River rapids and local wine- Rafting the Lower Seti

 

After a few days of rest and relaxation back in Pokhara we set out on a 2 day rafting trip down the Lower Seti River. I had really been looking forward to this trip since we booked it the previous week as I’m much more comfortable in the water than on the cliffs of some of the worlds highest mountains.

I was sad to leave Pokhara but we boarded a bus bright and early and headed out with a small group of Westerners and local guides. During our briefing the previous day we were told that Mark and I would be the only people in the raft and the rest of the group would be following on kayaks so we were pleasantly surprised when Hazel, her brother Josh and a fellow American Melissa joined the group as additional rafters.

We arrived at our departure spot about an hour later and got right to work carrying all the equipment down to the water. It took about 45 minutes for the group of guides to prepare everything. We were given our stylish yellow helmets and life jackets and given brief instructions on the basics of rafting. Dave, the guide in the raft with us, was obviously a veteran and we immediately felt safe with him. We finally pushed off, carrying all the gear in the center of our raft, and began the first part of the journey.

What the river lacked in excitement it made up in beauty. We all just sat back taking in the scenery, huge mountains on both sides of us covered in lush greenery. We passed the occasional waterfall and slowly watched the majestic Annapurna Range disappear from view behind us. The first hour was pretty laid back and we only had to paddle occasionally when Dave yelled directions at us. The rapids weren’t very rapid and we were all a little disappointed (not from lack of scenery) when we stopped for lunch.

Following the kayakers down the river

We pulled up to a small beach along with the kayakers and our guides immediately set to making our lunch. We weren’t expecting much as we were in the middle of nowhere and there wasn’t any hot water to cook anything so we were surprised when they laid out a buffet of goodies. Thick slices of bread, a salad, baked beans, lunch meats and cheese, and fresh fruit. We sat on some rocks nearby soaking up the sun and chatting away next to the river as we ate.

Guides preparing our lunch

The next part of the trip was a little higher on the excitement scale with a few more higher level rapids. I mistakenly thought that when white water rafting you just cruise through the rapids but was quickly corrected when Dave was screaming “HARDER! FASTER!'”  We all wore huge smiles after the short bursts of excitement and joined in a paddle high five to celebrate not falling in.

HIGH FIVE!

During one of the longer stretches in between rapids, the guides told us we could jump out of the raft for a swim. You didn’t have to tell any of us twice and soon we were all bobbing along down the river. The current was unbelievable and it was a bit surreal but we were all loving it after we got over the initial shock of the cold. We splashed and joked for a bit with the guides until we started noticing the large boulders brushing past (and sometimes into) our legs. The guide on the kayak in front of us casually mentioned that we may want to get back in as we were quickly approaching another rapid, after which we all scrambled back in the raft a little nervous of the oncoming rushing water.

Floating down the river

We cruised along for another hour until we came to the resting spot for the night, a fairly secluded beach backing up to a small village. The guides began setting up camp and the guys wasted no time finding the local beer vendor as the rest of us changed out of our wet clothes. The first round went down quickly as we chatted and cheers-ed our first day on the water. We were impressed again by our leaders when we looked at the finished product of our campground. They had set up tents, a cover for those not wanting the restraints of a tent, a buffet area, a campfire and most importantly, a private toilet area (this consisted of a tarp around a hole). The toilet featured a helmet propped on top of a paddle..if the helmet was down, don’t come around.

The loo with a view

We ordered a second round of beers and were talked into trying the local wine, called Roxy. The man returned with our beer and the wine, in an oil canister (first warning sign). The Roxy tasted just like it smelled- nail polish remover- so Mark and I stuck to beer and watched in amazement as the rest of the group drank the local wine. We ate a pretty delicious dinner (I’m still amazed at the guides cooking-on-a-beach abilities) and settled down around a campfire.

The local wine, Roxy, beautifully packaged in an oil container

More beers later and Melissa and I had taught the group how to play Duck Duck Goose- still not sure how it got brought up or how we got a group of adults from around the world to play for a good hour. Hazel and Milosh, a Swedish nuclear power plant engineer, built a sandcastle that after more beers turned into a nation complete with a visa/passport office, a flag, and an entry exam. The local wine was pretty strong. The games finally ended and we all sat dozing by the fire. The sound of the rushing river playing in the background, millions of stars competing with a brilliant full moon, and the shadows of the mountains hanging silently around us made it one of the best nights I have had so far.

Sandcastles and world politics, the conversations for the night

The next day was more of the same as we cruised down the river for the remaining few hours. We did come across some of the best rapids on the journey, one of which I almost flew out of the raft and took Melissa with me. We finished up near a bridge wear the guides prepared one last meal and a few of us walked to a nearby waterfall to rinse off and change our clothes for the upcoming journey to Kathmandu.

We will definitely be doing more rafting in the future. It was a pretty fantastic trip.

-H

More pics from the rafting trip are here.