Discover the ancient Māori Rock Carvings on Lake Taupō with the trustworthy team at Chris Jolly Outdoors!
Tick off one of the top things to do in Taupō as you visit some of New Zealand's most extraordinary artworks, the historic Ngātoroirangi Māori Rock Carvings!
Attracting visitors from all around the world, the Māori Rock Carvings are truly unique and only accessible by water, towering 14-metres above Lake Taupō.
You'll travel aboard the Cruise Cat, a stylish vessel that has been built for comfort offering warm booths and spacious viewing platforms that get you right up next to the scenery.
Enjoy live commentary and a hot beverage and muffin on board, and keep the kids entertained with colouring, a treasure hunt, or even driving the boat if the skipper allows. The afternoon cruise also includes a trout fishing demonstration where you'll also learn about various fishing options on Lake Taupō.
The friendly team at Chris Jolly Outdoors has over 40 years of experience and place high importance on your safety and wellbeing, so you can expect exceptional service, high attention to hygiene, and an all-round awesome time out on the water!
All prices are shown in NZD ($)
Lovely coments - thank you for joining us!
What a wonderful experience from the moment you step on board. Thank you to these team for your amazing commentary and the chats.
Lovely feedback - thank you!!
Unfortunately we didn’t have a good day weather wise but the skipper was very informative and the staff were very friendly Fresh muffins out of the oven were lovely We got our tickets pretty cheap through this website so that was a bonus
Thank you for your feedback - glad you enjoyed the cruise - happy travels in NZ
When we finished looking at the rock carvings the captain said they were going to fish for trout, because usually there’s a lot more people on the tour and it takes more time to have everyone look at the carvings. They could have taken us further along the lake instead. They spent 30 mins catching trout to waste time before going back to town, and released it afterwards. The carvings were from the 1970s, most people expected them to be centuries old. The tour gave out blueberry muffins which were delicious, tour was informative.
I am sorry you were disappointed with aspects of this cruise - however the 1.00pm departure is advertised to include a trout fishing demonstration. Most people are interested to hear and see how we fish for trout, we don't include it to waste time. The trout we release are either under the legal size limit or not in a good condition to eat. While the carvings are not centuries old, the artistry, skill and what they represent is appreciated by most guests. With the proper care and respect they will still be here for many years. We appreciate your comments and happy that you enjoyed the muffins and information delivered by the skipper.
From start to finish the cruise was fantastic. Very friendly, knowledgeable staff…..stopped for a fish on the way back & I got to reel a rainbow trout in, but alas it got to live another day as he come up a bit short. Totally recommend doing this cruise if you’re after a bit of leisure time…..they threw in a batch freshly cooked blueberry muffins…..great experience
Thank you for your lovely review, Donna. We are happy you enjoyed the tour!
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ginan from New Zealand wrote on 26 September 2025
Great family outing in Taupo
We went on the 10.30am sailing and found it a gorgeous morning on the water with the kids whilst on our family holiday. It was interesting to learn a bit more about Lake Taupo and the see the Maori carvings. Also nice to have a cup of coffee/ hot chocolate and yummy blueberry muffins on the cruise!