A River of Unfortunate Events

On Day 6 of my Easter break, I was two hours south of Cairns.  It has taken the whole trip thus far to reach this point and have driven over 15 hours total to get here from Brisbane.  It was this day that I would finally endure my extreme and terrifyingly invigorating trip down the Tully River. 

  As we strapped our water shoes on, the excitement began to build.  Granted, these shoes were not a fashion trend I could see reemerging in the near future but once we put them on, it meant we were one step closer to water rafting.  I had never been water rafting before but I imagined it to be like a kayak trip only a lot faster and less secure.  I wasn’t too far off with the less secure idea. 

We were split into groups of 6 rafters and paired with one rafting guide.  This made me feel safe knowing if I fell out of the raft (which I did) there would be some form of a trained professional to get me back onto the raft.  I never imagined the type of speed or falls that we would ride. Right and left, we were instructed to move from one side of the raft to the other, equalling out the balance.  There was such a science to the trip I was so ignorant to beforehand.  The part to take the most seriously was when our instructor would either scream "Hold on!" and we would stop paddling and lean towards the center while grasping the side ropes or better yet "DOWN!". This was a sure sign we were about to experience a major drop from on the rapid, swiveling around rocks and plunging downwards.  

Many times we found ourselves caught in the rush of water where the fall drops and the water seeps under the rocks.  Panic struck when heaps of water would flood the raft and we would frantically poke the nearest surface to release free.  One of the falls left me flying off of the raft and into the water.  We had all prepared for such an emergency and were well instructed to grab the overboard member by the lifejacket.  With a firm grip, push down slightly and pull upwards with all force to thrust the victim back onto the raft as quickly as possible.  I fell off right in between two of the major water falls so I was lucky to have a crew that was well prepared or else I could only imagine where I'd be right now.  It wasn't until after our difficult falls and we were floating on the 'lazy river' part of Tully that our group asked about risks and past injuries.  It was there that Jack, our guide, told us of the many deaths on the river in past years, most of which from drowning.  If I had known this beforehand, I don't think I would have had as much fun as stress would be the dominant emotion at mind.  With taking off our jackets and helmets upon reaching shore, we all let out a breath of relief in making back on our own two feet with all limbs in tact.  Having given such an adrenaline rush from the whole trip, it's safe to say I will be doing it again in the near future.