Today we are fortunate enough to have a guest post from bloggers,
Nico & Vicky of
Check out all Nico & Vicky's inspirational thoughts and pics at:
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| Photo: @the_travelling_mooseys |
Since meeting each other during Newcastle University's
fresher week, nearly six years ago, we have explored the world together and
will continue to do so. Places we have travelled together include Japan,
Europe, New Zealand, and America. In-between pretending we are Indiana Jones
and Tomb Raider, we both enjoy a range of cool, sometimes nerdy hobbies and
interests, such as surfing, photography, reading, and Star Wars. Yes, Star
Wars! Also, we both have strong interests in food and beverages, especially Mexican
food, pizza and cocktails. Please feel free to come with us on our journey by
following our Instagram page and website, and message us your stories and
photos. We would love to hear from you! Love Vicky and Nico
The Kaituna River in Rotorua, New Zealand, is where we were thrown into the deep unknown dark river with no experience of rafting. We encountered not just one, but three incredibly dangerous waterfalls, including the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world called the Tutea Falls (7 meters high). This activity was not for the faint hearted, and where Hobbits should not be seen floating down this river. But, here we were floating down this life threatening river with no experience, no sandwiches, no wet suits to keep our bums warm, and most importantly Nico couldn't Instagram.
This is a tale from
His and Her experience of this contrasting event.
Nico’s Experience
This is a must do extreme sport if you
come to Rotorua! The adrenaline rush was epic and the feeling going down these
waterfalls were incredible. I am amazed that I persuaded Vicky to join me,
especially as Hobbits were warned to stay away from the river. To kick this
story off, it started with us with four other people, including a world
champion white water raft guide, in a yellow submarine coloured raft. The first
two waterfalls was a thrill-seeking ride, where we managed to stay on and avoid
capsizing the raft. Vicky nearly lost her GoPro, but apart from that we were
alive and well. Then came the almighty Tutea Falls at 7 meters high, this
waterfall brought nerves and daunting feelings to all on board. None the less I
was stoked and ready to go! After, praying for Chief Tutea who was buried
behind the waterfall, we drifted slowly to the top of the world highest
commercial waterfall. I was close to wetting myself with excitement and nerves.
I looked at Vicky, who smiled back, and then peered over the edge. It was what
I expected to see, a drop that did not look natural. Before, I could let my
nerves take over we dropped over the edge, it was an awesome sight as we surged
down to the bottom of the fall. Half way down the fall, we capsized and was
trapped underwater for a short time. I quickly escaped and saw my oar floating
away from me, I went after it but soon got shouted at to get back to the upside
down raft, due to strong currents. I was in a tricky position, do I save my oar
or save myself? I thought it would be better to save myself, especially as we
were having pizza later on and going to Hobbiton the next day. The Tutea Falls
was an incredible and fun experience, where I thought we both absolutely loved
it! I was high fiving everyone afterwards, and desperate to do it again! I
thought Vicky had the same view as me until…
Vicky’s Experience
Unlike Nico I had no expectations of what
I would encounter, which I later realized that the river was a Grade 5 Expert
rating rafting difficultly, as a result it came to an almighty shock later on.
The week building up to this traumatic event, Nico described this activity as
“fun”, “easy”, and “a piece of piss”. So initially, I had no worries and
qualms, however once we were on the Kaituna River, this is where it started to
go downhill for me…LITERALLY! Firstly, my helmet kept sliding off my head,
which I will reiterate that I was on a Grade 5 river with No Experience, and
secondly my GoPro kept falling of my helmet. Then, even worse I was the only
member from the opposite sex on this highly alpha-male dominated raft, where if
you weren't extreme you did not belong. So here I was, I have never done
anything extreme in my life and had Nico hiding the fact that we were going down
the highest commercial rafted waterfall in the world in less than 1 minute. As
a result, I had no idea what was going on and thought we were going down what
Nico described as “a piece of piss” waterfall. Even though everyone was saying
a prayer for Chief Tutea before we voyaged down the fall of death, I still did
not make the connection of what was to become.
Next thing I know, I am heading down the waterfall on the
“lad” raft when suddenly a rush of water blew the raft upside down, where I was
plunged underneath the raft. The problem was that I was not prepared for this
and missed the opportunity to take my last breath. Also, while we were plunging
down the waterfall at the speed of a Formula One car, I manage to hit my head
on a rock. With a bump on the head and no last breath I was in trouble. I tried
to come up to the surface, and all I could feel was the seats of the raft. This
was the moment I realized we had capsized. Then, I tried to escape this
situation by swimming to the right side of the raft, but surprisingly I was not
going anywhere. To make matters worse, I was trapped by the rope on the raft,
which was not allowing myself to escape being underwater. I kept pushing
forward to try to free my shoulder, which tangled up in the rope. With having no
last breath of air, I felt oxygen leaving my body and close to near death.
Although, anger was the emotion I felt at this moment because I have been a
successful award winning county swimmer for Ulster, Northern Ireland (woo, plug
at myself), and believed water would never get the better of me. As I tried to
keep pushing forward, I managed to grab hold of an oar and pull myself to the
surface. After, what felt like hours underneath the cold water, I’m free and
alive, although when I look around I see the alpha males of my raft
high-fiving, cheering, laughing, even wooing. They seem to have forgotten about
me. Was I really that small? Nico kept making go down even more waterfalls and
blaming me for not wanting to participate on further waterfalls and rapids.
Although, Nico did not realize how life-threatening this experience this was
until we were off the raft later on, which to my amazement his initial reaction
was “This is going to look amazing on the GoPro and will get me more Instagram
followers!”
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| River in Rotorua, New Zealand Photo: @the_travelling_mooseys |
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