurants and bars that are clustered in the town centre.
Half day Helicopter Rafting Adventure
- Helicopter flight to put-inHalf day rafting on grade 3 river
Full Day Helicopter Rafting Adventure
- Helicopter trip to put-inFull day on grade 3-5 river
Scenic Helicopter Flight & Full Day Rafting
- Scenic helicopter glacier flightFull Day rafting on grade 3-5 river