Aratiatia Rapids

About

Hydroelectricity has never been so impressive! The natural drop of the Waikato River has been harnessed via a tunnel to a power station for sustainable environmentally carbon neutral power, but several times a day the flow is allowed to continue on it’s natural course. The almost dry river bed becomes once more a raging torrent of pure natural forces, and from three vantage points you can experience it from the safety of the cliffs that make up the river gorge, or even from the dam itself. Look familiar? In the Peter Jackson film “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug” Aratiatia Rapids” the scene where the dwarves escape from an elven prison in barrels was shot here over a couple of days! Release times are at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, in winter, plus an additional one at 4pm in the summer.