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| White Water Rafting Apr 08
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1st April 2008
One of my new year’s resolutions was to keep fit and get out there and do more outdoors activities. I have been sticking the plan pretty well. I aim to walk around the block 3 times a week and also do long hikes on the weekends. My goal is to be able to hike around the Nepal and India in the future. I need to keep my fitness up so that I can carry all my gear during camping trips.
Lately, I have hiked every week that I have been in Georgia and if I am in another place I would be spending the whole day on foot exploring the new city. I am so hardcore that I even bought hiking pants, boots, socks, back pack, jackets, tops and water shoes. The right gear makes a big difference to the comfort level of the trip. All I need now is a tent and a trekking back pack and a few other small accessories and I am set to go. All the gear will come into use when I decide to do trips in South America and Nepal. I can’t wait!
So when the outdoors group organized white water rafting, who am I to say no?
On the day that we went it was cloudy and as it is only the beginning of spring, it was pretty cold. It was not the best weather for water activities but a little cold never really hurt anyone.
There is one secret that I don’t like admitting to – I can’t really swim. So being in gushing water with lots of rocks was nerve wrecking. Falling into the high speed stream would be one of those nightmares that you can’t wake up from. I didn’t do it when we were traveling through Europe in Switzerland and it has been one of my biggest regrets. There are safety precautions, right…? Mental note – must learn how to swim.
We had to wait for the other groups to finish off so we can all start the tour together. We went around the camp site finding things to do. All the utilities were put to full use as you can see from the photos. Our maturity was taking over our better judgment. The swings and horse shoe throwing was too tempting to walk away from. There were a lot of laughter and childlike behavior. We pretty made a bunch of teenagers in the rafting group look tame.
 
After 20 minutes of thorough safety instructions we put on our safety gear and being fairly petite you could hardly see me under all the gear. We decided to take a ‘before’ photo to compare with what we would look like afterwards.
Our group was and a teenagers’ church group (Americans are very religious if you don’t already know) were on the same tour. We all hopped on the yellow school bus and launched our rafts in the area provided. I felt like a child again, all bundled up in oversized gear. With fear in our eyes we drove towards the launch pad, the water looked…just plain scary.
The rafting ride was for only 5 miles (~ 8 km) long and river was a class 3-4 (there is a 5 levels and 1 being the tamest and 5 being really wild). So it was great for beginners to have fun and be exposed to some danger (not too much danger of course). Take a look at some of the pictures of us riding wild sections of the water and loving it. You can’t exactly see my face because half of it is hidden by the big helmet.
During the rapid water sections, the ride was exhilarating and the rests in the calm water were helpful because intense rowing can only last so long.
The photos below were taken towards the end of the river where it was most exciting.
As much fun as it was I was tired and my body ached from all the rowing towards the end of the river. We sat on the school bus that drove us back to the camping grounds. Even though my clothes were soaking wet and the weather was so cold I had a blast! This would be something I want to do again.
After the tour was finished we went back to the camp base and showered. Everyone got back at the same time so we had to wait for the showers in soaking wet clothes. I couldn’t wait to hop in a long hot shower, but as I was the last one, the hot water was gone and I was left with 10% hot and 90% cold water. It was freezing but I was appreciative of being able to clean up and to be able to put dry clothes on again.
After the event we drove back to Georgia and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, for the first time I actually enjoyed Mexican food. I guess the meal was extra good because of the intense work out during the day and the cold made the hot food delicious.
I had an amazing time and recommend white water rafting for anyone looking for a bit of excitement and fun. There are a few more exciting trips that I have planned for the next couple of months, so stay tuned.
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