Day 168 - White water rafting & sledging on Kaituna River, North Island - Sunday 1st April 2012

After a lovely, relaxing and cultural day / evening the day before, today was the complete opposite!! Our friends - Danny "small hands" Wells & Stacey "saggy" Hale - bought us as a wedding present all the way back in September for a day's activity in NZ. So today was the day, we were up and away in the camper at 8.15am and headed to "River rats", here is where we got our 30 minute briefing on safety, how to handle the sledge and how not to drown!! Sledging is where you, accompanied by two guides, basically go a similar route as the white water rafters but on a plastic sledge. Yep that's right, all through white water and water drops clutching on for dear live to two metal handles protruding from a plastic sledge, which would be awesome over Epsom Downs in the snow, I wasn't too sure how they would fare on the water??!! We were with two others on the trip down to the river in the bus, and they were doing the sledging with us, the other 30 people were doing the rafting (which we would do in the afternoon). This got me thinking, are they not doing the sledging because it's not as well heard of or is it something else… Well it was definitely something else, because it's so hard to do unless you know how to breathe underwater!!! We had to carry our sledges down to the river and once there we had a quick practise in some calm water and then that was it, we were off. I was rubbish and after the first rapid I was told off for not listening, or handling my sledge correctly! Um until today I hadn't even heard of water sledging let alone know how to do it. I think this annoyed the instructor even more as he then took me straight to the fastest rapid and chucked me through it!! It was actually awesome!! Soph was behind me and was much better at staying afloat (she must have been paying more attention than me in the briefing!). Anyway it was wicked fun and we had a right laugh, but it was hard work and by the end we were both shattered!! Back at the base we had a well-earned hour rest before we were white water rafting. We had some coffee to warm up and some muesli and before we knew it we were kitted up and back in a briefing for the rafting. I promised Wellsy that Soph and I would sit at the back of the boat and as we set off that's where we were!! Although after five minutes Soph was told to move to the middle as she was too light for the back and the instructor was worried about squashing her!! The rafting was amazing and even more fun than the sledging! We went over a seven metre waterfall and luckily landed the right way round as it's 50/50 that the boat flips!! After an hour of rafting through the highest commercially rafted river in the world, all the white water, fourteen rapids and some big waterfalls, we were done and completely knackered - this was the most exercise we have done in 6 months!! Back in the van we ate and then drove to the nearest layby to sleep ZZZ! Thanks to Dan and Stacey for an amazing experience and wicked wedding present. We love ya guys xx.