We now provide important safety information. Please ensure you read this carefully prior to your trip. Our caving, abseiling and blackwater adventures are governed by strict procedures to ensure your safety. However they are not without risk. They are some of the most adventurous activities available in New Zealand. Caving is complicated by the fact that any incident or problem under the ground is more difficult to deal with than a similar issue above ground. Rescue underground is a very slow and difficult process. You cannot fly a rescue helicopter into a cave. Neither do mobile phones work underground. Our caves may look like they are something designed by Disney but they are not. They are wild, isolated and potentially dangerous places. Having said that, all our activities have passed independent audits and carry both Outdoorsmark and Qualmark endorsement.
CANCELLATION POLICY - 24 HOURS
If you have booked directly with us and cancel up to 24 hours prior to departure, you will receive a full refund ( you do not need a reason to cancel ).
After this point, there are no refunds.
A 100% fee will be charged in the following events:
Client failure to check-in at the scheduled time ( 15 minutes prior to departure ).
Cancellation within 24 hours of departure.
If you are having any sort of problem getting to us on time, please contact us on freephone 0800 WAITOMO (0800 924866) as soon as possible. This could save you cancellation fees and we will help with rescheduling where possible.
Ages
Any children under 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or mature adult known to the child who is aged 18 years and over. It is critical that any child is sufficiently mature and responsible enough to follow the instructions of the guide.
Minimum Ages for our adventure caves are:
Lost World Half Day - 10 Years
Lost World Through the Window - 10 Years
Lost World Epic - 15 Years
Haggas Honking Holes - 15 Years
St Benedicts Caverns - 12 Years
Talk to us before you book if you or your child weighs less than 40kg (90 Pounds)
* Remember almost ANYONE CAN DO TROLLCAVE - so come & have fun with us even if you cant go "real" caving.
Policy - Fitness Health & Safety
Our safety objective is zero serious harm to clients. We have been operating since Oct 1987 (over 35 years) and within our sector, our safety record is exemplary. In that time over 500,000 visitors have enjoyed our activities. We strive at all times to keep it like that.
We are not a faceless corporate. We are a boutique family-based business with the owner and founder still working in the company. We embrace both the moral and legal requirement to actively manage our risks with care. Since our adventures include some of the most physical activities available in New Zealand, we therefore require that participants should have a moderate level of fitness – if you can bush-walk or ski for a day, you should be fine.
A weight limit of 110kgs applies for ALL adventure trips.
Clients should not suffer from serious health problems such as heart conditions or significant back/neck complaints.
Fitness Test
Clients must have basic physical fitness
If our staff, on the day of departure, have any doubt about a client’s physical fitness they may ask them to prove it by completing one or more fitness tests.
Test 1
A quick and simple test we may use is “to step up and down a 20 cm (8 inches) step not less than 45 times in 60 seconds”
Test 2
Be able to climb onto a 900mm high flat bench with no hand holds and unassisted.
Test 3
Be able to go bush walking or skiing for a day – please do not book an adventure activity with us if you cannot do this. We can’t test this at check-in but list this requirement so that clients have an idea of how fit they should be.
Test 4
No drugs, alcohol, smoking or vaping are permitted.
Clients may be required to submit to breath-testing for alcohol or other drugs.
What happens if a person can’t pass the above tests?
The operator may at their sole discretion cancel a departure or remove an unsuitable client from a trip for any safety related reason.
It may result in their removal from the trip and their forfeiture of ticket price.
We therefore strongly recommend that all clients complete these tests prior to booking and again immediately prior to traveling
Medical Declaration
All medical issues must be declared to both our booking staff and activity guides prior to the commencement of your adventure. In most cases, minor medical issues will not preclude participation. Where a client is not suitable for a particular activity we will do our best to indicate a more appropriate alternative.
Pregnancy
Ours are the most extreme caving activities commercially available in New Zealand
They are real adventures in remote places. i.e. this is not a theme park.
We are heavily controlled by the state and must adhere to a multitude of rules and regulations around safety. For all practical purposes in NZ, if anything goes wrong during an activity, it is always deemed to be the operator’s fault…regardless of who or what actually caused the problem.
The result is that we strongly recommend against caving while pregnant.
While this policy may seem strange or even rude to people from other countries it’s not possible to contract out of your protections under NZ law ie you can sign whatever disclaimer you like but the risk is always on the operator.
Specifically, we recommend against abseiling (rappelling) during the 1st and 3rd trimester due to the need to wear a tight-fitting harness across your waist during the abseil.
Additionally, any trip, slip or fall underground has additional risks for a pregnant mothers because of the significantly delayed access to full hospital medical care.
We must accept that our policy is an invasion of a person’s rights. We ask mothers to accept that we have no choice in the matter. The best we can do is make the following exceptions:
Any pregnant clients in their 2nd trimester ( not 1st or 3rd ) wishing to participate in one of our adventure options must provide a medical certificate from their General Medical Practitioner confirming that they are fit for abseiling (rappelling) climbing and caving. This must be provided in writing before we can confirm the booking. This policy is required for us to comply with the NZ Adventure Safety Regulations.
Unless you are in your 2nd trimester and have a medical certificate please do not try to check in – you will be rejected and there will be no refund.
Accident Insurance
Our company does not offer any insurance to clients. In New Zealand, under our "ACC" laws, overseas nationals may be eligible for limited medical support in the event of an accident. Nevertheless we highly recommend that clients carry their own travel insurance including medical insurance before engaging in any of our activities.
Eye Glasses & Contact Lenses
We recommend that our clients do not wear eye-glasses during our action activities – unless your impaired vision will compromise your safety (glasses may be scratched, broken or become lost). It is however possible to wear them, provided appropriate care is taken. It is also possible to wear contact lenses. These can sometimes become lost – especially when under a waterfall. We therefore recommend the use of disposable contact lenses.
If you choose to wear your glasses, you must ensure they are secured to you at all times. You are required to accept full responsibility for them. We strongly recommend that customers carry their own insurance for losses of this kind.
Waitomo Adventures Ltd and staff may not be held liable for any damage to or loss of eye glasses or contacts.
Flooding
The Lost World Epic is sometimes closed by flooding. Other activities are almost never closed. In the event that your chosen option is flooded we will do our best to either offer you an acceptable alternative or support a refund of the ticket. Sales made direct with us will be refunded in full or if you have purchased a voucher from a travel agent we will recommend a refund from that agent.
We are fortunate that we manage a number of different cave systems which allows us to usually (but not always) offer a good alternative that is not flooded.
Equipment
We will supply all of your equipment; including helmets, lights, any vertical gear - as required, and overalls/wetsuits (as appropriate) and PVC boots. All our safety equipment is amongst the best available, often especially manufactured for the purpose.
Guides
Our guides are trained to the highest industry standards for this type of work in New Zealand. Trainee Guides are always under immediate and close supervision by a qualified instructor.