A foam sledge like the one I held onto while going town the Kawarau River (twice!). We put on wetsuits, complete with booties and flippers, and then drove out to the river. We carried our sledges down to the water and got some instruction, and then in we went! You hold onto the two little metal handles near the top, your chest on that bright-blue region in the middle. The end of the sledge comes at about your waist, so your legs are free to kick. There's not much you can do with the sledge: you can point it to try to steer (which surprisingly does work, though not very quickly), and you can point it up in the air and side-kick to spin around. There are a couple of advanced moves, but that's it. It's basically a flotation device: a hunk of foam to hang onto. We traveled in a line, with our guide in front giving us hand signals ("turn right", "line up behind me", "catch up", etc.) and another guide in back to scoop up stragglers or help people caught in eddies or in trouble. We started off with a series of rapids called "Roller Coaster" and "Maneater." Going over a rapid on one of these things is just a total blast - you're trying to avoid the rocks at the side of the river and simply enjoy the experience. I also tried to get some real airtime going up over some big jumps. After the rapids we floated calmly down the river for another 20 minutes or so, where I learned how to barrel roll. Then we came out, carried our sledges back to the van, and drove back up to our starting point to do it again! What a great strategy! Now, as an old hand, I knew what was coming up, and I had some skills, so I was able to really cut loose and have a blast. With good equipment and a good guide, it's perfectly safe, and more exhilerating fun than I thought it could possibly be. It sounds crazy, and it is, but oh, good things can come from crazy fun!

A foam sledge like the one I held onto while going town the Kawarau River (twice!). We put on wetsuits, complete with booties and flippers, and then drove out to the river. We carried our sledges down to the water and got some instruction, and then in we went! You hold onto the two little metal handles near the top, your chest on that bright-blue region in the middle. The end of the sledge comes at about your waist, so your legs are free to kick. There's not much you can do with the sledge: you can point it to try to steer (which surprisingly does work, though not very quickly), and you can point it up in the air and side-kick to spin around. There are a couple of advanced moves, but that's it. It's basically a flotation device: a hunk of foam to hang onto. We traveled in a line, with our guide in front giving us hand signals ("turn right", "line up behind me", "catch up", etc.) and another guide in back to scoop up stragglers or help people caught in eddies or in trouble. We started off with a series of rapids called "Roller Coaster" and "Maneater." Going over a rapid on one of these things is just a total blast - you're trying to avoid the rocks at the side of the river and simply enjoy the experience. I also tried to get some real airtime going up over some big jumps. After the rapids we floated calmly down the river for another 20 minutes or so, where I learned how to barrel roll. Then we came out, carried our sledges back to the van, and drove back up to our starting point to do it again! What a great strategy! Now, as an old hand, I knew what was coming up, and I had some skills, so I was able to really cut loose and have a blast. With good equipment and a good guide, it's perfectly safe, and more exhilerating fun than I thought it could possibly be. It sounds crazy, and it is, but oh, good things can come from crazy fun!