“It’s too hot and humid to do anything physical”

“I wouldn’t think of going anywhere north of Brisbane over summer”

Well let me tell you something ladies and gentleman, I’ve been in Tropical North Queensland for the past two days and had one of the best, most enjoyable and trips since arriving in this fair state back in 2009.

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This visit is all about a taste of adventure. Being the Adventurous by Nature capital of Australia, Cairns and the region hold a few events around the calendar to appeal to those people who love the great outdoors, keeping fit and enjoying life to the full. I think I fit into all three of those brackets.

First stop was Port Douglas, the gloriously beautiful town 75kms north of Cairns where I met up with Pat Kinsella (who also fits into all three categories), an adventure writer for a number of publications based out of Melbourne. He’s here to cover a few of the key events taking part in 2012 and it’ my job to escort him and have some fun.

Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) – something I’d tried once on the Brisbane River a few weeks ago with Riverlife….which was good. But take the boards and head out to Low Isles, a stunning coral cay, 30 minutes boat ride from Port Douglas marina and you’re talking about a different experience all together.

Brett from Wind Swell runs courses in SUP and kite surfing and is a wealth of knowledge on life on the water and the reef. Once we’d got our balance and found our sea legs he took us on a tour of the island, the mangroves and then together we all made the crossing to Woody Island in the distance.

I won’t lie to you here, the rain started….and intensified and came down in bucket loads but we were all having such a good time no one even cared. We were all armed with snorkels and masks and it’s something I never, ever get tired of – jumping in the water and snorkelling to my hearts content.

The corals around Low Isles are renowned for their colour and beauty and were fantastic. After spending an hour underwater clicking away with my camera I’d seen stingrays, turtles, sharks and so many fish it was like rush-hour on the reef!

All too soon we headed back to the shore smiling and laughing about how good the day had been and how little the rain had effected us. Pah it’s only a bit of water!

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When the Solar Eclipse takes place on November 14th this year, a thin strip of land in the north of Queensland is plunged from day into night for around three minutes, a rather exciting event will be kicking off in Port Douglas, the Solar Eclipse Marathon (SEM).

Having participated in the 2011 Great Barrier Reef half marathon, I can vouch that it will be huge. The location rocks, the course is challenging and undulating and the climate at that time of year will be as close to perfect as you can get.

It was our job to head off and try some of the course out. At the 15km mark of this year’s full marathon the route arrives at the base of a 300 metre climb up through the rainforest….and definitely the hardest part of it is the Bump Track. It was originally an Aboriginal trail between the coastal and mountain regions, but became a crucial link between Port Douglas and the hinterland for settlers and miners.

After 40 minutes of slogging our way up the incline, we arrived at the clearing with views of the Coral Sea to one side and dramatic waterfalls to the other. It’s a hard grind but so rewarding when you hit the top! Just remember that during the event you have to then run all the way back down AND another 21kms to the finish line!

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There is definitely no rest for the wicked on this adventure, so Pat and I jumped into the car and drove two hours south to the cane fields of Babinda. On the banks of the creek, Garry and his wife Linda run a very unique company called Babinda Kayak Hire offering kayak trips along the river. The local press from Channel 7 were there to meet us and filmed our departure as we floated off downstream enjoying the very tropical weather – again!

The creek winds through cane fields, past bamboo plantations, under bridges and eventually to the sandy beach of Babinda. Can I tell you this was fantastic! Four guys, a river to take on, some torrential rain and smiles all the way I guarantee. Sometimes the simplest things in life bring the greatest pleasure and this is one of them for sure.

So tomorrow….I really need to get some sleep now so that’s all I have time for today. Be sure to visit again in a couple of days time when we’ll have run Dunk Island, raced the Magnetic Island ferry and mountain biked some very exciting trails.

Needing sleep, but having a total blast in Tropical North Queensland – Adventurous by Nature!

Ben

It’s where the very edge of the largest living organism in the world meets the open ocean, where the swells roll in after building for 14,000kms and where the depth drops away from a tame 40m to a vertigo-inducing 2000m!

In the last week of the Best Expedition in the World the crew and I have decided to head out to this part of the reef to see exactly what it’s like out there. To dive some of the cleanest and clearest waters in the world where impeccable conditions allow marine life from the calm Coral Seas and the rolling Open Ocean to live side-by-side.

