Gerbil in the Plumbing, Frog in a Blender and Carnal Knowledge of a Deviant Nature

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The promotional brochure claims that "the Bhote Kosi is without a doubt the most exciting thing that you can do in Nepal without risking a social disease". And what fun it was! The Bhote Kosi river flows direct from Tibet and carves through steep and beautiful valleys offering solid and continuous Class IV rapids giving us a fantastic run on the water.

Day one consisted of light training in the lower part of the river, learning rafting commands and riding some tamer rapids. Activities included team bonding sessions which basically involved us pushing each other out of the boat, pulling each other in, to push each other out again! And everyone ganging up on Indra the guide to toss him overboard (a team effort was the only way we could loosen his iron grip on the raft!).

We had a great team and met some fantastic people who we managed to have loads of fun with both on and off the water (and back in Kathmandu!). Our raft contained Ty from Canada, Yvonne from Ireland, Julia from Brazil, and Elena and Andre from Russia, and Indra was our awesome and seriously skilled guide. The other raft contained Jen from America and a boatload of Frenchies! We're pleased to report that in the paddle off race, our raft beat the other team (not by much but we'll claim the victory anyway!)

We stayed overnight at the Borderlands resort which is just 16km south of the Tibetan border. The resort is set in a stunning landscape with permanent tents and restaurant/bar located in beautifully kept gardens with loads of rhododendrons in bloom. We'd opted for the basic tent - the small pop-up variety - but the rains came bucketing down and we were kindly offered a free upgrade to take overnight refuge in one of the posh tents. We also kept dry by hanging out in the main restaurant and enjoying beer and great conversation by candlelight.

Day two meant it was time to don wetsuits for some serious rapids. Being the last to the wetsuit pile meant that Suz had a somewhat limited selection and ended up in a wetsuit that had a peculiar smell, baggy crotch and more holes and patches than original material - quite the stylish combination!

The rains from the night before meant that the river was in flood and running higher - which meant all the better rafting for us. Our Grade IV rapids went to Grade IV+ and proved to be a wicked ride on the water. They come with an impressive list of names such as Gerbil in the Plumbing, Frog in a Blender, Liquid Bliss and Carnal Knowledge of a Deviant Nature. The final rapid was Dazed and Confused which had a hydraulic at the base so we paddled back in to be spun around and pummelled by the water for a good few minutes! It was awesome!!

We'll fill you in on Kathmandu in the next blog, but we're off to Tibet tomorrow so will be out of touch for the next week as we travel through the remote regions on the roof of the world!

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Photos

The 'A' Team
Julia, Yvonne, Suz, Ty, Dave, Elena & Andre, with Indra in the background

The team in action!
Jumping off the rock into the river

Stunt Masters
Jumping off the rock into the river

Suz & Ty
Suz is cultivating the beetroot look despite masses of sunscreen!

Rhododendron
Well according to Kevin this is actually a Bougainvillea - well we reckon it's pretty cool whatever it is!

Inside the Posh Tent
Guaranteed to keep you dry! Matresses, pillows and sheets even!!

Comments

[KevinRL]

Great blog guys!
Great to read your words about Nepal, and good to see some real rafting photos. But I hate to say that your flower captioned Rhododendron, is in fact a Bougainvillea, just a small error. Keep up the blog writing, great stuff. Kevin

[Sally]

emails I recieve are fine
Hi thought I'id let you know I have been recieving everything OK and even if I do get a few repeat blogs am loving being part of the trip with you. So informative and wish I was there. looks absolutely great. Smokey says hi. Sal

[Ashleigh]

Looks like fun
Hi Dave and Suz, The white water rafting looks like fun. The posh tents look good as well. Good to see you are making lots of friends.

[Melissa in Hobart]

Finally catching up...
Phew, What a trip and incredibly good read. Have only skimmed through to see where you are up to. Love the photos and anecdotes. The rickshaws were very posh. The white water rafting looks brilliant. The camels have really got me inspired too... transport options in the wake of a future oil crisis (?), but can you really beat a bike?

[Johanna from Melbourne]

Dear Suz - Glad to see that Michael Palin DVD set came in handy for your travels. You look so incredibly happy in all the photos! Am having a scan through your trip journal now - Johanna email [e-mail]

[Johanna from Melbourne]

post-script
PS If you like Nepal, I have a friend Nadine, who works at Bass Coast Shire, who was paid to live and travel around Nepal spreading environmental education messages, but I'm not sure which organisation it was for. She went to a lot of events and festivals. Email me for more info. Johanna