Nose Basher, Jawbreaker, Boulder dash and Rat Rock

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Nose Basher, Jawbreaker, Boulder dash and Rat Rock ....these might sound like Father Christmas's reindeer but they are actually rapids on the Clarence River that were marked in BOLD on our map.

We thought that packing the boat for the second day would have been easier than Day 1. All the bags and barrels had to be secured to loading rings on the raft so they wouldn't disappear downstream if we capsized. I (Pete) started at one side of the raft, Jamie on the other. Gradually it emerged that we were each employing a different logic (no surprises there then). Irritatingly Jamie had a much sounder approach which Ellie spotted long before I did. It's only natural I suppose...... I undid most of my efforts and followed Jamie's guidance, trying hard to be humble and appreciative. Tough call.

Day 2 was due to be an easy day, so we were surprised to see Jan flipping over the side as we drifted down a minor rapid. To her credit she clung on to the perimeter rope, immediately broadcasting "I'm alright" whilst rocketing herself back on board almost before we had noticed her departure. Note from Jan that it was definitely NOT a minor rapid, how rude. To be fair I have no idea how I ended up overboard but there must have been a good reason and I am proud that I managed to get back in so quickly!

We rotated helming between Pete, Jamie and Ellie. Jan will give feedback on how we performed from the paddlers perspective. This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows the three people in question. Ellie was very competent, quietly spoken (Jamie was her foghorn when she needed to communicate with the crew) and very polite ("thank you very MUCH"). Pete was super confident, super competent, super shouty and not polite at all. Jamie was supersonically confident, improving in competence with every potential disaster averted and moderately polite ("hold on through here"....).

We had altogether a brilliant time during our adventure. It was fabulous to get to know Ellie a bit better and of course it was wonderful to spend time with Jamie. We had huts and campsites to ourselves and didn't see a soul until the evening of Day 4 when we met a guided group who had helicopted in for the final 2 day trip. We played games in the evenings, we ate dehydrated meals prepared and dehydrated by Ellie and Jamie and ate more nut bars than anyone would believe.

And we did not capsize! We came very close a few times and never more so than on the last day when we thought we had nailed the whole rafting gig. Jamie was helming (just saying) and somehow we ended up splatted almost vertically on the side of the cliff with an enormous standing wave below. Jan was flung into the air and landed on Ellie so there were 3 people on the wrong side of the raft and water was pouring in. Pete had seen it coming and had the foresight to leap onto the top side of the raft and cling on for dear life while the rest of us got our act together and threw ourselves onto the same side. We slid down the cliff and bounced through the waves feeling more than a bit lucky that Pete was (as described by Rafting Ben) "clearly a man who has spent years on the river", or as we understood it, an "old man of the river".

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