We did it! River Rafting another ? tick off my 40 before 40 to do list!
With our Belgian guests Greet and Stephan, our local friends Pierre, Anne, Celine, Maxmin and Garance, my daughter Angelina, my husband Alfonz and I, we drove the forty-five minutes to Roquebrun on the river Orb to try our hand at river rafting. It was an overcast day, and not too hot. Quite possibly the ideal weather for paddling for a few hours.
At first, we checked in and got suited up. They fitted us for lifejackets, the kids got helmets and each boat got a double and a single oar. They loaded our boats up on a trailer, and we loaded into a bus to take us up river five kilometres to our beginner’s starting point. They assured us that it will take one hour and thirty minutes to complete. For the children, that seems a great distance. At that moment, I wished we decided on the ten kilometre run. But with Daniel away in Hungary, we can always come back to try our hand at a harder run.
In my head I thought it would be dangerous, with scary treacherous waters rushing by, edge of your seat rapids and the risk of death at every turn. There were a few moments I thought we would hit a big rock or fall out, but for the most part, it was a tame beginners version of my imagination.
We should have started at the intermediate level, especially when Alfonz and I don’t mind falling in the water. We didn’t, so I threw myself in into the cool waters of the Orb at the end of the day.
Call first to reserve your canoe to ensure your day of river rafting, or try your luck and just stop by. People were doing both with great success. Our cost for the day was 40€.
Our friends did topple into the water down a treacherous rapid and their daughter switched boats in the end. The other, landed in tree branches a few times with her son. All in all we had a few good laughs, competed who would get back the fastest (darn Belgians won) and had a fabulous day on the water.
Alfonz bought a Silver GoPro for our trip down the river, however in the bus ride, he realized the battery had drained. We were so disappointed, however we viewed this time as our trial run with another reason to come again with Daniel when he comes home next week. So, unfortunately we have no photos to share, just the stock photo from the company we used.
A GoPro is a brand of high-definition personal cameras, often used in extreme action video photography. They are known for being lightweight, rugged, wearable (head-mounted) or mountable in unusual places such as outside planes, cars, or boats. They can go underwater, in the snow, low and high temperatures and are virtually indestructible.
Buying the Go-Pro was an ordeal in itself. In France the cheapest we found was 350€ as this country has a fare pricing law, making all within a few dollars of their competitors. Alfonz found one online for 249€ with shipping included from a UK website through Ebay. It was a toss up between the silver and black. The reviews stated, that although the Black is the better camera, with high definition, it also required a stronger battery life and change out batteries which put it out of our price range. We bought the Silver, and hope to try it out soon. Alfonz has already created a helmut mount for Daniel’s BMX sports as well as a low motor bike mount at a wicked low angle. I bet he could sell them – they are so frick’en cool.
See you rafting on the Orb,
That’s Hamori!
[…] River Rafting Roquebrun […]