Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: australia, cairns, white water rafting
Living here in Cairns, we are auspicious enough to have some of Oz’s best white water rafting river rapids within an hours drive. In fact there isn’t another place in Oz that can claim that they have tourist rafting businesses running on 4 local rivers.
The runs that we have at hand are the Barron, Tully, Johnstone and Russell Rivers, as well as lots of seasonal rivers that only run in the wet season. This definately has to make White Water Rafting in Cairns something to write home about. Both the Barron River Whitewater rafting and Tully River Whitewater Rafting operate using whats commonly referred to as controlled release. This happens when the water is released at a specific time from a dam or Power Generation Scheme. These two are easily our most popular rivers with both full and half day tours departing daily. The Barron River has grades 2-3 rapids while the Tully has a more challenging grade of 3 to 4 and even 5 after upstream rain.
The Johnstone River runs in the wettest months, however offers Helicopter Rafting overnight trips with up to Grade 5 rapids. This expedition is pretty not for the faint hearted.
The Russel River uses inflatable double sportsrafts, which is a little different from the 6 man inflatable rafts, they are still loads of fun and simple to learn. This run does unfortunately have a short hike in to the commencement point through some thick rainforest. The Russel River has rapids in the range of grade 2-3 with sometimes a few grade 4′s after some rain.
All fun happens under the friendly guidance of highly trained river guides, and all raft operators hold the relevant official licensces and Insurance. So there is nothing to fret about if you want to experience some white water rafting while on your holiday in the tropical north.