Water Rafting (Davao River) - Day 4 of Davao Adventure 2011

DAVAO WILD WATER RAFTING

I was feverish the night before the rafting day. So I took huge doses of vitamin C and biogesic every 4 hours – thank God I felt better in the morning.

I got the contact information of the rafting agency through their website. Arthur, was very accommodating as he answered my queries about rafting. Basically, they’ll require you to send in your head-count through email. Then they’ll require you to make a downpayment of P 500.00 per head through any of their bank accounts. You need to send the deposit slip to them through fax or email. Then they will confirm your reservation on your specified rafting day. Cost of rafting is P2,000.00 per head. This is inclusive of 2 water bottles, packed lunch, a t-shirt, a DVD compilation of pictures and videos of the rafting activity, and free passes to the Butterfly Garden, Kamindanawan Cultural Show and Zip City. They have rafting schedules everyday. It’s my second time to do rafting. My first rafting experience was in Cagayan De Oro with Myla. 

Contact Information of the Rafting Agency in Davao

Their website offers comprehensive information on anything and everything you need to know about rafting. I think they’re the only rafting agency in Davao. Unlike in CDO, the rafting experience is the same for beginners, advanced and intermediate rafters (an agency in CDO offers 3 rafting levels – levels are determined based on the height of the rapids).

Meet-up point in Davao is at their main office inside the Crocodile Park. Call time is 8:00 AM but the group actually leaves the site at 9:30 in the morning. When you arrive at the office, you’ll have to fill-up and sign a waiver – it’s important to read this document. It basically tells you that the agency has nothing to do with you in case something bad happens during the rafting activity. Then you’ll need to fit a vest and a helmet. After which, you’ll be given your paddle. There’s a brief orientation at the office before you leave for the put-in area. You’ll be told of your groupings and assigned to your raft guide during the orientation. Minimum number of members per raft is 5 persons. Groups below this number will be joined with other groups. Here is where Marcial and I met our groupmates: Leo, Dorm, Den and Kim. Leo and Dorm are good friends from Davao. Den and Kim are lovers from Manila, also vacationing in Davao at that time. All these guys were fun to be with.  

Briefing of the Rafters Before Departure to the Put-In Area

Our Groupmates: Leo, Dorm, Me, Marcial, Kim and Den

The groups are taken to the put-in area through a jeep - a 45-minute ride from Crocodile Park. The put-in area is the starting point of the rafting activity. Upon arrival, there’s another briefing which will teach rafters on proper wearing of vests and helmets, as well as proper use of the paddle. After the briefing, you’ll then board the rafts. Initially, your raft guide will teach you the different paddle strokes and proper procedure for rescuing your groupmates - in case they get thrown off the raft by major rapids. Once this is done, you’ll start trailing the river.

The Jeep that Takes Rafters to the Put-In Area

Our Group with the Other Rafters

The water was actually low at that time. According to the taxi driver that I spoke with, it hasn’t been raining in Davao for a week before our arrival. Davao River normally has 23 rapids, 5 of which are major – rafts normally turnover on a major rapid. We started the trail at around 10:45 AM. Halfway through, we had our lunch by the riverside. The meals were packed on containers. We continued the trail after lunch. It rained briefly at around 1PM but it did nothing to increase the water level. We reached the end of the trail at around past 3PM. There are shower stalls at the end of the trail. The end of the trail is different from where we started. But the travel time back to Crocodile Park is still 45 minutes.

The Put-In Area

Our Team - Go Red Rafters!

Our First Taste of the Rapids

Expert Rafter Cum Photographer from the Agency

After We Survived the First Rapid

The Second Rapid

There Were 6 Rafts Trailing Davao River During Our Rafting Experience

Group Shot - Ours is the Red Raft

Towards the Third Rapid

The Photographer Overturned by the Rapid

By the Cave

By the Falls

Surviving Davao's Wild Water

We reached Crocodile Park at 4:30 PM but got to actually leave the area back to the hotel before 6PM – we still waited for copies of our pictures and videos. It was the last time that we saw Dorm and Leo. We bumped into Kim and Den in Zip City the following day. The rafting activity basically takes your entire day. I suggest that you go to a spa after to relax your muscles for the following day. We were supposed to visit Philosophy Spa in Davao City (I researched on this from the net). But we were too tired and sleepy already after the dinner in SM City.

At the Take-Out Area with Our Raft Guide Jonel

With the Photographer

In the end, I think there were at least 2 people who got thrown off every raft at some point during the trail. No raft was turned-over, though. The major rapids in Davao were nothing compared to those in CDO, but they still offer a one of a kind rafting experience for first-time rafters. Marcial had a blast that he kept on babbling the experience even now that we’re in Manila. (I’ll push him into trying the rapids of CDO one day. I’ve researched that there’s rafting in Kalinga also, we’ll do that as well). 

SM CITY

Nothing spectacular. The place is similar to typical SM Malls we have in Manila; though there are a few local establishments there. We had dinner at Roadhouse Steak Restaurant. We ordered rib-eye steak, shanghai fried rice and sinigang na baboy. They offer bottomless drinks. The steak and the rice were fine. The sinigang was different – it has ginger, dahon ng sili and milk (?!?!), it didn’t taste good. I won’t recommend it. I had LBM later that night which continued until the afternoon of the following day. It was a good thing that I brought diatabs with me, while Marcial had Immodium.

More Rafting Pictures...