Stuventures

Boracay Island is regarded as one of the must visit islands for kiteboarders and tourists alike when visiting the Philippines. With the wind on the light side, we spent five days and had three good days of kiteboarding.

All good things come to an end. We are treated to a spectactular canyon to explore and a day of lolling about taking our time to arrive at the jetty on the Gordon river.

A day of mostly flat paddling passing by some very picturesque limestone cliffs. I wore my drysuit with just two layers - could have used wetsuit as it was a bit warmer. However having said that, I did have my first swim ! 

Another great day of portages and long exciting rapids. It was quite a bit cooler with looming rain, so I wore my drysuit.

We are truly into the heart of the trip. More boulders to clamber over, stunning gorges and canyons. I am in awe, pinching myself. Am I really here ?

We had an interesting run today, less flat water. There was a bit of scrambling over fun large boulders and the rapids were not too technical. Bruce however, got trapped against a log, a reminder that one cannot be complacent in these waters.

I love the creative names given to the various features on this river: Cranny nook, Aesthesia ravine, Angel rain cave, Gordian gate, Indaba passage, Adze corner, the Irenabyss just to name a few.

This river truly is a whitewater adventurer’s dream. It has everything: raging water surging over house-sized boulders, dense green forests cloaking rugged mountains, moody, glassy black stretches broken by frothy, coffee-coloured rapids, and the occasional waterfall or hidden canyon to explore.