Rafting

Wild Water Rafting. When I heard about it for the first time I couldn’t imagine sitting in a raft in the middle of a river with very wild stream with just an oar in my hand. I couldn’t imagine I could do that high risk activity. So when a friend asked me to do that in a place somewhere in Magelang, Central Java, I shook my head. No, thank you.

Several years later when we moved to Malang, I heard about rafting again. This time it was not from a friend but from a travel agent. Together with 2 friends, we booked a 3-day-2-night holiday. No fathers, only mothers and children.
We hired a bus during our holiday. First, we went to Taman Dayu, a small water park in Pandaan. From there we spent our first night in tree house. The next day we went to Probolinggo for rafting and the last destination was Bromo.

I still had doubts about rafting. Is it going to be ok? There were children of 4-6 years among us and we were all beginners. But our guide from the travel agent ensured us that we would enjoy it. There was just one danger about rafting, he said. We all looked a bit worried and listened carefully to him. Then he said, “Once you do that, you want to do that again and again. You’ll get addicted”. I was curious if it would happen to me.

We would raft in Pekalen river for 12 km. We got our jackets, helmet and oar but small children didn’t get any. They would be seated in the middle of the adults for the safety. Then we got a briefing about the rules and instruction that we’d have to do during our rafting. They demonstrated how to hold the oar safely so it would not danger the other people, especially when the raft rides up a rock. Row forwards and backwards. If the raft sucks on a rock, we need to move our body so it will release the raft. Another important instruction is Boom, it means we have to hold vast the cord in the raft and move inside the raft to avoid being flung from the raft. We’d hear this instruction as an example when the raft was riding up a rock.

One raft can take 6 persons with 1 instructor who will sit at the back so he can have the control of the raft. To reach the river we went there first with an open pick up, and then we had to walk for about 20 minutes. Down there I could see the river, it was a beautiful scene. Too bad I couldn’t bring my camera there because it would be wet.


When I was in the raft I kept looking at the rock wall of 3-4 meters high. How would it be if it fell down? I’d have no time to run away. No one would survive. In compare with such enormous rock wall, we, people were just like the ants. But I know it will not collapse. It’s a bit scary but really is a beautiful product of nature.

We started to raft. There are lots of streams and they all have a name. There are 2streams with interesting names. The first is God bless. They call it so because the stream is high and dangerous. The other is Buttocks stream, because people from the village around the river use the river as a place of everything including the place where you do your daily need. Not only the people who get benefit from the river but also cows and motorcycles.

In the middle of our trip we took rest. The resting place was upstairs at the other side of the place where we stopped. We had to walk on a bridge to go there. The bridge is made of bamboo and it was 4 meters high from the river. The instructor told us an interesting thing about the bridge that you may jump from the bridge into the river. It’s safe.

Something in me began to fight, my desire and my fear. The bridge is just less than 30cm wide and it moves when you walk on it. To ensure the safety I asked one of the instructors to jump. He did. You have to keep your legs straight, otherwise I t would hurt you when you reach the water.

I stood on the side of the bridge. I was resolved on jumping but then I made a fault. I looked downward. I saw water so far away and I realized how high it was. My fear won. That was my first rafting. When we left the resting place I promised to myself, I would jump the next time I am there.
My second rafting was a year later. I was looking forward to jumping from the bridge. But too bad, I still couldn’t do that. This time we used another organization while the resting place with the bridge belongs to an organization we used the first time.

Lucky me I didn’t have to wait long. When our friends from Holland visited us, we went rafting again. It was just a couple of weeks after the second time. Not wanting miss the bamboo bridge again, we used the first organization. Hello Bamboo Bridge! I am coming!

So I stood again at the side of the bridge. My desire was strong but I still had doubt. I knew that I wouldn’t get this chance again, for sure not in a short time. I knew that I would regret if I didn’t do it. It’s safe and it’s my desire. What else? I am not the first one who would jump. I saw a lot of people did it and they were ok. Then I decided to conquer my fear. I jumped!

I felt flying and light like cotton blown by the wind. One second I thought, what am I doing? Before I could think further, I felt the water. I was alive again. The feeling was so nice that I jumped again for the second time. Later I heard about the same feeling from our instructor. First you felt like you were death and then the water woke you up. Indeed.

Do you see the picture of the bridge here? Nice, right? Noooo.. it is not the bridge where I jump from. No one took a camera while rafting so we do not have the picture of the bamboo bridge.

I am proud of myself. My desire has been fulfilled twice! But most of all, I am proud that I am a conqueror of my fear.

If you are interested in rafting, you can contact Regulo Rafting, jalan Pakis Argosari VIC-4 Surabaya. Telephone: +62-31-5669866. Email: regulorafting@hotmail.com or Songa Adventure, Jalan Nginden Semolo 34-40 Kav. A 11 Surabaya. Telephone: +62-31-5967467Email: info@songarafting.com – www.songarafting.com. The first one has the resting place with the bamboo bridge.