Fringing reef and inner islands

Having been up and down the Great Barrier Reef over the last couple of years exploring the inside of the GBR I’ve become familiar with the fringing reefs that surround the 300 islands. They’re home to huge number of hard and soft corals, provide ideal nursery conditions for schooling fish and are perfect for a first-ever snorkel or dive.

The Inner Reef

The next step out takes you to the inner reef with sections up to 10kms long, twisting in shape; some long and spindly, some expansively wide. Having protection from the open ocean and far enough from the land to not be affected by sediment and run-off from the rivers and creeks. They are beautiful swathes of coral thousands of years old interspersed with every single shade of turquoise you can imagine. If god was as artist he would have used up all his blue paint pot right here.

The large coral bommies that make up the lee-side of these reefs are dotted around like freckles on a face, each creating it’s own micro-environment reaching from sandy sea-bed to the rolling surf above thriving with life, both permanent and transient. As we cruise past them they show only their brown tops, hiding the menagerie of life below. It’s only when we don our snorkels and masks and dive into the clear blue beyond that we can see it up close in its true form. Beauty and majesty fail to describe the scene.

The Outer Reef

It’s rare that people get to where we’ve been today. Operators, day boats and live-aboards stick to the more sheltered waters of the inner reef choosing protection as the most important thing for their customers, and quite rightly so.

So when the option arises to sail beyond these limitations Skipper Paul, Sophee, Kayleen and I grab it. As we left Port Douglas the weather wasn’t exactly playing the game. To moor or anchor 40kms from the coast requires calm and light conditions for a comfy and stress-free night’s sleep for skipper and crew alike…we didn’t get that for the first three I can tell you!

Leaving Low Isles behind we tracked north to the relative shelter of Mackay Cay, a sand island on the north-west corner of Mackay Reef some 50kms from Port Douglas – still the inner reef though.

Finally on the morning of the 6th September the wind has dropped off enough for us to head out to our destination – Agincourt Reef. A few months ago I read a report in one of the international newspapers stating it to be “The best coral reef system in the world” and I simply had to see for myself if that was true.

Agincourt is made up from four separate reefs all face out into the pounding waves of the South Pacific Ocean. The Outer Reefs are distinctive for their sheer scale of their walls, dropping from less than a metre deep at the top to over 1200m with a few hundred metres. This really is the edge of the abyss and reputedly where the big stuff lives – whales, sharks and huge schools of pelagic fish.

We’ve visited three separate dive sites since arriving here and the range of geography and geology is remarkable. There are vast gullies on the outer wall lined with heavy-duty corals, rubble and sand. There’s also protected bays harbouring bright, colourful and fragile coral bommies offering protection to all manner of marine life. The clarity of the water and visibility are superb too, the ocean currents doing their part in washing and cleaning out the reefs making dive conditions just about perfect.

Agincourt reef really is one of the most enthrawling locations I’ve visited so far on the expedition and really lived up to all I was expecting – if you ever get a chance hook up with one of the operators who come as close as they can to here. Find out more here

Today I hit the water again in my kayak with a fairly long 52km leg to go from here at Agincourt 4 Reef through to Bloomfield Lodge – a luxurious stop-off for one night to recharge both mine and the laptop’s batteries.

Only a few days left now on the Best Expedition…

Yours ‘Expeditionally’

Ben

During the planning stage of the Best Expedition in the World I was putting together this website and decided to include some Reef Heroes who go above and beyond to help protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Today I met some of those heroes, the children from the Gordonvale State School just outside Cairns. First job was to give a presentation to them all about the Best Expedition and the incredible adventures we’ve had so far…their little eyes lit up when I started talking all about sharks and the ugly Bumpheaded Parrotfish.

The national curriculum here in Queensland teaches about sustainability, the environment and lessening our impact on the planet. The students and teachers here at the school go one step further and have been recognised by the GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) as the best educational establishment in the state – well done to you all!

Their Excelsior scheme is a community approach to sustainability which the upper school take very seriously and integrate into their daily lives wherever they can. Recycling happens throughout the school, special bins are located in the play areas and the students have their own projects they work on to further decrease their footprint.

On our tour of the school we were shown the new permaculture area where fruit and vegetables are being grown, the tuck shop which next term will stock products with biodegradable wrappers and the creek which runs around the school grounds is the source of more hard work.

