River Rafting - A tough but fun activity that is most suitable with friends and families

The first time I did river rafting was in 2006. That first time; it was a mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety. This activity is tough and is of high risk in nature depending on the choice of river. We can also choose the grades of river depending on the ability of the participants. The most important thing is that river rafting is thoroughly enjoyable and can be participated by all, even a 6-year old child. For me, after two hours rafting down the Slim River in Perak, Malaysia; I could not wait for the next time to do river rafting again.

Slim River, Perak Malaysia

In 2006, I had my first taste of river rafting, together with a few colleagues. At that point of time, our jobs as Adventure Trainers of an Adventure Club made it necessary for us to experience the adventure activities before we plan and bring our clients for such activities. After an 8-hour ride through the night from Singapore to Ipoh, we reached Ipoh just in time for breakfast. We were then given a briefing whilst having breakfast.

After breakfast and the briefing, we were driven straight to the Slim River. We were divided into 2 rubber boats. The 2-hour long activity was awesome. We worked together through the rapids with grades 1.5-3.0 drop. Nonetheless there were several harrowing moments. The first one was when one of the boats capsized in one of the drops. The other one was when a friend of mine flew out of the boat when it landed hard and almost vertically after a drop. He was flung straight into a boulder, head-first. When he emerged, we realised that his helmet had cracked into two! After that, he was rather subdued and just sat in the middle of his boat throughout the rest of the ride. The helmet practically saved his life!

This trip was featured in local Malay newspaper article as one of the participant was journalist from that paper.

Selangor River, Selangor Malaysia

After that first experience, I was excited to go for another white water rafting trip. In 2007, I went for my second river rafting trip. This time it was at the Selangor River. This was also in Malaysia and it was about 1-hour south of the Slim River. In this river, the falls have scales of 3.5-4.0 during the rainy monsoon season. Four of my friends and I decided to try our luck.

We met the rafting operators in Kuala Lumpur at 8am. Thereafter, we were driven 2 hours to the Selangor River via van. At the start point, we were given a briefing and was informed that there was only the five us and 2 boatman. With only 5 participants, we have to work harder and coordinated better. The whole course will take approximately 2 hours.

My friends and I going through one of the drops in the Selangor River. In Malaysia, the popular places for river rafting are in Perak, Selangor and Sabah.

Wampu River, North Sumatera Indonesia

In 2015, I had the opportunity to experience a river rafting session at the Berkail River in Northern Sumatera. I was there with three friends for a trekking activity. During the trek, I asked the guide whether we could trek towards the path that was frequented by wild Sumateran elephants. He informed us that we had to trek deeper into the jungle and then we had to raft out. Of course, we agreed to the suggestion.

The day we exited the jungle, we were placed in 2 rubber rafts. The journey was chilled with drops of grades 1.5-2.5. As such, we just assisted the boatman in determining the direction. We did not have to paddle. I was curious whether there was any more exciting rivers to raft down in North Sumatera. At the end of the session, I asked the boatman whether there was any river in the area that was good for white water rafting. He recommended a place about 3 hours from that spot. The place is called Wampu River. At that point of time, I decided that would be my next river rafting destination.

At the end of 2015, I brought my family to the Wampu River. This river has drops with grades of 4.0-4.5. We were driven to the Mareke village. This village is about 4 hours drive from the city of Medan where the international airport is located. Upon reaching the start point we were given a briefing. Thereafter, I gave my own briefing to my family. Even though all of us can swin, my youngest son was only six years old. Therefore, as a family we needed to be sure of our roles and responsibilities in the event that our boat capsize.

At the middle of the session, the boatmen stopped at the side of the jungle. We were informed about a natural hot spring just along the river bank. When we found the hot spring, we spent a nice 30 minutes in it. That was the first time that I had enjoyed a hot spring au naturel. Awesome!

My 3 sons with my friend in the natural hot spring together with one of our rafting guide.

One of our boats at

the Wampu River.

After 3 hours, we reached the end of our boat trip. We were grateful that it went rather smoothly. There was a point during the session that we had to make a decision whether to use the boat or to walk through one of the drops. We decided to walk past it was a rather high and dangerous drop due to the lack of water in that area. Nonetheless, there were many other drops that were simply awesome. The rafting session in this river was indeed more thrilling than any others that I had experienced.

Kampar River, Perak Malaysia

The latest place that I did river rafting is the Kampar River, again in Ipoh Malaysia. That was in 2018. I was there with my family and my sister-in-law with her family. I chose this river as it was the first time experiencing river rafting for her family. This river is easier to navigate than the Slim River that I experienced in 2006. Throughout the session, I could hear their happy laughter. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

My sister-in-law with her daughter and husband on the left hand side with my family on the right hand side.

In Conclusion

My 6-year old son with my wife at the Wampu River in North Sumatera Indonesia. River rafting is indeed a risky adventure activity. However, the risk differs depending on the river and the season. The risk can be further mitigated by the ability of each participant. The important thing is to be sure and manage the risk. This was the activity can be enjoyed by all; even a 6-year old child.