Leaving Pokhara this morning meant that we leave behind the Himalayas. It was a beautiful clear day, so the view was breathtaking. It’s an amazing part of our planet, and something that I’m so glad we’ve seen.
Our tour is called the ‘Himalayan Teenage Adventure’, and it’s certainly living up to that. Today we put on our wetsuits, life jackets and helmets to go white water rafting down the Seti River, with an overnight camp along the way.
The Seti River runs for 202 km from the Himalayas. Over the days we cover 27km of the Lower Seti from Damauli, to the intersection with the Trisuli River between Mugling and Devghat. Most is at a leisurely pace as the river is low at the moment, but with some rapids along the way. Apparently the section that will take us 4 hours on the first day, takes about 1.5 hours during monsoon time!
The river provided a completely new perspective on life in rural Nepal. We passed tiny villages and huts nestled in the hillside, most of which would be completely self sustaining. Firewood is stacked under houses, small crops are laid out to dry, and washing is done in the river and hung on any available horizontal surface.
The government is currently building a road along the river, and whole villages pitch in to build the retaining walls. We passed diggers cutting into the mountain, young men with tractors in the water gathering large river rocks, and women and older men carrying rocks in baskets at the riverside. This is tough work, but keeps a community employed and working together.
Everything for 20 people for 2 days was bundled into dry bags on our 2 rafts and a safety boat… Food, tents, cooking equipment, water, clothes, sleeping bags. Again, the logistics of this are huge, but the Nepali people take it all in their stride with a big smile. When we paused for lunch, and within about 20 minutes, they’d chopped up meat and salads and put on a huge spread.
The guides clearly love their job! The two in the little safety kayaks were practising tricks along the way, while the guides in our rafts loved taking the path through the rapids that would provide the maximum drenching and plenty of laughs. We could only grab photos in the calm water, but one of the guides took photos and footage of the rapids that we’ll receive when we get back to Kathmandu – there could be some interesting shots!
As we headed down the river the sky became more and more ominous. As Queenslanders, we know a good storm when we see one, and the storm front was just like something you’d see on a summer afternoon in Brisbane. We got off the river at our campsite, got 2 tents up in galeforce winds, and then the hail hit. The guides did a remarkable job – they stayed out in the weather to get the rest of the tents up, made dinner, found a local barman, replaced some leaking tents… I’m sure that all they wanted to do was get warm and dry!
Storm passed, and we were able to enjoy our little riverside campground for the evening. It turned out to be a really clear night, so we sat around the campfire and stared at a billion stars, while toasting marshmallows and trying to dry our clothes.
Love theBunch x
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