Most of our clients have never rafted before or at the most have done a day trip somewhere else in the world. We’ll provide you with all the necessary knowledge through our thorough safety and paddle briefings from your trip leader. Rafting is a fun, team activity that all people are able to participate in.
Although we leave this completely up to you, our knowledgeable office teams are able to help in the event you can’t make up your mind on which great destination to do first. Many of our first time rafters try, Morocco, Turkey, or the Zambezi. But be warned, with over 80% of our guests returning for trip number two, it is very addictive.
A popular myth is that if you go rafting, you will fall out. We prefer to run the challenging lines of a rapid, but keep you in the raft. That’s not to say we don’t have the occasional swimmer, however it remains the exception rather than the rule. In the event you do fall out, you’ll be rescued by one of our safety kayakers or safety cataraft who sit poised in the middle of the rapids.
We are confident our guides will give you the best holiday you have ever had! These river professionals are energetic individuals driven by their love of the river and their lifestyle (that you are supporting!) They’ll guide you down the world’s best white water by day, and in the evening they turn into drinks waiters, fantastic chefs and storytellers to boot.
Due to most of our trips being in warm destinations, the key is sun protection! We recommend long sleeved shirts to keep the sun off. In cooler climates we suggest you bring a thermal long sleeved base layer. Around camp dress is very casual but it can get cooler in the evenings. A full list of what is required for your adventure is sent out prior to your departure.
Due to the nature of a river journey, you are often in remote locations and we want to make you feel comfortable in your new environment. Our river teams are qualified professionals who are trained in Wilderness First Aid and CPR as well as Swift-water Rescue Techniques. In the highly unlikely event of an accident your trip medic has the experience to deal with a huge variety of ailments and medical situations. We carry a satellite telephone on all of our trips and have the ability to evacuate you if necessary.
As many of our guides live in the outdoors for a vast proportion of the year, they conjure up gourmet dishes for you to feast on after your days rafting. Typically for breakfast you might have fruit and cereals or a cooked breakfast, lunches are generally subway style sandwiches or fresh salads and for evening meals, you’ll start with hors d’ouvres, followed by a sumptuous main meal with dessert to finish off. Don’t plan on losing weight on our trips!
We cater for all dietary preferences. Our vegetarian clients are constantly amazed at the variety and options we have for them. With other food allergies or preferences, we recommend you contact our UK or US offices with specific questions, as some of our destinations will not have a vast variety of gluten, wheat or dairy free options, in which case we suggest you bring a few of your favorite foods from home.
We believe that camping should be civilised. This means, even if you are not a regular “outdoor person” you’ll find our small touches on the trips will make you feel right at home. Spend the night in our spacious tents sleeping on thick comfortable thermorest air mattresses that conveniently turn into seats for around the campfire. On our trips we also bring a shower for you to wash down by the river.
Our trips cater for people of all ages. Our typical groups have guests aged between 25 and 40 years old. On most of our trips the minimum age is 16 years and we have no upper age limit, but we may require a Doctors certificate if you are over 70. In Morocco, we will take children from 8 years of age.
Although swimming is not a pre-requisite for all of our departures, we recommend on our more challenging trips that you can swim. You’ll be wearing a high – float life jacket, so in the event of you making a premature exit from the raft, you’ll be rescued by one of our safety kayakers.
Like all adventure sports rafting does have an inherent risk. With all our years of experience, our professional guides and the best in white water equipment, we do our best to minimize risk. Without exception, we take safety kayakers on all trips to ensure added safety for you, our guests. On our more challenging trips as an added safety measure, we take a cataraft.
In order to reduce our impact on the environment we have a maximum of 16 clients per trip. We feel this also gives clients and guides the opportunity to get to know each other better. Many of our clients forge lasting friendships on our trips, meeting up on subsequent river journeys. We have a mixture of nationalities such as British, American, New Zealand, Swiss, Germans, Australians and South Africans. This makes for an interesting cocktail of cross country conversations, stories and jokes around the campfire and on the raft.
People join our trips in all sorts of capacities. People on their own adventure, couples and groups of friends. By its very nature a raft trip is very social, you will meet interesting people and make plenty of new friends along the way.
Lets not forget this is a holiday! A typical day will see you rafting for 2 hours in the morning and another 1-2 hours in the afternoon. This might be punctuated by a pleasant walk to a village, waterfall or to view an incredible piece of history. You’ll reach camp in time to enjoy a sundowner drink, read your favorite book or chat with one of your fellow rafters about the days’ adventures. For more information about this please refer to www.waterbynature.com/riverlife
We love to raft in countries where the weather is warm and the water levels are ideal. Typically you should expect temperatures of 25-35 degrees Celsius each day (77-95 Fahrenheit). It is more important to think of ways to stay cool than to warm up! A full list of what weather conditions to expect and what we suggest you bring with you will be sent to you prior to your departure from your home country.
We find most of our clients have in their possession most of the items needed for a river journey. You will require a personal drinking bottle, a sunhat, a long sleeved shirt to keep the sun off during the day (or a thermal insulating base layer for our cooler destinations) and some warmer clothing for the evening. A full list of what is required will be sent to you well before you leave for your adventure.
Each of our clients receives a waterproof drybag for their own personal clothing during the trip. These are then packed onto the rafts and tied on securely. All the heavy and bulky items we take on the trip are rowed down the river on our gear raft.
On most of our trips, we provide a waterproof pelican case for your use. This is waterproof and can go near you on your raft for those opportune “action” shots. We also recommend you pick up a waterproof camera that can be fastened to the collar of your life jacket which take excellent on raft shots in rapids. We provide a kayaker on many of our adventures who will capture all the action on the river, scenic walks, culture and camp fun on a DVD which will be available for you to purchase after the trip if you wish.
Most of our trips require a night in a hotel before and after your river journey. We choose comfortable and authentic accommodation close to points of interest. In Morocco you’ll stay in the heart of the old medina (old town) in Marrakech and after you trip on the Zambezi, you will stay at a luxury lodge perched above the Zambezi River. All of our hotels will provide breakfast the morning after your stay.
If you feel like you want a few extra days to relax pre or post trip, then let us know. We can book extra hotel nights for you and give you advise and book extra activities for you whether it’s a few days on safari or tackling the 111metre bungy jump over the Zambezi River. Our teams in the office have all the knowledge you will need about the areas you are traveling to.
Our rooming arrangements both on and off the river are on a twin share basis. Families can request rooms together and we are happy to accommodate couples. If you request a single room or tent for the trip you will have to pay an additional surcharge however if this occurs due to odd numbers on a trip you will not be required to pay anything extra.
Forget the gym membership! There are no super human fitness requirements for a river journey. However, the fitter you are, the more you will get from your adventure. There are plentiful opportunities for side hikes up canyons and to nearby points of interest on your trip. Alternatively if you’d prefer to sit in camp and enjoy a glass of wine or beer and read your book or listen to your favorite music, that’s perfect. It is your holiday after all.
If you have a group of friends, a scout or school group or fancy a team building event with a difference for your company, we’ll happily design your perfect trip to meet your requirements. We have extensive experience in this area so whether you’d like a combination trekking/rafting trip to Morocco or the ultimate Stag Trip down the Zambezi River, we’ll tailor make your perfect trip.
If retail therapy is your thing, we’ll give you the ultimate shopping experience. From haggling over a carpet in Turkey, to buying a carved hippo in Africa, we’ll take you to shops that benefit local crafts people. Shopping in Marrakech is incredible. You’ll get lost in the spicy smells of the souqs and love exploring the labyrinth of alleyways and unique shops. Our guides will be happy to show you around.
See you on the river!