First stop on my trip was Ecuador for the White Water Rafting World Championships held on the Quijos River in Baeza. As a member of the GB Ladies team, this was our first ever competition together (www.gbrafting.co.uk) and has got us going full on for the next World Champs to be held in South Korea, June 2007.
Kayaking in Ecuador was some of the best ever. Nice technical boulder garden rapids eventually flowing into large volume big'n'bouncy through amazonian jungles. Unfortunately, access and portages on these rivers were somewhat less appealing. Donning our very special knee high white socks to keep the mozzies away, we had treks of up to an hour through thigh high mud in the humid jungle. A better technique would have been to sit in our kayaks and punt along the mud.
Next stop, Chile. Due to lack of transportation and hitch hikes, we made it to Pucon and Pichilemu only. Pucon is the main kayak venue in Chile, excluding the fab Futalefu of course which is too high to run in October/November as we discovered. Paddled a couple of very cold rivers then discovered the joys of 'rent-a-buggy' which is a two-seater canopied thing that you'd normally find old dears peddling in Bognor. Except ours provided much off-roading and high speed dog chasing. Climbed and then slid down Volcano Villarrica, stupidly, one of the most active in South America. Pichilemu is one of the main surfing destinations in the world, which may not be ideal for four kayaks but proved very entertaining. Four meter wave faces either led to the sweetest ride of your life, or a complete pounding all the way back to the beach. Drinking hard at the Windsurf Championships party didn't go down so well on the 8 hour bus ride followed by 13 hour flight to New Zealand.
Two months kayaking in New Zealand doesn't get much better. Me and travel pal Jen managed to score ourselves a station wagon and started road tripping in style! Kayaking the Kaituna was a gentle break-in to our river technique again. Plopping over the 7m waterfall was a bit 50-50 for me in a low volume boat, whereas the others managed to look much cooler. Wairora was my favourite river and provided me with a classic Bridget Jones moment where upon reaching the lip of a boof drop waterfall everyone yelled for me to stop and go back. Nice one. Thankfully it was only my mate Pas at the bottom of the drop, who I boofed off nicely. Rangitiki Gorge and the Taurangi-Taupo were other regular rivers and one run down the Potu including an epic abseil with kayaks and finally a 9m waterfall for a good dose of whiplash. Sadly we didn't make it to South Island due to lack of time and money, but then that gives me something else to look forward to one day.
At this point in the trip we ditched the kayaks but kept all our paddle kit. Whistle-stop tour of Darwin (getting trapped in monsoon rains), Bali (most beautiful place, top surfing, monkey muggings), Hong Kong (rat, flea infested dodgy ghetto room) followed by a month travelling up the length of Thailand, down through Laos, and across Cambodia back into Bangkok. Taking in the sights, river tubing, terrifying speed boat taxis, getting stuck at the top of Angkor Wat, land mine avoidance, challenging bribes on every border crossing etc.
These couple of months in South East Asia provided us with a gentle warm up to India, but nothing could really prepare us for the constant hassle and groping that we experienced.
Looking back on my India photographs I feel like it was one of the most amazing places I've ever visited, however, while we were there we got so tired of it all I almost felt like coming home. One scary experience involving being pinned against a wall and groped followed by being locked into a hotel room by and with five male staff members. But the ladies were always very curious and friendly, always sharing their most spicy food with us on train journeys. Cows were also very friendly, and as they are pretty holy out there, they just wander in and out of restaurants and shops as they please.
Arriving in Nepal was like entering a peace haven. Unfortunately we managed to get there just as the strikes and riots were getting into full swing in April. We got ourselves onto a river one day before the total road strikes were enforced. Our friend and guide Sanu Babu took us out to the Madi Khola for a few days of trekking and kayaking. Two days into the trip I smashed my face and lost a chunk of tooth so I had a chill out day and hiked back over the mountains into Pokhara with my porter. After a sweaty 6 hour trek we walked into what I could only describe as a scene from 'Black Hawk Down'. Streets were one big mess of burning tyres, snipers positioned on rooftops, UN trucks and army tanks with big swivel guns. Full strikes and riots were in progress. Jenny had an extra five days trapped outside Pokhara unable to get back in, eventually she and Babu commandeered a moped and braved the stoning from striking civilians and payments to the Maoists. Seeing in the year 2063 was an intersting if slightly subdued night with the Bandha still in force.
Managed a trek in the Annurpurnas during the continuing strikes. The aptly named 'Apple Pie' trek which suited me fine. The strikes lasted a massive month which meant in our five weeks there, we only managed to paddle the Bhote Khosi, Seti, Madi Khola and Marsarandi. We did however, form the first ever 'Aqua Fat' club at our hotel swimming pool.
