Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Kalinga: White Water Rafting

Chico River, we meet again! This is where I had my first white water rafting experience 10 years ago and I was really looking forward to shooting the rapids of this Northern Luzon river again.


Our trip was organized by Chico River Quest. We were picked up at our hotel and it took approximately an hour to get to the part of the riverbank where we would start our adventure.


Our guides gave us a briefing and explained a few basic instructions that we would need to follow to help properly maneuver the raft. Once our overview was complete and we all had our helmets and life vests on, we got on our raft and headed down the river.


We naturally started out in the part of the river that was still calm. It didn't take too long though before we started flexing our muscles by paddling to help control and direct our raft. There were some pretty incredible rapids!


Almost everyone tumbled over inside the raft at some point. In fact, in one particularly rocky stretch of the river, my friend Tim actually fell out of the raft! I guess it wouldn't have been a complete experience if nobody accidentally fell out. :) Our briefing included what to do when you fall out and how to get someone back into the raft so getting Tim back in was quite easy.


Midway through our trip, we stopped by a spot on the riverbank that had a small waterfall to have some snacks and drinks that were included in our package. Of course, we took this time to take pictures as well. :)


Apart from the awesome physical challenge of shooting the rapids, another great thing about this is the amazing scenery that you get to enjoy while on the river.


Towards the end of our adventure, our guides told us we could jump off the raft and let the current take us down river. Naturally, we all did. (I think it's standard to do this because I also did this the two previous times I went rafting.)


I'm glad that I got to borrow the waterproof camera of my friend because for the first time, I was able to take lots of pictures and even videos of my white water rafting experience. The entire trip down the Chico River took about three hours and this adventure alone made our visit to Kalinga worth it already. Of course there was still a lot more in store for me and my friends.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for sharing your story. Can you share your expenses and people to contact for this adventure?

Xtn said...

Hi there, sorry for the late reply. Davidson Hotel set up our Kalinga tour for us:

Davidson Hotel
09175797110
davidsonhotel@rocketmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Davidson-Hotel-and-Restaurant/231749596880882
(I know the mobile is correct, I'm not sure about the email)

Expense-wise, our whole tour included accommodations for three nights and a few other stops so the whole package was around P6,500 per person (airfare not included). I'm not sure how much the rafting itself costs. You can check with Chico River Quest since they set up our rafting adventure: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chico-River-Quest-Inc/260120161109.

Xtn said...

The cost per person of our tour was for nine people so it may vary depending on the number of people in your group.