Amy Macalpine, Jarrah Pearce and Georgia Moor-Tolson have conducted audits of the banks of the creek to establish the bird, insect and fish life that calls the area home. Together with Queensland Fisheries they have investigated conditions conducive to fish species that inhabit O’Leary’s Creek compared to nearby pristine creeks.

The banks between the school and the creek have been turned from wasteland into flourishing habitats for birds and insects by planting over 200 plants, bushes and trees. The combined with a continual litter-picking program conducted by the lower classes and Nathanael’s project to limit the number of golf balls entering the creek from the neighbouring golf club, go a long to to ensuring the school’s yard, the creek, the ocean and ultimately the Great Barrier Reef stay cleaner and healthier for all those living in and around it!

There is still plenty of work to be done statewide to keep the drain ways, storm-drains and creeks clear of litter and rubbish ensuring less enters the Great Barrier Reef but with the work of schools such as Gordonvale the future is looking just that little bit cleaner and brighter.

Well done to all of you!

Ben

I’ll be producing another more detailed movie of our adventures later this week but in the meantime thought I’d introduce you to some of the less attractive fish who call the Great Barrier Reef home; The Bumpheaded Parrotfish.

On our first dive of the last three days we descended to the first of our navigation bommie (meaning underwater mountain or coral structure) took a bearing…and then realised the top of the bommie was moving! There were 30 of them all tightly packed together for safety.

Hope you enjoy the video

Yours Expeditionally

Ben

We headed across to Green Island for a couple of days to host two competition winners from STA Travel in the UK. Kelly and Will won out of 40,000 people, a trip to Australia for two weeks and we got to show them their first Great Barrier Reef action with a snorkel and tour.

The next day it was a chance to say thank you to some of the Best Expeditions sponsors who flew up to Cairns and then caught Great Adventures fast cat across to Green Island. With glorious weather it was a chance to loose the office shirt and put on the rash vests with a couple of hours soaking up the island lifestyle.

The big event of the week though is the start of the Cairns Festival. It runs for the next four weeks with a huge range of activities going on for all ages and interests.

We headed to the Underwater Film Festival to see some of the work that’s been done both locally and internationally in the last year by cameramen and producers alike. There is some awesome work that’s come out of the Cairns and Port Douglas area but some of the content from the World Festival of Underwater Films announced in Marseille earlier this year really showed the sort of quality you need to aim for. A totally different class!!

Here is one of my favourites, Guillaume Nery base jumping at Dean’s Blue Hole…and yes he did indeed do this on one breath!

Another great event we attended was the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair held at the Cruise Ship Terminal. At the start of the expedition we wondered how to get involved and after a bit of brainstorming decided to have one of our sponsor’s wetsuits (Aquanaut) painted by an indigenous artist.

It was such a great idea that others wanted to have a go too and in the end four very talented individuals attacked the suit in their own special way.

Billy Missi, Glen Mackie, Brooke Foster and Justin Majig all took their turn and added their own unique style to different parts of the wetsuit. Justin even created my own personal cod-piece…although it might have been too small!!

We opened the fair in the presence of Rachel Nolan, Arts Minister for Queensland and the press loved the finished product. I modelled the wetsuit in temperatures of around 28c and boy did I feel the heat! Here’s some of the images from the day.

We head out to the Great Barrier Reef again tomorrow with one of the Cairns operators, Pro Dive Cairns, for a three day live aboard experience and I cannot wait.

Richard and Christophe from Underwater Earth are here to again help out with capturing some incredible photos and vision that I’ll have up on this site just as soon as I can.

Yours Expeditionally

Ben

Sometimes I think I’ve become too spoilt when it comes to the Great Barrier Reef.

Having visited and dived at loads of different locations from the Torres Strait in the north, to Lady Elliot Island in the south my mind remembers all of the incredible sites and trips to the outer reef with the BEST coral, the BEST fish life and the BEST diving experiences.

But two days in the Whitsundays have reminded me that some of the most impressive locations are right here on our doorstep and are achievable for the day tripper, backpacker or casual diver alike.

Day 1

At Sunrise we left Hamilton Island on-board yacht Sunshine with Richard and Christophe from Underwater Earth onboard. Our task for the day – to photograph and video the fringing reef of Hook and Hayman Islands at the northern tip of the Whitsundays.

We had the most incredible conditions. Not a puff of wind, clear blue skies and an ocean akin to a millpond. These days are ones to behold and savour.

