Do it for the adrenalin rush!

Whitewater Rafting

Lean forward as far as you can and plant your paddle ahead of you. Remember to keep each foot firmly jammed under the gaps between the inflatable dinghy’s wall and floor. And put your back into it!

Lean on the water with the paddle, and suddenly, you are running down the rapid, the water is moving faster than your paddle and then you hit it. The wall of water. It’s hard and cold. It slaps you in the face and drenches you within the second. Then you’re up and out again. Breathe quickly.

The rubber raft has lifted itself through the great white wave you’ve just demolished. The white river water floods from the craft and you quickly count to see who’s missing.

(The rescue Kayaks are waiting on the edge in case you fall in!).

You’ve never done this sort of thing before - but your vanity makes you wonder how you’ll look on the automatic photograph taken just before you hit the white water wall.

The water boils and bubbles before you. It crashes down, disappears and resurfaces in a torrent. The rebounded echo doubles the cacophony from the near vertical canyon walls.

But before long however, you’ll be pleading with your guide to take the hard and fast route. You’ll be aiming to bounce your craft off the rock - half hoping to tip a few friends from the raft!

The whole river will turn from peace to a huge mass of surging, splitting white water in a matter of moments. Only the echoing thunder of the crashing water to warn you of the excitement ahead.

Seasoned raft guides sometimes take delight in playing on the smaller rapids, using the eddy’s powerful line to catch a corner of the raft and create some fast spins. If a rafter falls in, they may take a few turns before the next boat picks them up!

Rafters literally bounce and crash through the rapids, encountering the biggest, splashiest white water. Typically, it’s an s-move for rafts as they begin from river on one side and swoop across the river by using a strong current to draw them towards river right, following the main tongue through. A detour into a corner for any craft often results in getting stuck there for a while!
Rafting is not just about the immediate adrenalin rush. There’s the excitement of the exploration, in close contact with the elements.

In deep canyons and gorges the high cliffs will shut out the direct sunlight until late in the morning. You starting point for your river exploration might be eerily dark.

Great rapids await you, heavy white water that requires every strength and every sinew of courage to keep you going ahead.

But between rapids you float on flat water and gaze at the wealth of botanical wonders that line the river corridors. From the advantage point of the water, trees dominate the steep ridges that create the Gorge. Beautiful trees with full canopies and supporting all kinds of exotic bird life from king fishers to eagles and other birds of prey.

Along the forested banks or jungle roam varieties of wildlife - from bears and monkeys to elephants and lions.

Possibly you’ll discover an insatiable curiosity for geology, born from days of travelling deeper and deeper into a river gorge or canyon resounding with colour and life. Or perhaps a dormant wish inside you will awaken, inspiring a a new direction for your life.

Gliding silently past the evolving landscape gives you a insight into ancient cave civilisations left behind or on-going traditional living on the greener river bank pastures. The river affords a timeless observation point - and leaves no tracks either.

Imagine the early sunrise and the deep red and orange sunsets playing on the river and the quiet times floating along watching the walls of the canyons. Look out of your city window and imagine the red canyons and limestone peaks, framed by the blue sky and splashed with the green of the new leaves on the trees. Then you are aboard a great river exploration.

Then face the rapids again. The quiet of the river is drowned by the deafening roar of the impending rapid, the call to arms from the oarsman hurries you into place for the next white water onslaught.
If proof were needed, then White Water rafting is it; that there’s a whole lot more to life than cities and transport, deadlines and hurried days. White Water rafting can be a blend of quiet moments and times of abundant laughter, seasoned with breathtaking scenery, great excitement, thrilling adventure, delicious food (sometimes) and great companions too.

Photo courtesy of All Outdoors.