An early start with the bus picking us up to go to Glenorchy for jetboat and 'Funyak' down Dart River. On arrival, we were geared up with wetsuits, booties and spray jackets, and went on another bus to the river. The jet boat was fun and fast. MH couldn't keep his eyes open until he put on his sunglasses. We did several 360 turns, and sped around river bends and went really close to the banks. It was a very windy day, and the glacier rock dust were being blown around, looking like mist over the river. As we traveled up Dart River through Mt Aspiring National Park, it became more serene and the surrounds more majestic with huge mountain ranges. We then changed over to inflatable kayaks, 3 in one, and 2 in the other, but both linked together, and we paddled down the crystal clear waters.
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| Funyaking on Dart River, Mt Aspiring National Park |
After lunch, we paddled to a side stream to Rockburn Chasm, which was a magical spot with crystal clear waters flowing through. MK was our 'captain' and guided us through some fast flowing currents and turbulence. We finished on Paradise Beach and took a 4 wheel drive coach through the back country roads back. We were shown several areas where movies such as Lord of the Rings, have been filmed.
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| Rockburn Chasm |
Highlights:
MK: Being 'captain' of the Funyak 'raft'
MJ: Funyaking
MH: Jetboat
Logbook:
07:00 (1235 km) Breakfast of ham and cheese toasties.
07:30 (1235 km) Caught Dart River Funyaking bus from bus stop outside motel.
09:00 (1235 km) Glenorchy. We got changed into fleece, wet suit and booties. Then we jumped into a jet boat and sped around doing 360 degree turns. Woo hoo! The jet boat took us up the Dart River amongst the majestic mountains, just like the scenes in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. We got dropped off on riverside to get into our inflatable kayaks. We had 2 kayaks linked together to form a raft and away we paddled. The water was cold and clear and blue. Soon we joined other rivers and the water turned "milky" when mixed with the glacial dust. After some paddling we got to our lunch spot. Lunch was a buffet of rolls, condiments, salads, ham, chicken, cheeses and even dessert! There was this interesting lolly slice, it was quite nice. After lunch it was time to paddle through a chasm. We had to maneuver between a narrow channel with sheer cliffs. Following the chasm, we went on our last stretch to Paradise, where our bus was waiting for us. We deflated the kayaks and then loaded onto the bus to get back to Glenorchy. Time to get out of our wet gear and into something dry to get back onto the bus.
17:00 (1235 km) Sherwood Motel. Dinner of butter chicken, broccoli, carrot and rice.