Day 25 Wed 20th Nov

I am jumping ahead a few days. We have been on The Mainland since Saturday. We have had a few adventures, which I will catch up on, promise. But I thought I would fill you in on today’s adventure.

It started last night. While searching for a place to stop for the night, we came across Riverside Holiday Park in Murchison. It seemed like a good place to stop for the night. In the hills, alongside the Buller River. As I was checking in Diane was looking through some leaflets. The one she picked up was for white water rafting.

“Does anyone do this around here.?” asked Diane.  The guy behind the desk said,  “We do them from here.” 

He offered to give us an extra night free if we booked a trip, so that was the deal sealed. 

We turned up at about one fifteen to meet our guides, fellow travelers, and get kitted out. The other couple on the trip turned out to live about a couple of miles away from us, in South Wimbledon. Small world.

Getting into the gear was an operation, but I eventually managed to squeeze my gut into a wet suit. We set off to the launch site. Us four guests, Mila and Gordy, our pilots, and Sally, the van driver and photographer. Because if we don’t have photographs it didn’t happen.

After a short session of safety instructions and how to paddle, we were off  down the Buller River. I had been slightly concerned. I am not a very strong swimmer. Still, as someone pointed out, if you fall out in a rapid, you can’t swim anyway.

It was a wonderful experience, exciting, but never scary, even when I almost went overboard. Diane went overboard deliberately to float alongside for a few minutes, I declined.

The trip took about two hours and we rafted slightly over 8km down the Buller River.

Below are some photos of us heading down the river.

Thank you Ultimate Descents Aotearoa for a fun afternoon (with tea and cakes when we got back to base).

To finish off a great time in Murchison, we had dinner at The Cowshed, which also comes with our recommendation. In fact the whole village is recommended.