Road Love: Davao - White Water Rafting

I have been always in search for adventures that would turn my world upside-down. So, when I tried the river adventure when we were in Davao, my world turned upside-down and left-to-right. I first heard about the rafting thing from friends who tried this way before I got to try it myself. They all said that rafting is worth a try. I have seen friends' pictures posted in Facebook. I saw pictures of friends being thrown out of the raft, capsized rafts, and paddles doing high five. I envied those pictures. 

So when we were planning our yearly out-of-town trips last April 2010, I immediately suggested to go to Davao and try the white water rafting. Good thing, they all wanted to go to. :)

Fast forward: Our white water rafting adventure was scheduled on our last day in Davao for the memories to be fresh on our way home to Manila and to be perfectly tanned. When we went to Crocodile Park, we had our reservations done since their office is also located on the same area. Scheduling should be done at least 2 days before the intended date of rafting. On the rafting day itself, Edge and I were late. We had a hard time calling for a taxi. We arrived 10 minutes after the call-time and the group were already watching the introductory video. We had to rush everything, from filling up the forms to changing our clothes. Fortunately, we did not cause any trouble to our fellow rafters. After the video, we headed to our respective vans, had our pictures taken, and off we went.

The first 2 on the left were our raft-mates.

There was about 45 minutes to an hour of travel time to get to the starting point. The place was rocky and was only rented by the company to be the starting point of the rafting. We were taught what are the equipments that were handed to us and how to use it. We were given a lifevest, a helmet, and a paddle. We also had a short lesson about the different types of paddling, some safety precautions, and how to rescue and swim defensively. The course was a 13km river with approximately 10 minor and 6 major rapids.

The two sitting on the raft were our raft guides, Jong and Geno.

 They were funny! :)

High five! :)

This was Edge practicing the lift.

After practicing the defensive swimming and the rescue, we were off the conquer the rapids. According to the guides, the water level was low compared to ones in August to December. Major rapids were not that 'major' but nevertheless, were still exciting. Following are some pictures taken during the first half of the course.

We took our lunch halfway. They served rice, grilled chicken, grilled pork, and an egg. They also gave us juice which were cold and I don't know how did that happen.

We continued the course after lunch. We conquered major rapids. Our raft did not capsize but I was thrown out on one of the rapids. It was uneventful for a thin like me. Heavier ones tended to stay on the raft. :) Keep an eye on the following pictures. You'll see how I fell off the raft.

It was the only time one of us got into the water. Poor me. It was only me who got thrown away. I was the thinnest and the lightest so I got all the bouncing. The course ended around 3 pm. We conquered 13-kilometer river. I was dead tired of all those paddling. I bid goodbye to my fair skin and said hello to my tanned dark skin. :)

Anyways, the rafting package costs P2000 and inclusive of the following: transportation (from the meeting area to the starting point and back), packed lunch and bottled water, use of gears and equipment, riverguide, souvenir shirt, documentation, and a ticket to ZipCity.

For more information, see their website here.

More pictures:

* Videos to follow.

The White Water Rafting in Davao is worth I try. This is definitely an adventure I'll forever love. :) Next stop: Cagayan De Oro River!

Notes:

Photos were from the documentation we received as part of the package. Thank you Davao WildWater Adventure!

Jes