White water rafting with the Kimberley Raft Company
What an exhilarating way to spend a day. My hubby and I got our towel and change of clothes ready and met the rest of the rafting adventurers at the building with the fish on the roof – the home of Kimberley Raft Company. We clambered aboard their big blue bus and set off at around 9am, driving past St. Mary’s Lake and onward into the pristine wilderness of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy. When we arrived at Dewar Creek, I didn’t realise just what all would be provided as the guides fitted us out with wetsuits, jackets, wet boots and helmets. They even packed lunch for everyone.
Next, everyone grabbed a paddle and we had a thorough briefing prior to setting off to ensure everyone was prepared to follow the commands together and make sure our adventure would be as safe as we could make it, regardless of what the river willed!
Setting off, the guides ensure all commands are practiced on the water, not just on land. Everyone was confident and prepared for the whoops of the gentle rapids, and those to come later. We made our way down Dewar Creek, sticking close enough to the other raft to allow us some laughs at their expense: getting their raft stuck on a rock for a few seconds allowed us to sneak past and lead the way at one stage!
Lunch time came and we had time for a break and devour some tasty wraps and delicious chocolate chip cookies. The guides got everything ready and served up the buffet on an overturned raft – perfect. We ate perched on the edge of a spectacular canyon and watched the water crash against the rocks.
Energy levels topped up, we were now ready for the 2km of Class 3 rapids we’d been building up to. We boarded our rafts and got stuck in, attacking the rapids in the centre of the river and hitting all the “niggies” we could! Our guide Dan steered us into the best rapids, almost too well at one point when he was catapulted out of the boat! The pre-departure training paid off as we stayed calm and had him back on board and back in control within seconds.
After the adrenaline of the rapids, we enjoyed some beautiful natural scenery until we reached the end of this trip. But all was not over – the guides offered us the option of “swimming” across the river in what looked like fairly gnarly rapids to me. Again, training was given on which direction to swim to start, when to go from front crawl to the “defensive” position on your back with feet in front. Over half the group gave it a go and gained one more final thrilling experience before relaxing on the big blue bus and returning back to Kimberley. Thanks to Craig’s team and having another awesome experience with the Kimberley Raft Company!