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The next activity on our Action Adventure tour through the Tirol region of Austria? Whitewater rafting with Wiggi Rafting!
I had never been whitewater rafting in my life, though I had always been intrigued. We would be rafting on Level III rapids (most people are allowed to raft levels I-V, with V being the most extreme, and VI and above are for professionals only and have a significantly higher risk of death).
And I won’t lie — I was scared. Mostly of falling out and getting trapped underwater.
Then I took one look at our guide, Kevin, and any worries I had promptly dissipated.
(Left to right: Mike, Pia, me, Paul, Melvin, Kevin, Scott and Oliver)
Big, beefy Australian rugby player? Long-haired, bearded, looking like he could kill anything with his bare hands? HELL YES, I FELT SAFE WITH THIS GUY. Kevin was the archetype of what a guide should look like!
Still, though, I was nervous as Kevin told us what to do if we fell out, if the boat flipped over, if the boat flipped over and we were trapped underwater.
I got in, wedged my toes into the boat tightly, and did everything I could to stay on board.
And then I COMPLETELY LET GO.
I used to go sailing at summer camp when I was a kid, and I was always afraid of “capsizing” (what we referred to as falling out of the boat). Soon, it became clear that “capsizing” was the best part, and I would throw myself overboard, trying to swim after the boat, laughing hysterically as the counselors yelled at me.
It was just like that.
Getting wet and nearly falling overboard is the FUN part of rafting, even if the water is glacier-fed and cold enough to freeze your nips clean off!
We stopped at a tall rock and I jumped off it into the river. We did “tequilas” — leaning backward over one side as a wave rolled in, soaking us and giving us the worst brain freezes ever! I got splashed like crazy, pulled my friends back into the boat, and screamed theatrically the entire way.
Whitewater rafting in Austria isn’t scary — it’s AWESOME.
I can’t wait to go rafting again. In fact, my friends and I agreed that we’re ready to try even more intense rapids next time! Perhaps Level V on the Zambezi?
I’ll be game, that’s for sure.
And for the rest of you, if you visit Innsbruck or Tirol during the warmer months, this is an activity that you MUST put on your itinerary!
My rafting adventure with Wiggi Rafting was part of the Action Adventure Tour following Travel Bloggers Unite, sponsored by Innsbruck Tourism and Tirol Tourism. All opinions, as always, are my own.
All of these fantastic images are by Matt Stockman Photography.
Your rafting experience sounds almost exactly like mine last month in Colorado! Level 3 rapids, cold water, an awesome guide, and tons of fun! (Our guide was actually a RTW traveler, which made him even more awesome. That, and he even took us down some of the rapids backwards, just for funsies!)
I can’t wait to go rafting again sometime, too!
Then we should GO! I’ll be back in the States for weddings and things in the spring/summer, and I bet we could get a deal somewhere…
That looks like crazy fun! I have only done it once in California and was holding on so tight because I did NOT want to fall into the water. I hate being cold!
Wow, this looks like fun! I have wanted to go near the Grand Canyon for years, but always end up trying another activity!
Cracking photos!
I did White Water rafting at the new course thats been built for the London Olympics! I think it’s for Kayaking and it’s obviously not fed by glacier water, so it’s a wee bit warmer, but I was still great fun! We turned the raft once and a few people came on our other trips around the course, but it was an absolute hoot. Shame they’re closing it in a few weeks for the professionals to start on it!
Beer and BBQ for a treat afterwards. :-). I’d recommend it to everyone too!
I love whitewater rafting! I took a 3-day whitewater rafting trip in Peru and the guide flipped our raft on purpose and then made us swim out from underneath it. Scared me to death when he first told us, but realize it wasn’t so bad after I survived. 🙂
I looove whitewater rafting! Looks like you had the best time!!!
How did you get those great pictures?! Everyone looks like they’re having a great time =)
Those great pictures were all taken by Matt Stockman (mattstockman.co.uk) — the company’s photographer!
Whitewater rafting is definitely something I’d love to do at some point – looks like you’re having so much fun out there.That water must have been freeeeezing though!
It was freezing — we had to take a little dip at first and we all screamed!
I went white water rafting in Lytton, BC, Canada this summer and had the exact same experience. As the guide went through the safety instructions, I started getting more and more terrified. And then as soon as we got on the water, all the fear went away and it was just SO MUCH FUN!
Great post!
Looks like so much fun!! I would LOVE to do this!
Was the guide Austrian or Australian?? Quite interesting to have an Australian guide in Austria!
He was definitely Australian! 🙂
Boooo! You should name this series “What Anthony missed for going home early.” 🙂 Looks FUN man!
I LOVE rafting! I am so bookmarking this post to come back to, if I ever made it back to The Continent:). Glad you had a great time and an awesome first experience!
I really enjoy river rafting and I think that it is great that you are adventurous! When I get older I want to be very adventurous and do everything on my “Bucket list”!! I have gone river rafting only a couple of times in my life and I hope I will be able to go more!!!
This looks fun!
Great pics, never been to Austria, though whitewater rafting in Austria would be great, thank you for sharing!