Up early and take the short walk into town at about 740. Check in at the the rafting centre and get an S in a circle written on my hand in marker pen to show I have paid. after a very quick briefing we are on the bus for a ten minute drive to the start point where, after another briefinf we begin to dress. First the wetsuit, without arms, followed by socks and shoes, and for the moment to finish a wetshuit jacket. In addition we carry an overcoat, a lifejacket and a helmet for later, as before we hit the water there is a 45 minute joureny up and through the hills on a one way road, although it would be much better described as a track. Very bumpy and dusty, it wound its way towards the start along the track with nothing to stop you plummeting over the edge if something were to go awry. On a couple of occasions I am less than a foot away from clean air. Finally we drop down to a rocky area from which we will begin.
After a short talk on all the possibilities of things that could go wrong we were split into groups of six , with the same number of boats in total. I end up in the front right position with Jason, an experienced Canadian rafter, to my left, two Aussie girls behind us and a Japanese honeymoon couple at the rear, with Tom, the senior guide for the day, at the back to talk us through the descent as we go. At first it is very gentle and we practice all the possible moves and variations of. It is quite some time before we come to the first rapids - Grade 2- which we roll through with ease.
As we drift along, the cliffs rise high above us; this was gold mining country from 1862 to 1992. Two mountain goats clamber up almost vertical rocks, and a duck slides along serenely. Under the water there are plenty of rocks, and occasionally a larger one will push its head above water, causing us to paddle around them. Soon we reach the second main set of rapids - six consecutively - one of which is called 'Oh Shit' but is actually not at all bad. These were Grade 3. After a brief stop with me out of the boat pulling it to the side to let the other boats through, we were off and into 'The Tunnel' which is, well, a tunnel, about three feet wider than the raft and about 10 feet high, and perhaps 200m long. Going through it everyone crocuhes down in the middle of the boat for safety, their paddles down in front of them across the boat. Except me. I am sat side on at the front of the boat to paddle if rquired, and twice I have to paddle furiously as we drift to the right. This was fantastic, and I felt like an adventurer! Once at the other end there was no time to enjoy it as we quickly plunged into the most dramatic Rapid of the day, a Grade 4 called "The Mother In Law" into which we plunged, a very large rock right in fron tof us. It is hard not to shut your eyes and hope - instead the paddling forwards continues. As we slide round the corner, the wright of the onrushing water against us feels like it's going to snap my right leg in half, jammed as it is to the front of the boat. It is a relief when, after about two seconds, the pressure abates and we slow to a halt. An exhilarating ride!
We drift the final few hundred metres to the get off point and after putting our paddles away and lifting the raft onto a trailer, we all trudge across the rocks to get back to the base, where we discard all the clothes, shower and get into the usn where I enjoy a glass of Oyster Bay Pinot Noir!
As the Ninth Doctor would say, "FANTASTIC!!!!!"
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