Dolcy
D’Cruz / Team Café
As the monsoons pick up momentum, the list of fun activities in Goa goes up. A slow but steady climber on this list is the ever exciting white water rafting. When your need for adventure meets a river flowing in full form, you are bound to have fun. For Goan adventure lovers, this experience will surely be a thrilling ride and guess what? You can join in even if you can’t swim!
White water rafting was launched in the state two years back by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) in association with Southern River Adventures and Water Sports Pvt Ltd on the River Mhadei. Looking at the great response, the rafting trip to Tillari was added last year with rapid class 4. This year, the trips will begin from this weekend onwards as the activities start post monsoons. The Mahdei trip is ideal for beginners with even children over the age of 12 joining in.
The trips are headed by John Pollard and his trained crew of five guides. “It is advisable on all our trips to know how to swim especially on the Tillari River. But even if you cannot swim, you can still come for the trip as we have a pre-trip swimming rescue drill to avoid ‘panickers’. Every raft has a guide and in a big raft, we fit around nine participants,” informs John, who has 20 years of river rafting experience all over the world.
The Mhadei trip is usually from July to September while the Tillari trip is from October onwards till the end of the year. As the Mhadei river rafting is for beginners, it starts from the age of 12 onwards while Tillari river rafting is for anyone above the age of 16 who is physically fit and not above 110kgs in weight.
In the second year of operations itself, the team noticed a trend of adventurists from Goa and tourists, who are especially planning their trips to include the river rafting trip. “In the first year, we had a lot of Goan youngsters coming in groups; the second year saw a mix of both Goans and tourists with a 40 per cent increase in the number of bookings. This year too, we expect more adventure seekers. We can accommodate 35-40 participants in a single trip and many large groups are excited to try river rafting, especially adventure groups and corporate outings,” says John, who has already received numerous calls from eager participants.