Due to recent torrential rain and local flooding, not to mention the rivers rising at least 12 - 14 feet, all white water rafting had been put on hold for the last few weeks. I thought I'd lost the chance to prove that I could conquer the mighty Barron River in Cairns. Think again! Just 2 days before I head for home "Foaming Fury" decided to take the plunge. Needless to say I couldn't resist the challenge and Chris tried to but I dragged him along. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
I booked a morning run where the brochure assured that the rapids were classed as 3. Wasn't until we were on the bus that the guide casually mentioned that due to the heavy rains some rapids had been upgraded to class 4 and yesterday rafts were overturning regularly. This caused the adrenalin to pump a wee bit harder and I started to question whether I would be boarding the plane home in 48 hours and Chris was questioning our sanity. Too late to back out - pays your money, takes your chances.
4 rafts, 6 tourists in each plus river guide. Got the best river guide - Luke (was cute too). The rafting was great, one raft tipped, pitching everyone into the raging river. We were following closely behind, rescued an oar which unfortunately didn't have a person attached to it. All's well that ends well and after a head count was taken, everyone was accounted for. 14 rapids, a raft full of water, a few close calls, a lot of "hold on, get downs!!" and a couple of near "man overboards" later we reached the sanctuary of Lake Placid (aptly named). My smart ass actions caused Luke to give me an absolute drenching - I was innocent, I tell you, innocent.
All in all a wonderful Easter Sunday morning, filled with heart stopping action aplenty. Much better than searching for Easter eggs. My 4th river run and certainly not my last.
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