I spent a day whitewater rafting on the Tully River. A cyclone had just ripped through Cairns, the rivers were flooded, and the rapids were much faster than they normaly are. Lots of fun!
Rafting the Tully River.
(photo by the rafting people)
Hold on! This was the best I could do bouncing along the river.
Approaching a concrete bridge and some rapids.
Me on the raft.
(photo by some guy)
Hi!
(photo by a girl wearing a lifejacket)
| From: Jeff Nyveen To: my friends and family Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 05:04:57 -0400 Subject: My Rafting Adventure Went river rafting down the Tully River today and had a fantastic time. I was a little leery about getting up at 6am to do it, but it was worth it. I boarded the bus to discover that 3/4 of the passengers were Japanese, and that the tour was conducted by directors who spoke both languages. Turns out that there are so many Japanese tourists here because Japan is only a six hour flight from here. Cairns and Hawaii are Japan's two favorite holiday destinations. It took about an hour and a hlf to make our way back down to Tully, the wettest city in Australia, and to the Tully River to begin our rafting adventure. Our first run down the rapids was fun. The scenery was beautiful. The fast-moving river is surrounded by mountain vegetation, creeks, springs, and small waterfalls. A pretty blue butterfly followed us all the way down. I quickly discovered that the secret to whitewater rafting is properly shifting your weight, and knowing when to stop paddling and when to hold on. Two pathetic Japanese guys fell out of their raft and were flailing about, screaming like little girls. We paddled over to rescue them, and after pulling them up onto our raft, they started thanking us like we had just saved their lives. Then I said, "Start paddling or get out." The second run was much better. We started higher on the river and coasted through two rapids that we didn't hit before. On the first one, the raft twisted and threw every one around. I got pummelled by bodies, helmets, and paddles, but I held on. On the second rapid, the raft did a somersault and a half-pike, sending me and three others reeling. I flew into the water, but the others quickly pulled me back in by my lifejacket. The pretty blue butterfly (probably not the same one, but I like to think that it is) followed us down the river again. The clouds parted and the sun came out for the first time in over a week. After the rapids calmed down a bit, we hopped out of the raft for a little swim. The only casualty was the black leather bracelet I had bought in Byron Bay for $3. Tonight, I'm going back to the Woolshed to meet up with an English girl I met last night named Carrie (she looks like an older, overweight Britney Spears) and some of her roommates from the hostel. One of them was the girl I sat next to on the McCafferty's bus from Airlie Beach to Townsville. Hoping the sun will be out again, I booked a day trip to dive at the Great Barrier Reef for tomorrow. Lorraine: A didgeridoo is the Australian Aboriginal musical instrument of choice. It's a small, hollowed out log about 5 feet long with protective beeswax on one end and Aboriginal painting around the outside of it. It is played by relaxing the lips on the beeswax end and blowing out to make your lips flap like a 4-year old. It sounds like a low-pitched hum which varies depending on the skill of the player. If you watch Crocodile Dundee, you'll hear it in the soundtrack during a few of the Australian scenes. Or if you stay in my hostel, you can hear a schmuck American named Derek play it when you try to sleep. They must have a hundred shops around here selling didgeridoos and boomerangs around here, and frankly it's getting old. No regrets. Jeff |
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