It all started with a quiet Sunday in Tauranga. The ship pulled in to a lovely dock, and we found an Uber driver to take us to an ambiguous address half an hour away — something like “across from the Pori-Pori swimming holes”. We got out at the side of the road, and he promised to respond to our text for a return trip sometime near noon.
We knew that there was a dam on the river, and on Sundays they release water. People take advantage by having adventures. Our adventure was to be on individual rafts, kind of a cross between a raft and an inner tube. We were aware that we would have to walk upstream, then float down on some mild rapids. Nothing above a class 2.
They supplied wetsuits, flippers, webbed gloves and helmets. We needed to walk some of the way upstream, and paddle some of the way. The paddling would help get us used to the propulsion technique, and would be easier than walking with flippers and our mini-rafts. The wetsuits would keep us warm.
The floodgates opened around 10:30 and reached us around 11. We played around a bit, learning how to use rafts and feel our way through the rushing water. To avoid tipping, we needed to lean upstream into the oncoming water. Not the most intuitive move.
The courageous (everyone but me) rode a wave together.
Between blocks of rapids, the riverbank was lined with crocosmia in bloom. They don’t show up well in this photo. You’ll have to take it from me that it was spectacularly pretty.
There was only one spot where we had to find the right spot to run the rapid, and seek our way through unscathed. As you can see in the first picture of the series, not everyone was successful. Here we can see Anita’s concentration and success. I was guided through by our guide. It felt easy with his careful tutelage, and it was exhilarating. In fact, it was over all too soon.
I highly recommend this activity. It was fun, and definitely safe. As it got later, we needed to share the river with kayakers. It was wide enough to accommodate us all. Our guide Don Allardice worked especially hard to ensure we all had a good time. He even stayed with us until our Uber arrived to take us back to our ship.
Juliette Knits 