Mission Travel Channel
Take this traveler’s advice and go to Australia! For beyond the gorgeous people and sun-filled days, there are unexpected adventures that guarantee to have you returning transformed.
We floated, my cousin and I, on a touristy catamaran the day we decided to stay in Cairns, an area of Queensland known largely for its party-spirited people and its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. Now a month into our tour of the Pacific, we were already running low on money and surviving largely on giggles and the kindness of others. Australia, we found, was much like the other island countries we had visited, with its light hearted sun-kissed people, phenomenal sea food and friendly accommodation of backpackers. We had just forced a description of a recent kayak trip from one of our fellow passengers when the captain piped in with his recommendation. His smile challenged us and so, he promised, would the Tully River.
Considered to be the best rafting river in the whole of Australia and New Zealand, the Tully River is a 2 hour bus ride from Cairns and worth every mile. The internationally used rating system grades a river’s rapids from simple (Grade 1) to dangerous and rarely possible to control (Grade 6). The Tully, at a 3-4, offers a brisk journey considered suitable only for moderately skilled rafters, as it requires a constant hold on the raft and continuous maneuvering. We raised our eyebrows. The Barron River, he said in response, was a 1-2 grade and runs conveniently just outside Cairns if either we weren’t feeling very brave or just really liked to float. He raised his eyebrows in return.
We floated, my cousin and I, on a touristy catamaran the day we decided to stay in Cairns, an area of Queensland known largely for its party-spirited people and its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef. Now a month into our tour of the Pacific, we were already running low on money and surviving largely on giggles and the kindness of others. Australia, we found, was much like the other island countries we had visited, with its light hearted sun-kissed people, phenomenal sea food and friendly accommodation of backpackers. We had just forced a description of a recent kayak trip from one of our fellow passengers when the captain piped in with his recommendation. His smile challenged us and so, he promised, would the Tully River.
Considered to be the best rafting river in the whole of Australia and New Zealand, the Tully River is a 2 hour bus ride from Cairns and worth every mile. The internationally used rating system grades a river’s rapids from simple (Grade 1) to dangerous and rarely possible to control (Grade 6). The Tully, at a 3-4, offers a brisk journey considered suitable only for moderately skilled rafters, as it requires a constant hold on the raft and continuous maneuvering. We raised our eyebrows. The Barron River, he said in response, was a 1-2 grade and runs conveniently just outside Cairns if either we weren’t feeling very brave or just really liked to float. He raised his eyebrows in return.
We were picked up from our hotel the next morning at 7:00am by the Raging Thunder tour company (http://www.ragingthunder.com.au/) and having hit the town hard the night before were thrilled to lie back down and sleep the early morning away. The tour was fully booked, our driver began to tell us on the other end, and as we saddled up next to the remaining fleet of packed buses, our hearts began to flutter with anticipation. We had chosen to take the less intimate tour and so got in line for our safety gear with a near 40 other people. Each one was fitted for a specially designed helmet and life jacket, making it safe for even non-swimmers to take the plunge, and our tour guides paired us in groups of 6 beside the rafts for the ‘Rescue 3’ safety demonstrations.
Our guide was young, fit and mildly rebellious. He had cut the sleeves from his staff shirt and made fun of each one of us in turn as we together picked up the raft and carried it to the water. The rafting conditions, he sang as we joined the rest of the groups already practicing their listening skills and reaction time with their own leader, were ideal and he seemed almost juvenile in his enthusiasm to be in the water. I asked him how many times he had taken this particular path and with a sheepish grin, he replied nearly 400. As far as he was concerned, it was the greatest job in the world.
We hit the first rapid as a team, feeling poised and ready. I can say now without a doubt that my cousin and I were not as ready as we had planned. The water picked up and as the guide began his clear outlay of commands, we lost ourselves in the thrill. Together we dropped our paddles, despite everything we had been taught, and clung to one another comically screaming as though we would never survive. I wish I had thought to thank the company’s shore-bound photographer for the photo he snapped capturing exactly this because it has since become our most prized possession and somehow even, a personal anthem. We couldn’t believe we had given up so easily!
Our vision cleared to find our team thankfully still intact. No one else had flunked the training course as we had and so they sat looking triumphant and flushed, albeit dripping wet. Our chests heaved with the exertion and we looked back at our guide who carried a knowing and mischievous grin on his face. Each of the teams were celebrating now, shouting up and down the river with their hands all held high above their heads. My cousin and I locked eyes from across the raft and braced ourselves for the next swell. If the river wanted our paddles again, it would be dragging the both of us kicking and laughing down behind them!
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