Adams Family Reunion: White Water Rafting

I spent the summer of 2001 living in Uganda teaching English, music, and researching for my semester abroad through BYU.

We had many adventures, several that I look back on and think that I will never let my children travel like I did!  :)

One of the most memorable was rafting down the Nile River.  

I had been rafting before in the states with my family, but nothing could have prepared me for the waves along the Nile.  

For those who understand the "class" ratings of rapids, you know that class 5 rapids are not allowed in the states on commercial rafts.  And class 5 rapids were all there was on the Nile!

Needless to say our raft was toppled, turned, and thrown with every wave we hit. Oddly enough the only wave we did not fall out at was Bujagali Falls, probably because I jumped into the center of the raft so quick when I saw the drop off!

It is fun to brag about now, but at the time there were several moments where I thought we were going to die.  I know, a bit dramatic, but being caught under the raft while a snake is swimming in and out of your legs can make you think some pretty dramatic things.

For our last day in Sunriver, a group of us wanted to go rafting.  I hadn't been since Africa and frankly it had been nearly 10 years, so I figured I'd be fine.  The rafting company gave the age limit of 6 and older, which we all soon found out was VERY generous.

Erik brought his two boys Lincoln and Rulon.  Heather brought Max and Natalie and Leisha, Stuart, Dallas, and I came along for the ride.

The drop off was about 45minutes from where we were staying, so we all piled on a bus, which the kids loved.  

We were all able to be in the same raft with our guide, the adults on the outside, kids sitting in the middle.

I brought along my old camera to take pictures on the raft.  Our guide even helped me out later when I filmed Leisha "riding the bull".  They use that saying when someone sits on the front of the raft with their legs dangling in front, while going over the rapids.  Yeah, Leisha was pretty awesome and definitely took the coolest aunt award!

The waves were obviously a lot bigger than we all thought they were going to be and I have to admit I started to have flashbacks from Uganda...maybe a little panicking as well, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.  The rafting trip was only a little over an hour, but the kids were definitely done by that point.  There may have been some endless tears after we hit the main rapids...maybe 10 years and older would have worked better??

These pictures were taken by the rafting company and I love how it shows how wet we all got.  Poor Lincoln in the front, didn't quite know what he was in for, but they were all such brave little troopers.

Right after this hit the kids stopped smiling :)

It was fun to be on the water again though, and as our guide frequently told us, "You gotta respect the power of the river!"