On a daily basis there are many operators who visit the locations we went to – Pinnacle Point, Manta Ray Bay and Blue Pearl Bay. Donning a snorkel and mask takes you into another world…huge, healthy coral bommies, teeming fish life and all within a couple of metres of water.

If you think that tourism has had a negative effect on these local reefs then think again. Yes there may be the occasional piece of fragile Staghorn coral broken off or fish who have lost the fear of humans but this really is as accessible as the ocean gets.

Have a look through these photos and then follow this link to see more…

Day 2

Having lived on Hamilton Island for six months it was about time I went out with H2O Sportz for a visit to their little piece of aqua-paradise.

We jumped onboard their boat Reef Spirit and after a perfectly calm two hour trip through the outer Whitsunday islands we arrived at Bait Reef. There’s a number of moorings out there which the operators take turns in securing to. We however got there too late and had to make our own arrangements!! No problem though there’s plenty of space and so many different locations to dive.

Rumour had it that Cyclone Anthony and Yasi earlier in 2011 had smashed into this area of the reef with 9 metre waves damaging many of the more sensitive Staghorn and Plate corals. I’d also heard that an outbreak of Crown of Thorns Starfish was happening….what would we find?!

Two dives on two different locations treated us to some of the most perfect diving conditions on the trip so far.

Yes, I did see the Crown of Thorns Starfish, maybe eight in total in two hours of diving. Yes, there were areas on the windward side of the reef that had been hit by the huge seas. But the evolution of a reef takes knocks, it goes through cycles of decay and repair and where we dived showed good signs of regrowth…already, only 6 months on!

Every day H2O and other operators allow tourists to explore the outer reef, to try a dive for the first time, to understand just a little more about the most important thing on the planet. The Ocean.

Yours expeditionally

Ben

The entire whirlwind journey – from the moment I stepped foot on Australian soil, which happened to be my birthday, to seeing the awaiting global media as we arrived on Hamilton Island, being the first to step off of that plane and wave to the entire world, the dinners, the friendships, the nervousness, the suspense, the extreme exhaustion, the jolts of adrenaline, the moments of sheer ecstasy, the moment of devastating disappointment, the realization of the end being near – experiencing all of that in about a week-long period felt like I was thrown in a washing machine that was filled with copious amounts of goodness and some sprinkle of “reality bites” detergent and set on the spin cycle.

Long story short, I lost. You probably already know because you are reading this on the “winner’s” blog.

Oh and that part about “devastating disappointment”, I lied. I put it in for dramatic effect, and as I said a countless number of times, it really felt like I was competing against my siblings and I felt genuinely happy for Ben. I’ve had a chance to catch up with Ben for a Korean media tour back in February and the more I get to know the guy, the more I know that TQ picked the right candidate out of all of us there. It is the “Best” job, but it’s an incredibly taxing job and you have to be “ON” all the freaking time. I’m sure every one of us would have brought a different flavor to the position of “island caretaker” but I firmly believe that Ben Southall is the one guy out of the 16 that really had the package that was a perfect match for TQ. That’s why Ben has turned his 6-month stint, into an 18-month job and probably a lifelong career. Good on you mate!

Now, enough ass kissing and let’s get a little more narcissistic. How did “TBJITW” change my life in the past year? Oh where to start? During my 1-year relationship with TQ so far, I had such a wide spectrum of experiences.

I experienced Australia free falling from 14,000 feet in the sky and scrounging around on the ocean floor.

I waited for sunrises floating in a hot air balloon and said goodbye to sunsets while sipping wine on some of the world’s finest sandy beaches.

I climbed on top of suspension bridges and crawled up 150m sand dunes.

I’ve hugged koalas, pet kangaroos and held crocodiles. I’m sure Ben has put up plenty of pics of these so I won’t bore you.

I gave it a go on the surfboard and I WAS the sand board, multiple times.

I traveled in everything from choppers and seaplanes to quads, white water rafts and luxury yachts.

I’ve had a chance to meet everyone from Ambassadors to celebrity chefs.

I’ve had a chance to serve many different roles during my past year as TQ’s Tourism Ambassador, but the one that has left the biggest footprint is my role as “babysitter extraordinaire” (second word in the title is self proclaimed) during the The Best Global Leader Campaign that Tourism Queensland sponsored along with DAKS Kids. I’ve always loved kids, but after being in charge of an 8 year old and a 6 year old boy for a week, I have MUCH LOVE and RESPECT for all the parents out there!

