Day 4. 0800 pick up from hotel to rafting at the shotover river. Pro n euipped shop in town where they conducted the briefing. Injected with humour. Realised most outdoor activity instructors are like tat. Then up onto the coach to the shotover river. Very pro driver really. Blue haired lady. So cool. she is prob one of those few who can bring the grp thru the skipper's canyon at that kind of speed. Skilfully manoevering along the canyon roads. And the vehicle was fully packed with at least 20 pax i supp. the grp comprises mostly english. And trailing behind, our rafts on a four wheel cart. Like what the guide, bob says, pple pay for 4wd tour but we get one whole package jus by gg rafting. Haha. and he cracked many jokes along the way with some history info on the gold miners at least a century ago, and pointing out rocks which resembles gorilla face, an upside down elephant and a winnie the pool carrying a pot of honey. Sugoi. Farnie guy, eased the long bumpy drive up, and probably distract pax from freaking out when they peeped down from the edge of the road where the wheels are almost touching. Well bob said nobody has died on the road so far, he paused, as all are all down the canyons. One of those light hearted ones. Faintz.
Fully geared. Wet suit and shoes. Urgh super tight. As long as i can still breathe they do not allow me to change to a bigger one. Canvas outer jacket, safety jacket and helmet. N later i understand why. Reached the mosquitoes or some insects infested river bank spot where we unloaded the rafts. Another safety brief. So bob is the kayaker as rescuer for the rafters. Tom our assigned rafting guide, raft 140. 2 canadians, 2 english, 2 sgporeans and 1 indian on board. Very serious and competent guide. Taught us all the commands. Very safe, but u know tat lost the fun. I used to and still find outdoor activities trainers one of the best leaders. Ala carte all the traits u find, and if u are able to practise them, u'll be best any follower would respect and support. Ok so complaining that the rafting was boring. Sure they are grade 3? What is then grade 2 and 1. One grade 4-5 rapid n thats it. No butterflies in the stomach. Most of the trip was enduring the bone biting chill. 8 deg cel. tom was really too serious. Firm with too many commands. but really knowledgeable n steady. The malays in sabah are different, more fun loving but when come to serious stuff they are really strict for safety too. difficult to find a white rafting experience as good as or better than the kota kinabalu one. Probably, it is more troublesome in nz as anyone dropping in may kenna hypothermia.
Thanks to the drizzle which makes the cold almost unbearable. Lucky for the paddling. But forward, stop. Forward, forward, stop. All jus follow faithfully sighz. Cant i paddle more? Maybe he try to save our energy but whoa too structured! But thanks to the guys in front, their speed give me some challenge. Exactly! Tom reminded all that one strong deep powerful stroke is better than 3 shallow splashes. Gosh. Reminded them a few times. anyway ive to keep up else the paddles will clash. So well strained my back muscles in the end trying to do deep fast strokes. He never do timing leh. So those behind no choice but to follow the front ones. The 2 sides are not even in sync. But anyway we paddled sporadically. His call for stops are so frequent, in short spurts. Like doing shuttle runs. I envy carefree bob in his single kayak. Reached a section of the river, were told to disembark, they deemed too dangerous to raft. Took a peep. Looks fun. But i think the speed is too fast probably. They cant stomach the risk for such a big grp. Could probably do it if the ratio of trainers to rafters is higher. Anyway the exchange was worth it.
Did real rock climbing. Coolness. Imagine us appearing as tiny dots on the massive slopes of the canyon. Really fun. Not easy in the wet shoes. Seems easy for those guys with long legs crossing and overstepping the rocks. The rocks are huge. Most of them r of human size. Too slippery for me to jump. Too many jagged sharp edges too. Did it my way. Like a baby using all 4 limbs and the butt. Conquered them fast. Caught up easily. Thru the dense vegetation, they have tied ropes there for pple to hold on. Well recce-ed and pre-explored path i would say. Some grass types are quite slippery tho. Then continued back in the river. Went thru a dark tunnel. N we ended soon after we emerged back into the light with the weeping sky. Thot the fun in having driven thru the skippers canyon and the rock climbing to bypass a dangerous section of the river due to floods last wk surpassed the main rafting activity.
Kfc for lunch at queenstown town centre. think more yummy than in sg. Bathed, reunite with frens n then out to glenorchy. Scenic drive. Lake n rivers with the mountains as the backdrop. Have yet seen a super calm lake that gives super sharp reflection. Mountains after mountains. Some are rocks. Some have light green fluffy grass patches, peppered with darker green balls of trees. Along the roads, there are purple, pink and yellow flowers thriving. More white furballs grazing as we neared mt aspiring. They are really shy..they were staring at us then suddenly turn and run away. Grumpy cows next. The calfs were scared. The mother cows jus stared back. Like they jus turned to stones. They may be "clenching their hoofs", preparing to launch an attack if we near their fence further. Are they territorial animals? Then my fav! The horses! Ooo so nice to jus watch them. They galloped, grazed and uh peed. So nice. If i can take up another sport, it will definitely horseback archery. Enuff to take a lifetime to master. Will nv be bored if i were to do a long farm stay.
Entertained by nature, headed back to queenstown, packed dinner and went back hotel. Did laundry. Cant even stand running to and fro the laundry room. Checked the temp. 5 deg cel. Damn. Wat is the temp for winter then if this is summer. And i was in tee and shorts. Tats all for the day.
