18/10/2018

18/10/2018 2 days in Cairns

Rafting at Tully River

I got up early in the morning and enjoyed some free cornflakes and toast, really nice for a hostel. They said that later there would even be some pancakes but I didn't have time to stay that long.

I grabbed my things and made my way to where the bus would pick me up. At 06:30 (the exact time when I had to be there) I arrived at the stop. I saw the bus standing there but it took off before I was able to get to it.

In panic, I called the company and told them I had missed the bus. However, they calmed me down by saying that this was just one of many buses that were currently picking people up. A few minutes later another bus arrived and I got on.

They drove us to the building to check in and get our water shoes. Then we got on another, bigger bus and headed into the mountains. After about an hour, we arrived at the destination.

Here we left our bags in the bus and got our helmets and life jackets. I was in a group with 5 other people and our boat guide Tomo. We walked down the path to the rafts and got in. I got to sit in the front with Johanna from Germany. Then 2 in the middle, 2 at the back, and Tomo all the way at the back.

He taught us the different signs like: 'paddle forward' or 'back' / 'to the right' or 'left' where everyone immediately goes to one side of the boat. / 'Hold on' where you just grab your paddle and hold onto the boat / and 'Get down' where you grab your paddle and squat down in the inside of the boat.

Then we started heading down the river. Already we had to make use of everything Tomo just taught us by jumping to the left of the raft, paddling backwards, jump up and down if the raft got stuck and GET DOWN!! when a huge waterdrop appeared in front of us and the raft was going full speed ahead.

It was a lot of fun and we got stuck a lot. Especially at '2 to 15,' it was a bunch of rocks very tight together that when you do it right you needed 2 minutes or wrong you could end up having to spend 15 minutes trying to get the boat unstuck all the time. We all had to go to the front while Tomo was pushing us off the rock or all jump to the left and then everyone back to the right to get the raft out when it got stuck between 2 rocks. We needed about 4 minutes.

It followed the ninja slope, which was a very small water stream between 2 rocks. However, it was the only way to get through this section. Since the boat was bigger than the gap, we had to all lean to the right and go through at an angle.

We got up on one rock and went down almost sideways then we had to quickly all jump to the left so we wouldn't tip over. It was close but we got it.

When we started getting to the lunch area, we went under a waterfall to get refreshed and then enjoyed some burgers.

After lunch, Tomo led us through the waterfall again because he forgot to record it when we first went through. Also, we switched positions and sides since it was exhausting always paddling with mainly your one arm.

Then we came up to 'God's revenge,' a small waterfall that didn't seem too difficult to cross but still, we had to use very special tactics as Tomo told us. Everyone had to sit at the front facing away from the waterfall and holding on to each other. Not the boat, each other. Tomo sat at the far back and told us to get ready.

Then he steered us down the waterfall and as the raft hit the water, we all got thrown off underwater. When I came back up, I just heard Tomo's laughter as he was sitting completely alone on the raft.

It followed 'tower 22,' a set of many small rocks that all had to be avoided. And we did not avoid all of them. As we picked up some speed, we saw another raft in front of us, stuck between 2 rocks. Tomo quickly asked us if we were ready to give it our all to save the other raft and sacrifice ourselves! Yes! We replied and paddled up to ramming speed.

We rammed into the other raft, bouncing them out of the 2 rocks but getting our raft stuck. It took us a while of jumping up and down but we managed to get free.

During a calm section after 'tower 22,' Tomo told us to paddle backwards to avoid a bigger rock in front of us. We told us to paddle faster and faster until we collided with a rock behind us and nearly all got thrown off again. Tomo laughed again.

We continued further and got to 'Jabba the Hut,' a giant, fat rock where people could climb on one side and jump off the other. I was not one of those people.

The rest of the way got a bit calmer, there were some more rocks that we got stuck on but we managed to get to the end. The way would continue but since the water was pretty low, we ended here. The Dam at the start of the river was actually the only reason we could go rafting. Because they were releasing water into the river while we were rafting.

We dried off and went to a tavern where we had already stopped on the way to the river. Here we could watch the photos that were made and also some clips the guide made on the way with his GoPro. There were sadly some technical difficulties so we didn't get all the footage.