As you can see, there are many things that I’ve gained from my relationship with Tourism Queensland over the past year, but I value my new found friends from all over the globe the most. I still remember the awkward “hellos” and attempts at putting the online identities to the real life faces and handshakes when the 16 final candidates first met at the hotel in Brisbane. The 16 “smurfs”, all dressed in our bright blue shirts, shared a certain bond during that week in May 2009 and now, seeing an email from one of my fellow candidates in my inbox never fails to bring a smile to my face. I’m happy to report that all of us still keep in contact with each other with these great, long and entertaining emails that provide a snippet of our current lives to our fellow “best jobbers”, as we like to call ourselves. It’s always exciting to hear updates with stories about new additions to candidates’ families, the new “Best Job Couple”, or the latest trip to Queensland… but we have become close enough where we confide in each other during our tough times and tragedies as well. When I see this kind of camaraderie among the group, I realize that I was really part of something special and all of my efforts for TBJITW wasn’t for naught and it actually produced something tangible, something real, something worthwhile, even though I technically “lost.”

I mentioned earlier my position of Tourism Queensland’s Tourism Ambassador here in Korea. What exactly is a Tourism Ambassador? Well, my job: selling the wonderful tourist destinations that Queensland has to offer to Koreans and the rest of the world. Sounds simple enough. I always thought that sales people who believe in the product that they are selling are always the best ones. And through my wonderful trips to Queensland during TBJITW and in subsequent trips as a part of my Tourism Ambassadorship, I definitely believe in the product that I’m selling. I’m also very glad that I can work alongside TQ’s Global Tourism Ambassador, and my friend, Ben Southall. Thanks for this opportunity to have my say Ben!

Best to all the readers in the world!

Juweon Kim
TQ’s Tourism Ambassador in Korea

Today however would be different. No more messing about, this is the stuff that sorts out the men from the boys – I mean it is supposed to be an adventure tour isn’t it!

First stop Skydiving. Skydive Cairns are to be our hosts for the stomach-churning adventure and we rock up to their office in the centre of Cairns for the pre-jump brief and to find out who we’ll be paired up with as our Jump Master.

My man of the morning is Max, a parachutist of 15 years who has made well over 15,000 jumps and obviously has an exemplary safety record (we just don’t talk about the five close shaves he’s also experienced!). He runs me through the procedures involved; how I should tuck my head back and my legs away when it’s our turn to sit in the door, when to spread-eagle in the air on the way down…and when it’s almost over – how to land.

I feel in a pretty privileged position really, having jumped a month ago with Skydive Airlie, but there’s a couple of pretty apprehensive faces wandering around the office!

We all get into our harnesses, sign our lives away and then make our way to the minibus waiting outside the office…sitting there like the vehicle which will take you to meet your maker!

As we pull onto the airfield our awaiting plane is already fired up and ready to go, there’s no going back now. I mean there’s pride at stake here. Forming an orderly, if bouncy-adrenaline-filled queue we await our fate…

One by one our Jump Masters load us into the plane, there are seven of us jumping so that’s 14 people in total. We clamber inside the plane and take our places between, the person in who our future now lies, thighs. This is all very cosy!

As we taxi down the runway some of the Korean media are talking to each other in Korean. I find out later that the editor of AB-ROAD magazine turned and told his cameraman “I love you!” Classic.

The scenery below is stunning as we make our way south-east, away from the city and out over the rainforest once more. We spot our some of our locations from the day before, landslides on the hills and churning waterfalls off in the distance. It’s a very different view to that of the Whitsundays, but equally as beautiful.

14,000 feet above the ground doesn’t take that long to get to and before we know it the roller door has been opened, the rush of the cold air fills the cabin and the first victim, sorry jumper, has their feet out of the door. Then before you can blink – GONE!

It’s surprisingly quick with these guys you know. No time to say you’re pulling out which is probably a damn good thing. I’m fourth up and before I can look down we’re falling down at terminal velocity towards the ground.

220 km/h of face distorting wind is rushing against my face and body and the only thing I can do is laugh and love it. The feeling never ever changes no matter how many times you do this – adrenaline is coursing through my veins and the natural high it causes is totally addictive.

This time there’s around a minute of freefall but it passes by oh so quickly when you’re tumbling at that speed. In fact it really does feel as though it’s over in a matter of seconds before that crutch-jerking tug on the harness and the entire freefall is over.

Once I’m hanging under canopy floating gently to the ground, Max offers me the controls of the parachute and I get a chance to steer this baby. Scary thought I know but it’s so cool being able to fly yourself down to the ground and towards the landing zone.

We pull full circles at speed and eventually come close to our landing site before Max takes over, gives the last instruction to lift my feet and with a fast approach we make it down onto terra firma once more.

Incredible – absolutely amazing – “can I go again please!”

Seeing the other guys come down to earth is wicked too, I can hear Juweon before I see his face – he’s had a great time too and shouts and screams as he approaches the ground.

The most incredible transformation has take place with another of the group too – Choong Keol Lee, the editor of GQ Korea, was a pretty quiet guy before this jump. This has brought him out of his shell totally. From total fear to total enjoyment and a huge number of very funny jokes too. I like this guy a lot.

Remember this is supposed to be an Adventure Tour so there’s no time for sitting about. No sooner are we through with our jump then it’s back to the office to collect our bags and onto the next activity…

Well strictly speaking we did have lunch first and it was back to one of my favourite haunts in the city, Café China and its ever-welcoming host Harry. Treated to his very special function room we all tucked in a spread worthy of the finest Chinese Emperor, finished off with a very different but tasty mango jelly. You have to try it!

With our final mouthful just about down the itinerary kicked in once more – we were off to the final installment. White-water Rafting.

Now I know it’s not the most impressive of all the rafting waters in Queensland, but with the rain the surrounding hills have had over the last few weeks, the Barron River is still putting down some serious white water. Enough to challenge those first time rafters amongst the group…and there are a few!

Raging Thunder are again our hosts for this our last adrenaline-filled activity and we jump in their minibus, complete with trailer and rafts, which takes us on the hour long drive up the valley.

The Korean media group all head off to one raft with their translator – there are certain things that you have to understand when rafting! I join up with another group of English speaking tourists led by Ash the guide. Once we’ve kitted ourselves out with lifejacket, helmet and slap on the sunscreen it’s down to the water’s edge to prove we can swim, float or at least not drown. The large yellow raft is big enough to fit eight paddlers and a guide in, there’s holes all over the bottom of it but fear not. They are there to let water out…not in.

The paddling drill is then given to us with a number of different instructions necessary to take on the rapids of varying intensity. They range from “paddle” to “PADDLE!!”, there’s “get down” and finally “GET DOWN, PADDLES UP”.

These are all in order of desperation as Ash our guide decides how we should be approaching, or attacking, the next rapid.

We do pretty well to start off with, riding the first and second of the falls with relative ease and then one of the big ones approaches – The Rooster Tail. So called when the water is flowing like it is, as the spouting water looks just like a chicken’s tail.

On approach it all looks pretty good, it’s only when we drop onto the beast that the raft is flung up in the air, all of us grab onto the centre ropes and get as low as possible. As we smash into the water below the raft almost flips but we just manage to hold on and save a wet ending happening.

Further downstream we’re not so lucky and get sucked back into one of the falls we’ve just dropped down. This is known as surfing! The raft is pulled right under the cascading water and immediately fills right up but these things are designed to do just that and instead of sinking, just sits there and with me being right at the front, I bear the brunt of the torrent!

We struggle to get free and in the end Ash has to jump out with a rope attached to him to act as a human-anchor, thereby giving enough resistance to pull the raft free from its temporary parking spot. No such luck.

So now it’s my turn to help out. In an effort to add more resistance Ash asks me to jump ship too, holding onto the line he’s clinging onto downstream. I take a leap of faith into the white water and join him gasping for breath 10 metres away on the end of the line. Eventually our efforts are rewarded as the raft breaks free from its watery pit-stop and we clamber back onboard.

Another fifteen minutes later and it’s all drawing to an end. The river levels out, the rapids disappear and we take the opportunity to bath in the waters, relaxing the tired muscles we’ve used all afternoon.

What a cracking way to finish the tour! It really was the activity I enjoyed the most and would love to do it all over again – but with some bigger rapids maybe!

The night was taken up with devouring one of the best steaks I’ve had in a long time courtesy of the Salt House Restaurant. Yum yum.