…was what the i-Site guy said to the white water rafting outfitter on the phone. 

 

 
We were driving through Murchison, New Zealand on the south island and were wondering what there was to do there so we pulled into the i-Site center to ask the staff what cool things are around. 
Turns out we were in an area where several rivers come together and feed into the Buller River. All that water flow makes it a fast moving river. Add in some boulders scattered in the flow and you’ve got the perfect river for rafting. 

He suggested either a jet boat on the river or a white water rafting trip down he river. Apparently Cindy’d never been on a rafting trip before and she had some concerns, like flipping and getting dunked. We chatted with the i-Site guy about what the rafting trip was like. His opinion was if we wanted to really experience the river, the raft gives you two active hours which beats the jet boat where you just sit and zip for one hour. 

We decided to do rafting. Mr. i-Site booked it with Ultimate Descents New Zealand.

The rafting office was just across the street, we went over, met the third victim Jane, got outfitted with wetsuits, rash guards and crash helmets and set off in a rickety van to the launch.

Matt was our guide and captain, Dan followed downstream and shot photos (included free with our 1/2 day trip!) as we risked life and limb.   

Matt gave us several commands to remember as we floated, “down” meant crouch down on the floor as we hurtled through rapids, “paddle” of course meant paddle for your life against the torrent of water and “paddles up” meant crouch with the paddle handle up so as to not knock out your mate’s teeth or toss them overboard. 
We took off down river and straight-away came to nicely sized rapids complete with boulders staring us in the face. Matt barked commands, we paddled, crouched and whooped as the water bounced us through.

A few more easier rapids, then came a bit of a calm area and we were able to hop out of the raft and float in the calm cool water. 
One rapid which was basically a 4 to 5 foot waterfall was deemed too large for us to pass through. so we hopped out and were given a choice to walk downstream a bit, stand on a rock about 8 feet above the river and jump in, or walk downstream to the waters edge and rejoin the safe raft. Super-Keen jumped, Keen hopped in the raft.   

 
We ran several more rapids, calmly floated and all said “Awww, already?” when Matt announced that we’d reached the out point and the end of this adventure.