Back at my hostel, I showered and went out to get some food. 2 days in Cairns
Rafting at Tully River
I got up early in the morning and enjoyed some free cornflakes and toast, really nice for a hostel. They said that later there would even be some pancakes but I didn't have time to stay that long.

I grabbed my things and made my way to where the bus would pick me up. At 06:30 (the exact time when I had to be there) I arrived at the stop. I saw the bus standing there but it took off before I was able to get to it.

In panic, I called the company and told them I had missed the bus. However, they calmed me down by saying that this was just one of many buses that were currently picking people up. A few minutes later another bus arrived and I got on.

They drove us to the building to check in and get our water shoes. Then we got on another, bigger bus and headed into the mountains. After about an hour, we arrived at the destination.

Here we left our bags in the bus and got our helmets and life jackets. I was in a group with 5 other people and our boat guide Tomo. We walked down the path to the rafts and got in. I got to sit in the front with Johanna from Germany. Then 2 in the middle, 2 at the back, and Tomo all the way at the back.

He taught us the different signs like: 'paddle forward' or 'back' / 'to the right' or 'left' where everyone immediately goes to one side of the boat. / 'Hold on' where you just grab your paddle and hold onto the boat / and 'Get down' where you grab your paddle and squat down in the inside of the boat.

Then we started heading down the river. Already we had to make use of everything Tomo just taught us by jumping to the left of the raft, paddling backwards, jump up and down if the raft got stuck and GET DOWN!! when a huge waterdrop appeared in front of us and the raft was going full speed ahead.

It was a lot of fun and we got stuck a lot. Especially at '2 to 15,' it was a bunch of rocks very tight together that when you do it right you needed 2 minutes or wrong you could end up having to spend 15 minutes trying to get the boat unstuck all the time. We all had to go to the front while Tomo was pushing us off the rock or all jump to the left and then everyone back to the right to get the raft out when it got stuck between 2 rocks. We needed about 4 minutes.

It followed the ninja slope, which was a very small water stream between 2 rocks. However, it was the only way to get through this section. Since the boat was bigger than the gap, we had to all lean to the right and go through at an angle.
We got up on one rock and went down almost sideways then we had to quickly all jump to the left so we wouldn't tip over. It was close but we got it.

When we started getting to the lunch area, we went under a waterfall to get refreshed and then enjoyed some burgers.

After lunch, Tomo led us through the waterfall again because he forgot to record it when we first went through. Also, we switched positions and sides since it was exhausting always paddling with mainly your one arm.

Then we came up to 'God's revenge,' a small waterfall that didn't seem too difficult to cross but still, we had to use very special tactics as Tomo told us. Everyone had to sit at the front facing away from the waterfall and holding on to each other. Not the boat, each other. Tomo sat at the far back and told us to get ready.

Then he steered us down the waterfall and as the raft hit the water, we all got thrown off underwater. When I came back up, I just heard Tomo's laughter as he was sitting completely alone on the raft.

It followed 'tower 22,' a set of many small rocks that all had to be avoided. And we did not avoid all of them. As we picked up some speed, we saw another raft in front of us, stuck between 2 rocks. Tomo quickly asked us if we were ready to give it our all to save the other raft and sacrifice ourselves! Yes! We replied and paddled up to ramming speed.

We rammed into the other raft, bouncing them out of the 2 rocks but getting our raft stuck. It took us a while of jumping up and down but we managed to get free.

During a calm section after 'tower 22,' Tomo told us to paddle backwards to avoid a bigger rock in front of us. We told us to paddle faster and faster until we collided with a rock behind us and nearly all got thrown off again. Tomo laughed again.

We continued further and got to 'Jabba the Hut,' a giant, fat rock where people could climb on one side and jump off the other. I was not one of those people.

The rest of the way got a bit calmer, there were some more rocks that we got stuck on but we managed to get to the end. The way would continue but since the water was pretty low, we ended here. The Dam at the start of the river was actually the only reason we could go rafting. Because they were releasing water into the river while we were rafting.

We dried off and went to a tavern where we had already stopped on the way to the river. Here we could watch the photos that were made and also some clips the guide made on the way with his GoPro. There were sadly some technical difficulties so we didn't get all the footage.

Back at my hostel, I showered and went out to get some food. I got myself a pizza and after that an ice cream.

Tomorrow I am going for another diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef.