Rafting on the Kaituna River.
John went to Hobbiton today (in Matamata) while I booked a rafting trip on the Kaituna River. This is toted as having the largest vertical drop over a waterfall of any commerical rafting trip in the world. The river itself is very beautiful. It has steep walls covered with semitropical vegetation. It is also quite narrow. At one point we could have pinned our six man raft if we had turned it sideways. It is of volcanic origin, like most of NZ.
We stated off the trip with our guides saying a Maori prayer for safety and courage. We rafted through a 3-foot and then a 9-foot drop. Nine feet is basically the length of the raft, quite impressive in itself. The rafting guides said another prayer just before we did the 21-foot waterfall. That got my attention! I was in the very front and it just looked like you're going to become submarine for quite a while. Our guides were telling us to "smile" all the time. Take a look at the photo on the web site. The only one I see smiling was the girl in the back who fell out of the raft. It was really fun, just not the kind of "big grin" type of thing until after you successfully make the drop.
After the 21-foot drop we had a chance to "surf" a wave. This is where you get some extra people in the front of the raft, aggressively paddle into a small waterfall and catch the front of the boat into the falling water. It sucks the front of the boat down and brings the back of the raft about 5 or more feet out of the water. I'll have photos up of it later on.
It was a fanastic trip! And all in all, I think it is fairly safe. It was a pleasant change from some of the rivers in the southeastern USA where you have many rock hazards, undercuts, and some very aggressive water flow.
By the way, the water was at flood stage, if it was any higher they would not have been allowed to run the trip. In the case of this river, I think the higher water was a good thing!
After John returned from Hobbiton, we took a trip to a small game park and trout farm. The main reason I wanted to go there was that they had two lion cubs that they said you could "pet". We arrived an hour before closing and were able to enter a large cage with an attendant and one of the lion cubs out in the cage with us. There we five people initially, but soon there was just John and I and the attendant. We petted the 4-month old lion cub, called Aslan, who was exploring and doing his usual lion things. At one point I knelt down and the cub put both paws on my knee. That was an amazing experience! He tried nibbling at my wallet in my pants pocket, but the attendant quickly reprimanded the cub. The cub was so adorable, but also so huge compared to a domestic house cat. I guess he probably weighed about 50-pounds.
I was really glad I did this. They were raising the cubs for another zoo and said that once they reached 8-months they would no longer allow contact with the public.
We came back and we had dinner at a small "gourmet" burger restaurant. The burgers were actually very good! I had a egg, pineapple, hash brown, onion, pepper and tomato burger with plum sauce. Try to find that one in the US!
About 3-hours after dinner I discovered that I didn't have my camera and knew I had left it at the restaurant. It's just one of those sick feelings you never want to have while on a trip. I raced back to the restaurant, which had just closed and sneaked in the door. A really nice lady knew what I had come for and pulled out my camera bag from behind the counter. I was so thankful! I offered her a reward but she wouldn't take it. My hats off to another kind New Zealander, like others I have good fortune to met before!
John went to Hobbiton today (in Matamata) while I booked a rafting trip on the Kaituna River. This is toted as having the largest vertical drop over a waterfall of any commerical rafting trip in the world. The river itself is very beautiful. It has steep walls covered with semitropical vegetation. It is also quite narrow. At one point we could have pinned our six man raft if we had turned it sideways. It is of volcanic origin, like most of NZ.
We stated off the trip with our guides saying a Maori prayer for safety and courage. We rafted through a 3-foot and then a 9-foot drop. Nine feet is basically the length of the raft, quite impressive in itself. The rafting guides said another prayer just before we did the 21-foot waterfall. That got my attention! I was in the very front and it just looked like you're going to become submarine for quite a while. Our guides were telling us to "smile" all the time. Take a look at the photo on the web site. The only one I see smiling was the girl in the back who fell out of the raft. It was really fun, just not the kind of "big grin" type of thing until after you successfully make the drop.
After the 21-foot drop we had a chance to "surf" a wave. This is where you get some extra people in the front of the raft, aggressively paddle into a small waterfall and catch the front of the boat into the falling water. It sucks the front of the boat down and brings the back of the raft about 5 or more feet out of the water. I'll have photos up of it later on.
It was a fanastic trip! And all in all, I think it is fairly safe. It was a pleasant change from some of the rivers in the southeastern USA where you have many rock hazards, undercuts, and some very aggressive water flow.
By the way, the water was at flood stage, if it was any higher they would not have been allowed to run the trip. In the case of this river, I think the higher water was a good thing!
After John returned from Hobbiton, we took a trip to a small game park and trout farm. The main reason I wanted to go there was that they had two lion cubs that they said you could "pet". We arrived an hour before closing and were able to enter a large cage with an attendant and one of the lion cubs out in the cage with us. There we five people initially, but soon there was just John and I and the attendant. We petted the 4-month old lion cub, called Aslan, who was exploring and doing his usual lion things. At one point I knelt down and the cub put both paws on my knee. That was an amazing experience! He tried nibbling at my wallet in my pants pocket, but the attendant quickly reprimanded the cub. The cub was so adorable, but also so huge compared to a domestic house cat. I guess he probably weighed about 50-pounds.
I was really glad I did this. They were raising the cubs for another zoo and said that once they reached 8-months they would no longer allow contact with the public.
We came back and we had dinner at a small "gourmet" burger restaurant. The burgers were actually very good! I had a egg, pineapple, hash brown, onion, pepper and tomato burger with plum sauce. Try to find that one in the US!
About 3-hours after dinner I discovered that I didn't have my camera and knew I had left it at the restaurant. It's just one of those sick feelings you never want to have while on a trip. I raced back to the restaurant, which had just closed and sneaked in the door. A really nice lady knew what I had come for and pulled out my camera bag from behind the counter. I was so thankful! I offered her a reward but she wouldn't take it. My hats off to another kind New Zealander, like others I have good fortune to met before!
posted by Chris at 11:00 AM
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