Of course, being the wonderfully friendly and kind people that they are, Quinton and Ilze asked Leigh (Summerhill photographer) and I along for the trip. I suppose I never really thought much about whitewater rafting and heartily agreed without even giving it a second thought. I'm always up for a new adventure! Neither Leigh nor myself had ever before been whitewater rafting. And to me, it doesn't really sound all the scary. "Whitewater" and "rafting" aren't really very intimidating words. Leigh and I looked up videos on the rafting companies website and got more and more excited about our trip.
We decided the make it a weekend trip and head down to the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, to hit up the mall and do some shopping! I'm always down for some good old fashioned retail therapy! Leigh and I traveled the hour journey from Mooi River to Pietermaritzburg in the back of Ilze and Quinton's "bakkie" (truck) that has a cap on it. I know at home that's pretty illegal, but after putting down a few mattresses we actually have a very comfortable and enjoyable ride. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like sitting in the bed of a truck, twisting and winding up and down the mountainous roads, listening to Noah and the Whale, while viewing the spectacular countryside of South Africa. It was amazing! It was a blazing hot day, but with the windows down we were perfectly ventilated. It was an experience I won't soon forget. If you ever get the chance to view the countryside of Africa from the back of a truck while listening to your favorite band, take it!
So, along the way we stopped at this quaint little roadside outdoor shopping complex. We had lunch a Piggly Wiggly, which to me is a grocery store chain in Louisiana, but here in South Africa is a delicious restraint and bakery. I had an open sandwich with marinated chicken and avocado on homemade brown bread (now I bet you're getting hungry). Does that not sound delicious? Well I'm here to tell you, it was!!! I was standing in line waiting to pay and I looked over at Leigh and expressed how I wish I would have taken a picture of that sandwich so I could post it to the blog, but then I looked down at my stomach and realized it was much too late for that. Oh well, maybe next time.
So we spent about an hour or so browsing the various shops after lunch. I mostly enjoyed the sunshine. Sunny weather is good for the soul. We then continued on our way, stopping once more to visit the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, where Mandela was captured in 1962 during apartheid and subsequently spent 27 years in prison. From the road, where Mandela was actually captured as he was posing as a chauffeur in order to evade capture, the sculpture looks like a series of metal polls, but as visitors approach the sculpture from the other side and get close an image of Mandela's face appears.
We then hit the road once more and finally arrived in Pietermaritzburg where we stayed with Quinton's sister. The mall was not huge, but a good size and there was not a single store I recognized. All the stores were places I'd never seen or heard of. That was quite fun exploring new stores. I bought a few souvenirs for friends and family. It was a wonderfully relaxing and fun day spent with good friends!
Good thing we got a chance to relax on Saturday because Sunday started out with nothing but big adventure! If you've never been whitewater rafting before, I'll tell you a little bit about the gamete of emotions that flow through you as you sit and listen to the "safety" briefing. You start with giddy excitement! Its like a fair ride that you've been waiting in line for and its finally your turn, but then the guide starts talking about what you should do when (not if) you fall out of the raft. They discuss getting your foot stuck in a rock or being smashed up against a rock or fallen tree. Did you know there is 2 tons of water pressure flowing down the Ukmomaas River? Well now you do, and the guides made it very clear to us that it is impossible for any human to swim against that. We were told if we get sucked into a "washing machine" where the water is turning in multiple directions and can be difficult to get out of, we are to relax (haha) and let the water spit us out on its own. There were many other scary things discussed during this talk but I can only remember fighting the feeling of "why on earth did I sign up for this?!!!" Leigh and I both exchanged nervous glances throughout the entire briefing and I know we were both thinking of throwing in our life jackets and helmets and watching from the river bank, but in the end we were so happy we did it!
The rapids were level 2 and 3. The highest a rapid can be is level 6, so the waves we were riding weren't child's play. In our six man raft, before heading into the first rapid, the guide yelled from the back of the boat, "I know you're going to be scared, but JUST KEEP PADDLING!!" That's exactly what we all did and we made it safely through each of the 4 intense rapids. It was really quite exhilarating and fun! If you ever get a chance to go whitewater rafting I would say don't bail after the relatively terrifying safety briefing. It's worth it!
After our big adventure, Leigh and I set up camp in the back of the bakkie for the drive home. We made beds and slept the whole way home because we were so exhausted. Needless to say, this weekend was tremendously fun and exhausting!
Here are some pictures taken from the rafting company, Trailblazer Adventures' Facebook page.
The walk down to see the sculpture called "The long walk to freedom"
The museum
Ilze, Leigh and I in front of the sculpture.
We then hit the road once more and finally arrived in Pietermaritzburg where we stayed with Quinton's sister. The mall was not huge, but a good size and there was not a single store I recognized. All the stores were places I'd never seen or heard of. That was quite fun exploring new stores. I bought a few souvenirs for friends and family. It was a wonderfully relaxing and fun day spent with good friends!
Good thing we got a chance to relax on Saturday because Sunday started out with nothing but big adventure! If you've never been whitewater rafting before, I'll tell you a little bit about the gamete of emotions that flow through you as you sit and listen to the "safety" briefing. You start with giddy excitement! Its like a fair ride that you've been waiting in line for and its finally your turn, but then the guide starts talking about what you should do when (not if) you fall out of the raft. They discuss getting your foot stuck in a rock or being smashed up against a rock or fallen tree. Did you know there is 2 tons of water pressure flowing down the Ukmomaas River? Well now you do, and the guides made it very clear to us that it is impossible for any human to swim against that. We were told if we get sucked into a "washing machine" where the water is turning in multiple directions and can be difficult to get out of, we are to relax (haha) and let the water spit us out on its own. There were many other scary things discussed during this talk but I can only remember fighting the feeling of "why on earth did I sign up for this?!!!" Leigh and I both exchanged nervous glances throughout the entire briefing and I know we were both thinking of throwing in our life jackets and helmets and watching from the river bank, but in the end we were so happy we did it!
The rapids were level 2 and 3. The highest a rapid can be is level 6, so the waves we were riding weren't child's play. In our six man raft, before heading into the first rapid, the guide yelled from the back of the boat, "I know you're going to be scared, but JUST KEEP PADDLING!!" That's exactly what we all did and we made it safely through each of the 4 intense rapids. It was really quite exhilarating and fun! If you ever get a chance to go whitewater rafting I would say don't bail after the relatively terrifying safety briefing. It's worth it!
After our big adventure, Leigh and I set up camp in the back of the bakkie for the drive home. We made beds and slept the whole way home because we were so exhausted. Needless to say, this weekend was tremendously fun and exhausting!
Here are some pictures taken from the rafting company, Trailblazer Adventures' Facebook page.
The Umkomaas River running through the spectacular Hella Hella Gorge. The rafting trip began at the bridge
Amazing views
Our group
Loading up the boats
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