Rafting the Rangitata

On a gloriously sunny and hot day not too long ago, the five of us decided to go white water rafting on the Rangitata River. New Zealand is just chock-full of outdoor activities to keep ya busy. Won't bore you with the bus ride and BBQ details, but our real adventure started with our nutty guide, Ben, hucking our raft in the middle of the river and yelling at us to go run in and get it . . . keep in mind that this river is fed by glaciers. Yes, it was a . . . refreshing . . . swim.

What is it about neoprene that makes you feel like you have super powers? Josh and I get hyped on dry land at the start of the river trail. Here we all are in action! Ben, the guide with lots of dirty jokes, is in the back in black. I'm to the right of him in the red helmet, Elliot in red in front of me, and Josh in light green in front of him. Steph is in front of Ben in light green, and Jay is the blue-helmeted one in front. The other two people in our raft are a couple Swedish girls Ben tried to get Jay to fall in love with. We managed all the rapids with only one casualty (Elliot!) falling out the entire time.

What would rafting be without a couple jumps offa cliffs? We did two jumps (or at least Jay and I did), one probably 5 meters high, and this one approximately 10.5 meters high. I'm obviously in for a slightly rough landing. . .

One last pic to contextualize our little rafting trip in the infamous landscape of New Zealand. It really is incredible.