Day 19 River Valley to Wellington

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We awoke at 7:30 in the morning anxious to get our day started. Although we went to bed by 10:30 we were unable to fall asleep until the bar turned off the music at 11:30. The building consisted of a great room that held a bar, kitchen, and dining area on the lower floor. Stairs on two opposite ends led to walled off lofts which held the rooms. On one end two large dorm style rooms which held 16 people each, and on the other side three private rooms. The building had a steep pitching roof and there was enough room in that area for another room that was atop of the three private doubles. This room had its own ships ladder rising to its door. The rooms were nice but were not as quiet as we would have liked.

Also all bathrooms and showers were outside exposed to the elements. It was some old school outhouse type facilities at the River Valley. Later it was explained to us that this was an adventure lodge and wasn’t meant to accommodate those seeking comfortable quarters. That to me seemed code for the owner of the property didn’t give a shit about making any updates to the place. It was also odd since they were charging indoor plumbing luxury accommodation pricing $70 for a double without a bathroom. They actually charged $9.50 for a slice of pizza, we didn‘t get any of course.

The property really was beautiful as it was situated right on the banks of the river. Huge, near vertical hills, created the valley. In fact the last 400 meters of road was to steep and windy for the bus to make it down. We had to hike down to the valley floor and later hike back up to the bus. In all I would rank this as an 8 out of 10, and would give considerations for 10 out of 10 if indoor plumbing was available. The location was that good.

That morning we ate our breakfast and waited for rafting instructions. Around 8:30 we were directed to where we would suite up. We received a sleeveless wetsuit, booties, and a jacket to pull over our wetsuit. Thirty minutes by van down the valley were put into groups and given paddles and life jackets. It would be five to a raft with one guide. There were three rafts with two safety kayaks in case anyone fell out. One of the kayaks was the group photographer as well. We were given safety information and waiver forms prior to dropping in.

For the first thirty minutes as we floated down the river we were given instruction for the types of calls the guide would call. Paddle forward, backwards, hold on, get down, and jump right or left. There was also a time that they made us jump out of the boat and float down the little rapids. The water was pretty cold but it got us used to the temperature.

As we headed down the river the rapids got progressively larger. We went down several category 3’s, 4’s and 5’s. Category 5’s are the largest available for commercial rafting companies anywhere in the world. This river contained more category 5’s than anywhere else in New Zealand.

Our guide was originally from Idaho and had been coming to this river for several seasons. He told us that there is no way that you could commercially raft this type of river in North America on account that it was way too technical for any company to get insurance.

There was one rapid in particular that got us a little nervous. The three guides pulled their rafts to the side of the banks and climbed up the rocks to spot their lines prior to going down. Every day the river acted differently depending on water levels and new obstructions in the path. We were the first boat to proceed down the rapids. The guide yelled forward, then back, then forward again. Rounding the corner we saw that they had placed 3 other employees atop of the rocks above the rapids every 10 meters. Each of the guys were holding throw ropes in case anyone fell into the water. It was comforting to know that the company took such measure to ensure our safety.

We successfully made it down the rapids and our guide had us give each other high fives with our paddles. Later we would learn that last year a guide had drowned on those very same rapids and another person a few years before that also drowned. The aerated water doesn’t act the same as regular water. It allows for people or objects to sink right the bottom with very little resistance.

The guide said that this was the most extreme and technical of the rapids on this river but there were three more that were just as dangerous. Later we would see what he was talking about when we saw one boat fold up like a suitcase throwing two passengers into the water. Fortunately for them it was on the last series of drops in the rapids and the boat managed to throw them forward away form the rapids. The safety kayak helped one out of the water while the other rafters pulled the other from the water. Apparently the raft before ours also had some people fall into the water. Our guide seemed very proud at the fact none of his crew fell into the water; that is their goal that no one goes overboard.

Toward the end of the river there was a 20ft rock that some of us jumped off. About five minuets later we pulled the boat to the shores of the River Valley Lodge. It was a great day and it was going to be something that we would remember for a long time. This trip has definitely been action filled and exciting.

Later that day we traveled south to Wellington. We happened to arrive on the day of something called New Zealand Sevens. Its basically Wellington’s equivalent to Halloween, which we learned is not celebrated here. It is a giant rugby centered drink fest. The entire town was booked up so we were forced to stay at a Base Hostel. Immediately next to the 10 story Base Hostel was where the streets were blocked for the party. After the rugby matches hordes of drunk and rowdy fans filtered into this part of town.

We knew that we didn’t have long in Wellington so we dropped off our bags and headed for the famous Wellington Cable Car. It climbed up the steep hill where you had great views of the city. It actually was like a real type of public transportation in that it had several stops up the steep hill. Much steeper than the ones in San Francisco. The car had stairs and plat forms to make for level seating as it climbed the 30 degree slope. We bought round trip tickets for five dollars a piece but ended up walking down a trail through an amazing botanical garden park that contained artwork and sculptures around every corner.

By the end of our walk we ended up walking for over 2 and a half hours. We passed thru the blocked off section of streets to see that it was getting a little crazy. It was about 9 pm when we had our dinner. The sound of the music from the street was blearing. I had purchased ear plugs which did little good in our fourth story room. Our room also had no lights as they were burnt our. The girl at the reception said that she knew about it and told the maintenance guy on Tuesday about the issues. That would be good in all if it were Wednesday, but no, it was Saturday. Way to go Base! No option to move rooms since they were sold out, no flashlights and no refunds offered.

We were so exhausted by the white water rafting that we both managed to get to bed around midnight. I think they turned down the music around 2am. The bars that lined the road had signs that said open till 5 am. This was the complete opposite of Australia in which everything shuts down by 9pm. Wellington looked like a very cool city. The horseshoe shaped bay and surrounding mountains or hills made it seem smaller than it actually was. I would recommend staying in this city for at least a few days, however Elyse and I couldn’t stay longer and would need to press on to the South Island.

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Photos

this was on purpose
they wanted us to get used to the water just in case we got tossed out of the raft

YES
we were the only raft out of the 3 that didn't have anyone thrown overboard. SUCCESS

Rose Garden inside the Botanical Garden
Reminded us of Portland

Comments

[Mom]

Day 19
Sure glad to see that your raft did not have anyone go overboard!!!!! Scary but exciting all at the same time??? What an experience you will remember....as each day passes...I am sure glad I get to experience New Zealand by your pictures...those activities are not for me!!!!!

[Courtney]

Feedback
Hey Elyse and Pete, Just wanted to say thanks for the feedback from all of the team at River Valley lodge, we wish you both safe travels and hope you enjoy the rest of our great country!