Monday, October 13, 2014

White Water Rafting in Padawan


Just last August I was invited by Sarawak Tourism Board on behalf on Sarawak Bloggers to participate in Padawan White Water Rafting Safari, which takes place annually for the past ten years in Padawan, Kuching.

And for someone who came all the way Borneo, I never knew white water rafting even existed here back home – what more to say that it’s been ongoing since 2004. I was practically living in the dumps.

And if you’re imagining this type of white water rafting, think again. Our version of white water rafting leans more to basic, hardcore version of the borneo rainforest style…

…with massive supplies of bamboos.

Yes, the Padawan Raft Safari is a bamboo rafting competition held annually in Padawan, Kuching, cruising all the way along the Sarawak Kiri river. I was accompanied by Hilda, another fellow blogger who made it through the trip and together we made such a quirky team! It felt as if we’re both major paparazzis, trying to capture every snapshots, moments and pictures throughout the event like nobody’s business.

Ever since its debut back in 2004, the Padawan Raft Safari has been gaining various supports from locals and tourists itself, and has been accommodating up to 200 participants per year. Divided into several categories, the competition hosts Expert, Men Open, Women Open, Government Departments and Hotels and Tour Agencies up to one’s strength and comfort zone.

Each categories has its own course of rafting throughout the river, with 40km for the Expert categories and 26km for the rest.

And of course, being no expert ourself both Hilda and I joined the ‘rest’ categories…on a long boat. You surely did not expect us to make the 26km worth on rafting on our own do you? ;) I’m sure we wouldn’t even last 10 minutes if we did!

It was definitely not an easy task to maneuver the 5m long worth of bamboo raft across the Sarawak Kiri river. The entire journey took us roughly three and a half hours and even on the long boat it seemed like an eternity.

You’ll need a very good raft to proceed, preferably those made from larger and dried bamboos for it to stay afloat and lighter to maneuver.

Bamboo rafting has been a traditional mean of transport for the Dayak tribe for the longest of time, and while most had upgraded theirs to a slightly modern long boat – the tradition still remains.

Bamboos are generally sustainable as it grows pretty quick, and most Dayak tribes used bamboos in many ways – from building longhouses to cooking and many more.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: White Water Rafting in Padawan
.
.