Gary and I awoke from our deep slumber at the sprightly hour of 8am as today we were to attempt our next quest, the next adrenaline rush, a death defying adventure in depths of a wild forest outside of Rotorua, Rafting the Kaituna River. A 7 man boat passes through the rushing rapids of the Kaituna River including 3 waterfalls, the largest being the 7 metre Tutea Falls, with the ultimate goal being survival and in doing so achieving a sense of fulfilment that enlivens your spirit. The Kaituna River is Grade V rapid, the highest grade of rapid that can be done and Tutea Falls is the largest commercially rafted waterfall in the world!! Little old Gary Daly from Kiloughter, Galway, son of Breda and Con Daly and Thomas Burke from Newcastle, Galway, beloved child of Eamon and Marie Burke were attempting this with zero previous rafting experience (mind you I am a dab hand at the pedal boats!)!!
We were brought to the base by our enthusiastic, crazy and fun guide Stevie. Sound man. We got kitted out in our wet suits, helmets and Personnel Floatation Devices (PFD’s), which we were informed is the correct term for what people commonly know as ‘Life Jackets’ (an Americanism), they aren’t designed to save our lives but to keep us afloat! Really reassuring! The 14 of us and 4 guides were than bused down to the river and during the short trip Sam, another guide, went through all the safety stuff etc… and procedures to follow if the boat flips going over the waterfall! They really know how to keep the confidence high! Gary and I were looking forward to the challenge ahead and we carried the rafts to the water and got on a raft with 4 other victims and our guide was to be Sam. 3 boats in all went out the other 2 carrying 4 people and one guide each. A karakia (traditional Maori prayer) was said before we rafted down the river. It’s all up to us now.
The first leg of the journey involved some gentle rapids before conquering our first waterfall, 1 metre drop, no problems and we were really enjoying the experience. Our tour guide, Sam was really good craic and slagged Gary for his ‘limp’ hand at the rowing!! I was like Steve Redgrave! Our 2nd waterfall, 2 metre drop, was a bit bumpier but we managed to keep the raft on the water. Good going. Constant interaction with the other boats and banter made the ride all the more fun. The scenery was really cool, riding through the jungle. It was like a movie and we were stuntmen in an action scene. Well as it happens, what happened next we were to be stuntmen just not willingly or knowingly!! You could hear her before you could see her (just like and female!); gushing, smashing the rocks and crying for blood. The first 2 rafts sped down the river and dropped like a rock to the bottom of the sea! Eventually, we could see them on the otherside, they made it, no flip. Good stuff. We can do this now no problem, this talk of flipping is just like the airplane crew safety address before take off for if the plane hits the water, it doesn’t happen its just part of the procedure. Sam shouted ‘GO GO GO’, we paddled towards the falls and dropped………………………………………………………………………………., the whole raft turned vertical and there is nothing you can do only crouch down and grab the ropes!! On impact, the front of the raft hit the water first, the raft went under the water and we re-emerged with a shoot of water and that’s when it happened – the raft began to topple over on the left hand side and we flipped over!!! It all happened so fast, 1st the impact of hitting the water and than on the bounce back the raft, with us in it, just flipped plunging all 7 crew members into the water. I hung onto the raft and pulled myself under the raft to where there is an air gap to breath. However I was the only one under the raft and it was all dark, where is everyone? Did they make it? Where’s Gary? I swam out from under the raft to the light and was relieved to see floating bodies and Sam our guide on top of the now upside down raft. Gary was swimming around too with a big smiley head on him. Gary said he flipped out of the raft during the topple. Sam flipped the raft back over. We were pulled aboard our raft again with the help of the other two rafts. It was an awesome experience and certainly one hell of a rush! It was flipping great! If we were stuntmen it would have been best action scene ever, “Escape down Raituna”!!
Mike & Conor slept in and relaxed while we went rafting. When we returned, Gary and I joined the lads in their bumming around the hostel, we had enough excitement for one day. We headed out for a walk in the afternoon down by the lake front and through the Government Gardens. We seen some black swans and admired the views of Lake Rotorua as Gary and I pondered our escapades of the morning. That evening we went for a few pints and met up with the other rafters who we nattered with about the dramatic events of the rafting.
Sleep tight,
Tom
We were brought to the base by our enthusiastic, crazy and fun guide Stevie. Sound man. We got kitted out in our wet suits, helmets and Personnel Floatation Devices (PFD’s), which we were informed is the correct term for what people commonly know as ‘Life Jackets’ (an Americanism), they aren’t designed to save our lives but to keep us afloat! Really reassuring! The 14 of us and 4 guides were than bused down to the river and during the short trip Sam, another guide, went through all the safety stuff etc… and procedures to follow if the boat flips going over the waterfall! They really know how to keep the confidence high! Gary and I were looking forward to the challenge ahead and we carried the rafts to the water and got on a raft with 4 other victims and our guide was to be Sam. 3 boats in all went out the other 2 carrying 4 people and one guide each. A karakia (traditional Maori prayer) was said before we rafted down the river. It’s all up to us now.
The first leg of the journey involved some gentle rapids before conquering our first waterfall, 1 metre drop, no problems and we were really enjoying the experience. Our tour guide, Sam was really good craic and slagged Gary for his ‘limp’ hand at the rowing!! I was like Steve Redgrave! Our 2nd waterfall, 2 metre drop, was a bit bumpier but we managed to keep the raft on the water. Good going. Constant interaction with the other boats and banter made the ride all the more fun. The scenery was really cool, riding through the jungle. It was like a movie and we were stuntmen in an action scene. Well as it happens, what happened next we were to be stuntmen just not willingly or knowingly!! You could hear her before you could see her (just like and female!); gushing, smashing the rocks and crying for blood. The first 2 rafts sped down the river and dropped like a rock to the bottom of the sea! Eventually, we could see them on the otherside, they made it, no flip. Good stuff. We can do this now no problem, this talk of flipping is just like the airplane crew safety address before take off for if the plane hits the water, it doesn’t happen its just part of the procedure. Sam shouted ‘GO GO GO’, we paddled towards the falls and dropped………………………………………………………………………………., the whole raft turned vertical and there is nothing you can do only crouch down and grab the ropes!! On impact, the front of the raft hit the water first, the raft went under the water and we re-emerged with a shoot of water and that’s when it happened – the raft began to topple over on the left hand side and we flipped over!!! It all happened so fast, 1st the impact of hitting the water and than on the bounce back the raft, with us in it, just flipped plunging all 7 crew members into the water. I hung onto the raft and pulled myself under the raft to where there is an air gap to breath. However I was the only one under the raft and it was all dark, where is everyone? Did they make it? Where’s Gary? I swam out from under the raft to the light and was relieved to see floating bodies and Sam our guide on top of the now upside down raft. Gary was swimming around too with a big smiley head on him. Gary said he flipped out of the raft during the topple. Sam flipped the raft back over. We were pulled aboard our raft again with the help of the other two rafts. It was an awesome experience and certainly one hell of a rush! It was flipping great! If we were stuntmen it would have been best action scene ever, “Escape down Raituna”!!
Mike & Conor slept in and relaxed while we went rafting. When we returned, Gary and I joined the lads in their bumming around the hostel, we had enough excitement for one day. We headed out for a walk in the afternoon down by the lake front and through the Government Gardens. We seen some black swans and admired the views of Lake Rotorua as Gary and I pondered our escapades of the morning. That evening we went for a few pints and met up with the other rafters who we nattered with about the dramatic events of the rafting.
Sleep tight,
Tom
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