Nepal soldiers and country girl go rafting

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 241, 3 May 1988, Page 16 (Supplement)

Nepal soldiers and country girl go rafting

b y jocelyn price Careening over white-water rapids with sixteen Nepalese soldiers in three yellow rafts was an opportunity too tempting to pass up. The soldiers and I met the instructors after a long brisk ride in the back of an army vehicle. We donned wetsuits, woollen socks, sneakers, life jackets and helmets before the instructors went through the routine manoeuvres needed to get us down the Tongariro river. The soldiers spoke only limited English, so the ones who could understand the guides as they explained how to use the paddles, translated what was said.

Sitting on the land on the side of the boat, learning the calls, was the easiest part of the trip. After carrying the rafts to the water we jumped in to try out cur newly leamed skills. The soldiers were nervous because they'd had little to do with water as a recreational means and held a healthy respect for it. We practised for five minutes in Beggs Pool, then paddled off in a small convoy. The largest raft headed the trio. We had eight on board, with the instructor and myself in the back and the translator of the crew at the front. The other boats had six on board, including the instructors, all eagerly watching to see who would

fall out first. As we got further down the river, the Nepalese began to enjoy the ride. They were a noisy bunch, laughing and yahooing as we crashed over the rapids. The Tongariro trip drops about 200 metres in altitude and has some 50 rapids in the 12 kilometres that we covered. The guides will tell you it's the best river in New Zealand because it has the most rapids per kilometre. There was never a dull moment on the trip as we bounced over rapids lovingly named by the guides - names like Leg-breaker, Corner Pocket, Side Pocket, Log Rapid, Table Rock, Bruiser, Two Slip, Garden Rock and South Island. We stopped twice along the way. The first stop was at a place called Two Holes. After everyone had had a quick cool dive off one of the rocks, the guides pointed out two unobtrusive holes in the flat part of a rock a few metres away. The holes were deep, filled with water and sitting next to each other, with the water only ankle deep over the remainder of the rockbed. The holes looked deceptively separate, until the guides told the soldiers to jump in and try swimming from one to the other. One soldier after the next braved the dark holes,

slipping into one, and popping up in the one opposite. The holes were murky, but the gap under the rock was easy to find and you could slip from one hole to the next without any trouble - other than banging your head on the rock if you weren't careful. A waterfall was our second stop. It was only about two metres high but had a large volume of water coming over it. A few of the soldiers eagerly followed the guide along the edge of the bank and under the fall, bobbing out and away from it when the

force of the water hit them. They bounced like corks in their life jackets, and came out teeth chattering. Most of the soldiers found the prospect of swimming under a waterfall too much for them or the water too cold. After taking photographs, we jumped back into our rafts and continued the trip. The Tongariro River is very pretty. The native bush grows along the banks for a long way, before the pine forest takes over. Numerous ferns grow on the banks, with water drip-

ping from the wet mosses in many places. The guides say you can see trout when the water's clear, although we didn't spot any that day. The rapids were fun, bouncing you around in their white froth, and with a bit of skill, balance, and a lot of luck, you won't fall out. There were only a few mishaps on the trip, the most amusing of which was the rock episode. One boatful of Nepalese soldiers and their guide, made a slight error ma-