A Quiet Day on the River

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Cloudy with rain morning, brighter with sunshine afternoon and evening
PADDLE LEFT!

STOP!

BACKPADDLE!

STOP!

HOLD ON!

The familiar commands from Iceland and the Grand Canyon boomed over the Tongariru River. One yellow raft, a family of Texans, myself and a guide working our way through the boulders. A 13km stretch of the river with more than 60 rapids - it's more like a rock garden than a body of water.

HOLD ON!

The guide deliberately bounces the nose of the raft off the pumice wall on the riverside to get back into the main stream. In glimpses between giant boulders and waves, the wall shows a history of at least 6 eruptions from somewhere, ending with a single sheet of ash 20m high from the Taupo eruption 1800 years ago - you didn't want to be near that.

"This rapid's called Pearl Harbour" said Lisa, the guide.

We ask why.

"A party of Japanese tourists didn't understand the instructions and capsized the raft!".

Every rapid has a name and a similar tale of woe. We hold on grimly - the water feels cold, especially now the rain's stopped and the sun is breaking through the cloud.

PADDLE HARD!

We dig the paddles towards the next rapid. It's fun and we know that there are hot showers and a late lunch in the cabins at Tungariru ahead.

A pleasant day on the river.

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