Good News, Good Reviews

James Wood of Sleepy Hollow, New York, recently joined a family reunion in Fiji.  He and his group of 23 others went whitewater rafting on the Navua River, and he had this to say about the experience:
 
We went on an all day rafting trip down the Navua River!  The rafting trip started at 5 AM when 24 of us piled on a bus.  Fortunately we had a very talented driver who for two hours navigated the potholes and four serious police barricades set up to catch inebriated holiday revelers!  Then it was on to another bus – this one with 4-wheel drive, which took us up, up, and still further up for another hour to where we were each issued a paddle. We then climbed down about 124 steps notched into the side of a steep hill, then up another 100 before going down a final 95 to a gorgeous cove in the river where we boarded the rafts – 4 or 5 to a raft plus a guide each.  Then it was down one rapid after another, with perhaps 100 marvelous waterfalls tumbling into the river as we passed through the canyon walls.  The guides were WONDERFUL.  They quickly sized us up as a fun loving group who enjoyed getting wet!  It was in and out of rapids and then when we reached the first stretch of calm water, Sarah was the first to leave her raft, with the rest of us not far behind!  Splashing with the paddles kept us cool and wet, as did various waterfalls when the guides steered the rafts under them!  We all agreed that you didn’t have to be under 15 to have fun!

A conservation easement protects the 50-mile length of this wonderful river, which ended all too soon!  (Unlike our conservation easements, this one has a finite life of about 20 years so we need to keep our ears and eyes open to be sure it remains in force because it is a very lovely stretch of water and needs to be protected from loggers who would otherwise cut down the mahogany trees) At 7:30 PM a very tired but happy group arrived back at First Landing where we were staying.

O.A.R.S. started running commercial river trips in Fiji in 1998, and has since employed local residents to manage operations and guide guests downriver.  In 2000, we signed the final paperwork creating the Upper Navua Conservation Area ensuring the river corridor would be protected from logging and gravel extraction for a minimum of 50 years.  The transaction received approval from local government, occupants and landowners, as well as from the very logging company who cleared swaths of land nearby.  On April 11, 2006, the Upper Navua Conservation Area became Fiji’s first, officially designated Ramsar site (protected wetland of international importance).
 

Written by Tracy

Writer, Photographer, former Waterblogged Editor