Have you ever ever sought after to revel in the fun and great thing about river rafting within the middle of Iceland‘s Golden Circle? Since 1985 Arctic Rafting had been doing precisely that, enabling you to experience a perfectly-balanced mixture of serene canyons and adrenaline-pumping waves and rapids. Learn on to be told extra about their most well liked excursion – River Amusing Rafting.
What to anticipate
You’ll raft down 7 kilometres of the Hvítá River fed by way of the Langjökull glacier, playing the view, while floating downstream in an inflatable raft, with a couple of surprises alongside the best way.
Who’s it for?
The rapids are described as “simple to average”; this stretch of the river is graded 2+, with 1 being the gentlest and six being essentially the most excessive, so manner it’s out there for the general public. No earlier rafting revel in is needed, and kids from 11 years of age are welcome to take part. Simply be ready to get a little bit bit rainy and a little bit chilly… however it’s all price it!
The site
Drumboddsstaðir – aka Drumbó River Base – is the place all Arctic Rafting’s rafting excursions start and the house in their raft guides. It’s 98 kilometres from Reykjavik and takes about 1.5 hours by way of automobile to get there from the capital. Drumbó is comfortably situated at the course of the Golden Circle. The rafting takes position at the Hvítá River which comes from the Langjökull glacier – the second one greatest glacier in Iceland – and creates Gullfoss, certainly one of Iceland’s maximum iconic waterfalls.
What’s incorporated
The excursion features a river rafting revel in down the river with a professional information, in rafts that grasp 8-10 other folks. All vital rafting apparatus is equipped, and that comes with wetsuit pants and splash most sensible, life-jacket, neoprene sneakers, helmet and paddle.
Additionally incorporated is a discuss with to the well-known Brúarhlöð canyon by means of the river, and a sizzling bathe and sauna after the chilly river go back and forth. If you want, you’ll rent a GoPro with a Arctic Rafting-branded reminiscence card already loaded, which you get to stay after the excursion. One of the vital helmets include helmet mounts; on the other hand, you’ll mount the GoPro to the entrance of the boat (and select to have it going through both forwards or backwards).
What to carry
All you wish to have to carry is a showering go well with (to be used underneath your wetsuit), a towel (for the bathe and sauna after the rafting), a heat most sensible layer to put on underneath the splash most sensible… and a way of journey!
The revel in
Our revel in started with a briefing from Julia on the Drumbó River Base. We have been instructed that shall we depart such things as iPhones at the back of within the converting rooms as a result of… smartly, they already had their very own. The whole lot used to be delivered in a a laugh, jovial method, while nonetheless getting essential protection data throughout to us.
When we’d modified and grabbed a paddle, it used to be time to get directly to a bus. Two buses headed all the way down to the riverbank from the bottom, each and every pulling 4 rafts at the back of them – a adventure of most definitely simply 10 mins or so.
We then had a 2d briefing by way of the river because the guides transported the rafts to the waters edge. We have been talked thru some fundamental protection measures, once more all performed in a a laugh but skilled method. The paddle needed to be held together with your give up the T-bar on the finish, another way we’d finally end up with faces just like the guides. And we have been instructed that the rope that runs across the out of doors of the raft is named the “oh, shit!” line as a result of, in case you’re ever to find your self falling out of the raft, you wish to have to clutch it and can more than likely shout “oh, shit!” within the procedure!
With the briefing over, everybody used to be put into teams and assigned a information. We shared a raft with any other circle of relatives with two women, and our information used to be Anshul. In the beginning it used to be an overly calm stretch of water, and we simply were given used to paddling on Anshul’s command.
However, earlier than lengthy, we have been taking over more difficult stipulations – rapids the place we being thrown about a little extra and splashed with icy chilly meltwater!
It used to be al excellent a laugh, even though… and, after one set of rapids, we regarded again, simplest to seek out our information used to be not sitting at the again of the boat!
Anshul used to be within the water and had grabbed the “oh, shit!” line!!! In the beginning, we idea he used to be simply messing about… however he wasn’t. This had by no means took place to him earlier than, he mentioned, as soon as he’d controlled to clamber again on board.
Our adventure endured down river, navigating rapids of various severity however by no means anything else too drastic, till we had a forestall at the river financial institution at Brúarhlöð canyon. This used to be a time when other folks may just stretch their legs, benefit from the view and, in the event that they so wanted, do a cliff bounce into the icy river!
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And, after all, we have been silly sufficient to present it a move. There used to be a mini-briefing for this – we have been merely instructed to shape a queue if we would have liked to do it and, when our time got here, we have been to not dither… he would say “3… 2… 1… bounce” and also you will have to move there after which. This used to be if truth be told a good suggestion because it stopped other folks over-thinking it. The one different two items of recommendation have been to leap out so far as shall we in order to not be with reference to the rocks, and to land like a pencil for a extra relaxed touchdown.
As we neared our flip to leap, one of the most guides checked our lifejackets to verify it used to be tight and safe, in order that it didn’t ‘experience up’ when hitting the water.
Some other stood by way of to mention “3… 2… 1… bounce”…
…after which there have been guides, ensuring that you simply swam to the threshold after leaping.
With all those that sought after to leap having jumped, it used to be again directly to the rafts for extra a laugh. There weren’t many rapids, however a number of alternatives to lark about.
There used to be quite a lot of splashing, guides pulling other folks into the water, video games balacing at the inflatable aspects of the raft, and so and so on.
Different guides would name out “the place’s your information?” and we might glance again in alarm, simplest to peer he used to be nonetheless there. We have been specifically gullible for this one, for the reason that our information had if truth be told fallen out as soon as already!
Again on the river base, we had get right of entry to to sizzling showers and a sauna. Our subsequent forestall after this journey used to be the Friðheimar tomato eating place however Arctic Rafting additionally has its personal eating place and bar on website.
The entire excursion were nice a laugh, and the guides in reality entertaining and tasty. This is a very efficiently-run operation from begin to end and an revel in that we might heartily suggest.
Making plans a go back and forth to Iceland your self? You’ll be able to watch a video from our go back and forth to Iceland right here. Pictures from our journey with Arctic Rafting will also be observed between 2m 22s and 3m 30s.