From parasailing, river rafting, banana ride, jet ski and bumper ride, I have tried it all. But what took my adrenal rush to another level was when I did River rafting in Kali River in Dandeli. Not knowing swimming, without my glasses and being a water-phobic, it was a brave call for me to decide to put myself amidst water for rafting.
Almost after 10 to 11 months of discussion and debates we planned a road trip to Dandeli, which is a restricted forest area in Karnataka. And to my surprise, this place is known as the adventure capital of Karnataka.
When it comes to adventure activities like river rafting, there is only one place that comes to my mind, which is, Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. Dandeli offers a handful of activities, though mostly famous for its white water rafting. Interestingly, Kali river is the source of water for the people of Dandeli. Apparently, the dam water is released into the Kali river between 7 am to 10.30 am, which creates strong rapids in the river.
It was around 9.30 am we reached Dandeli river rafting area. Too much paperwork, which was giving me the feeling as if I'm giving my property to someone. Starting with safety instructions along with the demo session with the instructor, I was geared up to sail with Kali River to experience river rafting for the very first time. Holding my breath tight, I settled in the raft to face the rapids on my way. We started our sojourn with a great shout out and I, along with others started rowing the boat as advised by our instructor. The calmness of the river, the chirping sound of birds and the sound of the river accompanied us until I encountered my first ever rapid. It was like a moment of truth. I could see the high waves from a distance.
As you come close to the rapid and the moment it engulfs you within, was epic. I went blank for a second. The giant leap of water is simply thrashing you with full power and when you take full control of yourself in the raft and let it pass on you, it is a surreal experience. After experiencing the first rapid, it kind of broke the shell of fear and I started enjoying rapids one after another.
It was our 6th rapid on our way, a very giant and longer one. Since it was longer one our instructor didn't ask us to come up. During this rapid our boat dashed to a stone and two of my friends were kicked out of the boat like a football. It sounds funny now, though it was horrible at that time.
Luckily, one of them held the rope tied to the boat, which helped us to pull her back into the boat. But everyone was concerned about the other one who flowed in the opposite direction. She was totally frightened and at the same time Blank.. No clues of what exactly happened with her. Thankfully, other boats which were behind us started to help her. One of the instructors of other boat pulled her into their boat using a paddle. Later just before 8th rapid both the boats were moving in parallel directions close to each other and there she jumped back in our boat.
The duration of my rafting was around 2.30 hours where I sailed 9.5 km stretch of river Kali. It creates almost 10 small to big rapids.
I was fully drenched. The torching sun was up. The cold breeze just passed through my body, leaving me wondering about God’s amazing creation. While rowing our boat, singing loud in groups, shouting with excitement, competing with other boats, somehow I felt that I discovered something new about myself. As if I had conquered my fear.
The feeling of keeping your balance amidst all the chaos and feeling victorious after realizing that the rapid is over and you are still in the raft or even outside the raft but, alive 😊 , the feeling of taking a dip in the cold water, the feeling of jumping from a cliff, paddling together as hard as you can, the feeling of "You did it" is simply amazing.
