The Beginning Of Our Rafting Day. The Safety Talk.
While in Grand Falls-Windsor we found a white water rafting company about 15 minutes away. This was way outside our bubble…
so of course…
off we went!
Riverfront Chalets is a company that rents kayaks, has rafting tours and rents chalets right on the Exploits River. The chalets look beautiful. And what a view to wake up to every morning.
We met the other people we would be rafting with. Nice people. But everyone looks nervous and excited. No one is really talking to each other…yet.
We get outfitted with our life vests, our helmets and our paddles. David of course hooked up his GoPro camera onto his helmet. He got some awesome video that he has below. One of the teens that was in our raft also had a GoPro camera on. He chose the chest strap method.
So after a brief bus ride to our starting point, we were set to go.
Our Raft, Ready To Go! In Case You Can’t Tell, We’re On The Left.
We’re Set To Go!
We were split into two rafts. And we weren’t crowded on. Only 6 total, which includes us, plus the guide.
The River Was Cold, But Warm Enough For People To Go Swimming.
The water was cold! But it wasn’t cold enough for some people to go for a dip. Not us though.
Water Wars On The River
We had water wars, splashing each other.
Water Wars On The River
I don’t know. Seeing this picture it kind of looks like David is trying to splash me more and not the other boat.
The Two Rafts Hooked Up For A Snack Break
The sun came out and the clouds parted. It started warming up more and more.
We came across some rock formations where we got out of the rafts and took a break. The guides said this was a perfect spot to jump off the rocks and into the rapids. This is because there is a whirlpool type rapid. So when you jump in, you go with the flow, so to speak, then when you hit a certain spot in the water you can swim back up to the rocks that you just jumped off of. It’s weird how the water just flows backwards in this one spot.
So of course, David jumped at the chance. Pun intended.
David Jumping Into The Rapids
Yes he did have his helmet cam on and recording. Yes, it would have been an awesome video. Sorry to say, when he surfaced his camera had fallen and was dangling from the helmet. That my dear friends, is precisely why he looped it through the holes in the helmet. Don’t want to lose an expensive camera after all.
I on the other hand was apprehensive about jumping into a river rapid. I waited and waited and watched everyone do it. Even the kids were doing it! Although they are at that no fear age.
So, did I want to come all this way and regret not jumping in? No. Did I want to have David joke around with me that he did it and I didn’t? No. Did I want these kids to show me up? No.
So I jumped!
Brenda Jumping Into The Rapids
Yup…that’s me. Probably embarrassing David. Holding my nose while I jump. Forgetting that it was fresh water and not salt. Oh well. I did it! I survived. Good thing David was filming the whole thing from the rock so I have proof that it was me. This is because in the picture it is hard to tell. So here I go…
We all gathered on the rocks and marveled in our accomplishment. David is on the far right with both hands raised and I am on the right with the gray pants on, one hand waving.
So, after the rock jumping we were up for some more rapids. So into the rafts we went.
We had some large rapids in front of us.
After tying off his raft onto a hook on a rock, the other guide from the other raft was able to get up on a rock in the middle of the river to take this picture. I think it’s a great angle!
All Of Us Enjoying The Feeling After We Had Jumped Into The Rapids
Our Raft Coming Up To A Deep Rapid
Our Raft Hitting A Deep Rapid
Our Raft Hitting A Deep Rapid
You can see the two teenage boys in the front of the raft just disappear into the water. They hung on though and did not fall off!
The Other Raft Going Into The Rapid
The other raft then went through that same rapid. Our guide this time on the rock taking some awesome pictures of them.
Then their was the 50/50.
The guides call it that because 50 percent of the time they lose 50 percent of the boat!
They told us what to do when we approached.
The other guide was in a great position to take pictures, back on the rock.
The Safety Guy Ready And Waiting
David and I were in the very front. This is a good shot but you really can not get the whole scope of things. We actually went vertical, with the guide all the way up in the air. David and I were in the front….”were” being the operative word.
Yup… We went in the water! I remember seeing David come towards me so I’m saying David pushed me in. He remembers seeing me going in and he says he was reaching for me and went in. How gallant of him. We’ll never know. We’ll be debating about this for years to come.
Their was a safety guy in a sport kayak ready and waiting. He’s there just in case someone does go overboard and they don’t get back in the raft right away. He can go after them.
So off we went…
Our Raft Going Into The 50/50. David And I Are In Front!
David Getting Back Into The Raft After The 50/50.
David got right back in the raft, in the front where he fell in, with the help of the two teenage kids. I on the other hand ended up all the way in the back of the raft, with the help of the guide.
WE WERE LAUGHING OUR AS*@ES OFF!
When David got back in the raft he looked around and said, “Where’s my wife?”. Where I in turn raised my hand, because I was in the back of the raft on the floor, and said, “I’m down here!”. All the while laughing. I’m even laughing while I’m typing this up. It was that fun!
And yes….. David got it all on video (All 48 seconds worth…yes, just that fast! We went to it, got dumped out, and we were back into the raft. Very quick, very safe.) You have to click on this to watch it from David’s perspective. Thank goodness the camera stayed on his helmet this time.
So, after the 50/50 and getting dumped out of the raft, what better time than to stop and have lunch? So we all parked the rafts, on a hook on these rocks, in the middle of the river, to eat lunch.
David And Brenda Taking A Lunch Break On The Rocks, Enjoying The Scenery.
It was a beautiful view on the rocks while we sat and ate our lunch. It was relaxing after the 50/50 dump!
Some People Got Out After Lunch And Body Surfed In The Rapids.
Some people got back out into the rapids to body surf. With the safety guy still there to watch out for them.
After lunch and our break, it was time to head down the river some more. No more rapids after this break though. Just a nice relaxing drift down the river.
The clouds started coming in as we approached the end.
Rafting Down The Exploits River
It was a great day! The weather was perfect. The guides were wonderful. We felt completely safe in their hands. If you ever find yourself in this area, we highly recommend this rafting tour.
When everyone got back to the shore and back to the chalets, we were all laughing and telling our favorite stories of the day.
It was a great time and a great day! We are still laughing about it to this day.
You may be right B, D could have been actually pushing you out in a crazed method of retribution for making him perform back-breaking work in your loving efforts to stave off his inevitable communication loss, anxiety ridden, melt-down. Hmmmm…but then again…perhaps he was indeed trying to save you from pitching into the river in the hope that if he performed such a macho, heroic, deed, then you would be so darn grateful that you would cease and desist coming up with back-breaking-basement-bumping-the-head-on-the-low-ceiling-while-rolling-on-the-hot-metal-trays: WORK!
Either way…you both obviously had a marvelous time in awesome surroundings…outside your bubble!
Love and Hugs…
It was definitely a maaaavelous time! We’d do it again in a heart beat. I think we need to have the video analyzed by detectives to determine if David pushed me or not :)