Part Two Of Clinton's Fab Birthday

Yes, this is a bit late (over a month)...my apologies. I didn't want to forget about it either, because this next part details our whitewater rafting adventures and since it was both our first times, it was quite sweet!

So we finally got to the whitewater rafting gathering location. As we neared the back of the camp, Clinton and I noted the reggae tunes that were playing. They were some real underground type tunes and all the kiwi employees (which where all male and in there late 20s to mid 30s) were singing and bopping their heads to it...hard. This place was definitely low-key and chill. The backyard had a volleyball net to the left and a few picnic tables in the center. There were wet-suits, flippers, watershoes and life-jackets across the back fence. Clinton and I sat down and lathered ourselves with some extra SPF 30. We were told to wait for the earlier group to return shortly. Within 15 minutes, a parade of giggling, bathing-suit & life-jacket wearing women and men entered the yard. For a second or two I left like I was in a scuba-diving fashion contest and was tempted to hold up cue cards with scores...LOL. As the group cleared out, the energetic male staff gathered the next group, including us, in the back. One of the guys asked me my shoes size. "8," I replied. He turned and looked through several rows. So I added "I'm like a 6 in men and I don't know my European size...its like 40 something." He handed me size 5s and stated "these should fit, you Americans like to exaggerate." I laughed and but the wet (literally they were soaked) booties on...and guess what, they fit! LOL!

After, getting our gear (BTW, our group has changed and is only wearing bathing-suits and life-jackets), we march out of the yard and into the parking lot to load a yellow-bus. There are about 28 of us and 5 or 6 staff members. They staff were cracking jokes and singing happy birthday to the 2 birthday boys, one of which was Clinton. We got to the river "Roto Ito." we unloaded the bus and sets of 5 to 6 people helped bring a raft to the opening of the river. Before we jumped into the water, we were given a bit of history of the river which included some facts about the local Maori iwi that controlled access to the river. We were also told that the river was the reason for fights between the Maori iwis because of the wealth of eel that are found. One of the staff members, lead the group in a Maori prayer asking the river for access and safety. After a recognizable "Amenie (Amen)", we pushed our raft into the crystal clear green water and one-by-one stepped into it. Once we were all in our staff guy (totally forgot his name...that's what happens when you don't write things down soon enough) pushed our raft out of the way but held on to the rock wall to wait for the other rafts. I was told to sit on the ledge of the raft (2nd person on the left side of the boat of which there were 6 people). Clinton was seated in the front right side. Midway through our journey, we switched places but I stayed right in the middle..hehehe. The river was beautiful, the rock walls and trees completely drowned out the road right behind it. It was peaceful and smelled of fresh morning dew. I was excited and nervous! While we waited, our guide instructed us on how to sit, paddle and prepare for drops. Ohhh lord, what have we gotten into. He explained that we had to keep feet under the inflated middle row while we paddled hard, deep and complete. We were a team and needed to paddle together in the same speed (something that I am not sure the German guy in front of me comprehended cause he was paddling like his life depended on it). We paddled down the beautiful clear green water, which taste like crisp Fiji bottled water...hmmm, I guess spring water is genuinely tasty. We went down our first fall....wooheee, we made it. We "practiced" down 2 other shorter falls before splashing down the 7 meter (22.97 ft) fall. Not sure if I was ready, but we did it anyway. All I kept thinking was "roll up like a ball" and "look for the light" advice our guide gave us if we fell off the raft. Our raft rocked, tilted and "almost" flipped BUT we all managed to stay in the raft....whhhooohooooo!
We lazily maneuvered our way down the river enjoying a cold dip into the water (Well I was bamboozled by our guide. He asked to see my footwear because he thought something was wrong. I quickly gave him my foot, which he used to flip me out of the raft and into the water). After finding my way back to the side of the raft, I managed to calm my nerves and take a few voluntary dips in the river. It was an amazing experience! A definite must do!