Wild trout around Taupō and the Kaimanawa
Sight fishing for wild rainbows and browns in the Kaimanawa backcountry and on Taupō's rivers, with the Taupō and Rotorua stream mouths on your own.
- Best months
- Dec–Mar
- Method
- Fly
- Fish
- Rainbow trout, Brown trout
- Group
- Just you, or you and one other, with your guide
Prices in AUD
- 3 days, 1 with a guidefrom $1,100
- 5 days, 2 with a guidefrom $2,000
No deposit. Nothing to pay until a guide confirms your dates.
Two ways to do it
3 days 1 with a guide
from $1,1005 days 2 with a guide
from $2,000The order of the days is set around the weather and the guide.
When to go
December to March. The backcountry rivers are open right through summer, and big browns move up the Taupō rivers from December.
With a guide
A backcountry river on foot
A full day walking wilderness water in the backcountry south-east of Taupō.
A Taupō river on foot
A day walking and wading with a guide who knows which pools are holding fish that week.
Waters the guides fish here
- The Kaimanawa and Mohaka headwaters
- The Tongariro
The shorter trip has one of these days, chosen with you. Which water you fish depends on the season, the flows and the weather that week, so your guide picks it close to the day.
On your own
Your days on your own are on water with fixed rules. In summer the Rotorua stream mouths fish most reliably, and the Taupō rivers hold fewer fish than in the cooler months. Your plan names the access points, the flies and the best light.
- The lower Tongariro, Tauranga-Taupō, Waitahanui and Hinemaiaia, fly only
- Most Lake Taupō stream mouths, fly only within 200 m of the marker posts
- The Lake Rotorua shore at the Hamurana, Awahou, Waiteti and Ngongotaha stream mouths. Some of the streams behind them are closed to fishing.
Your plan picks from these for your dates and the conditions that week, and comes with the trip. See a sample plan, from our trip to Tasmania's Central Highlands.
Getting there and where to stay
- Fly into
- Taupō or Rotorua, both with flights from Auckland
- Drive
- Taupō is about an hour from Rotorua and 3.5 hours from Auckland
- Base
- Turangi, Taupō or Rotorua. Your shortlist says which suits your days.
We send you a shortlist of places to stay near the water. You book the one you want, so the room, the price and the cancellation terms stay in your hands.
Ask about the best water
A helicopter drop onto wilderness water in the Kaimanawa or Mohaka headwaters, or private water where a guide has access.
You can ask for it on the form’s next step. It costs extra, and it depends on the guide, the landowner and the weather, so we can’t promise it.
Before you go
- You need a Taupō licence for the Taupō district (DOC), and a Fish & Game non-resident licence for everywhere else, including Rotorua. The upper Rangitikei, in the Kaimanawa, also needs a designated-waters licence. Your plan says which water needs which.
- Backcountry rivers rise fast after rain, and much of the Kaimanawa has no phone coverage. Carry a personal locator beacon.
- Both the Taupō fishery (DOC) and the Rotorua lakes (Fish & Game) have a night-time fishing curfew. Your plan gives the hours.
- Check, clean and dry your gear between waterways, and leave felt-soled boots at home: they're banned everywhere in New Zealand. Didymo, an invasive river alga, hasn't reached the North Island, and gear from the South Island or overseas is the main risk.
How it works
- Tell us your dates. It’s free, with no deposit.
- If you like, tell us how much you’ve fished and what you’re after: one big fish, plenty of them, or a day of learning.
- We ask the local guides on this water which of them are free on your dates, and choose the one who suits what you told us.
- We send you their name, what their day includes (hours, gear, lunch, where you meet), a shortlist of places to stay and one price for the trip. With it comes our view on your dates: where they sit in the season, and whether another week would fish better. If the price or the dates don’t suit you, say no; nothing is charged.
- To book it, you pay that price once. Then you get your day-by-day plan, and book your bed and car. Ask us anything about the plan before you go. In the week before, we check the water and the forecast, and send you any changes.
If your guide can’t make it, we find another or refund that day. Paying, cancelling, the weather and bringing someone are covered below.
Questions
When do I pay?
It costs nothing to send a request. When a guide confirms your dates, we send you one price for the trip. Pay it once, in full, and the trip is booked. Say no and nothing is charged.
Can the price change after I’ve paid?
No. Once you’ve paid, the price is fixed, even if the guide’s rate goes up before you go. It’s in Australian dollars, and if the New Zealand dollar moves, that’s ours to carry.
What happens before I go?
Once you’ve paid, your plan arrives. Until your first day you can ask us anything about it. In the week before, we check the water levels, the forecast and any closures or fire bans, and send you changes to the plan if the water needs them.
What if I need to cancel?
Cancel 30 days or more before your first day and we refund it in full. From 14 to 29 days before, we refund half. Closer than 14 days we can’t refund it, because the guide has kept those days for you. If the guide can move your dates instead, we move them at no charge.
What if the weather turns?
Your guide decides whether the water is safe and worth fishing. If they call a guided day off for flood, high wind, fire danger or a closure, we move it to another day of your trip, or refund that day’s share of the price if it can’t move. Rain on its own doesn’t call a day off. For your days on your own, your plan names backup water for high rivers or wind, where the area has some.
What if my guide can’t make it?
If your guide is ill, injured or has an emergency, we look for another local guide for the same day. If none is free, we refund that day’s share of the price.
What if no guide is free on my dates?
Then nothing is booked and nothing is charged. We tell you, and suggest dates when a guide is free, or another trip that suits.
Can someone come with me?
Yes, on request. Choose 2 or 3+ under Anglers when you send a request, and with three or more, say how many on the next step. The price for everyone comes with your confirmation, before anything is paid. Guides on foot take one or two anglers as a rule, so three or more usually means a second guide on the same water.
Do I need to have fished before?
No. Tell us on the next step how much you’ve fished and what you want to learn, and we’ll choose a guide who teaches. If this water is a hard place to start, we’ll say so and suggest one that suits you better.
Will I catch fish?
Nobody can promise that. What we can do, before you pay, is tell you how your dates sit in the season, what the fish are usually doing then, and whether a different week would give you a better chance.
What about flights and accommodation?
You book your flights, car and bed yourself, so their prices and cancellation terms are yours. If you cancel the trip, those bookings follow their own terms, so travel insurance that covers cancellation is worth having.
The full terms are in Booking a trip.
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