Dec 2nd 2012 was our awesome day of canyoning!
We had to wake very early and be at the Paddle Nepal office by 6am. Yuck. The only downside to doing such awesome activities always means an early rise!
The bus ride was a few hrs and was freeeeeeeeezing. The windows are always broken and the breeze comes in from every angle. Sam and I wear every warm item we own and still freeze. It's horrible. When we arrive we're straight away given a briefing and getting dressed in our wetsuits. Thank fuck for wet suits. We're stupid enough to go sliding and jumping off waterfalls into fresh water in winter in Nepal, so at least we have wet suits!
We start with a half hr steep hike up the mountain. We're in heavy wetsuits and carrying heavy harnesses and caribeeners. I was dying. I certainly didn't feel like I had just done a 19day hike in the mountains, I felt like I had been a lazy slob for the last month as I was literally back to my unfittest moment! My calves were killing me and I was puffing like crazy.
Finally we reach the top and we get to play around in a fresh pool with a massive waterfall. It's now I realize that wet suit is fucking brilliant! I can't feel the cold! The first half hr is spent learning how to abseil down a 10m waterfall, then practicing safe jumping in a very shallow pool - which Sam ends up with his worst injury of the day - whacking his elbow on a rock. We finally get to the good stuff. Our first slide! Our guide is from Chili, South America and you can so tell. He's all goofing around and being funny the whole time, cracking jokes and trying to get us to relax and have fun. It totally worked. I had no idea how scary canyoning actually was. I was nervous about our rafting and our bungy we had been talking about, but canyoning I never once imagined it being scary. Boy was I wrong. So our first slide is down a 30m waterfall. You can't see over the edge, which I think adds to the thrill. They set up a line and have a guy down the bottom, then you get strapped onto the rope by your harness and caribeener. You lay on your back as he slowly eases you off the edge of the top of the waterfall. You still can't see anything! Water is everywhere! In your face, in your mouth, eyes. The force of it also throws your body around like a rag doll, it's such a freaky feeling! So he lets us slowly down about halfway down the waterfall, body is rolling all over the place from the pressure of the water, then you get to a spot, get into a safe position and boom, he lets go! So you fly down the rest of it and sink deep into the water at the bottom. Insane, but oh so exhilarating!
This photo is off the middle section, just before he lets go. Don't be fooled, it is a vertical waterfall!
A full view of the 30m waterfall
Sliding down after he lets go - so much fun!
So the rest of the day we swapped between sliding, abseiling and jumping down these crazy waterfalls. By far our favourite was sliding. It was like a natural water park. The guides made it super safe and you didn't really hurt yourself unless you came out of the safe position and knocked an elbow or something. Sam and I had the most fun we'd had so far in Nepal. We definitely want to do it again and again! All over the world :)
We had to wake very early and be at the Paddle Nepal office by 6am. Yuck. The only downside to doing such awesome activities always means an early rise!
The bus ride was a few hrs and was freeeeeeeeezing. The windows are always broken and the breeze comes in from every angle. Sam and I wear every warm item we own and still freeze. It's horrible. When we arrive we're straight away given a briefing and getting dressed in our wetsuits. Thank fuck for wet suits. We're stupid enough to go sliding and jumping off waterfalls into fresh water in winter in Nepal, so at least we have wet suits!
We start with a half hr steep hike up the mountain. We're in heavy wetsuits and carrying heavy harnesses and caribeeners. I was dying. I certainly didn't feel like I had just done a 19day hike in the mountains, I felt like I had been a lazy slob for the last month as I was literally back to my unfittest moment! My calves were killing me and I was puffing like crazy.
Finally we reach the top and we get to play around in a fresh pool with a massive waterfall. It's now I realize that wet suit is fucking brilliant! I can't feel the cold! The first half hr is spent learning how to abseil down a 10m waterfall, then practicing safe jumping in a very shallow pool - which Sam ends up with his worst injury of the day - whacking his elbow on a rock. We finally get to the good stuff. Our first slide! Our guide is from Chili, South America and you can so tell. He's all goofing around and being funny the whole time, cracking jokes and trying to get us to relax and have fun. It totally worked. I had no idea how scary canyoning actually was. I was nervous about our rafting and our bungy we had been talking about, but canyoning I never once imagined it being scary. Boy was I wrong. So our first slide is down a 30m waterfall. You can't see over the edge, which I think adds to the thrill. They set up a line and have a guy down the bottom, then you get strapped onto the rope by your harness and caribeener. You lay on your back as he slowly eases you off the edge of the top of the waterfall. You still can't see anything! Water is everywhere! In your face, in your mouth, eyes. The force of it also throws your body around like a rag doll, it's such a freaky feeling! So he lets us slowly down about halfway down the waterfall, body is rolling all over the place from the pressure of the water, then you get to a spot, get into a safe position and boom, he lets go! So you fly down the rest of it and sink deep into the water at the bottom. Insane, but oh so exhilarating!
This photo is off the middle section, just before he lets go. Don't be fooled, it is a vertical waterfall!
A full view of the 30m waterfall
Sliding down after he lets go - so much fun!
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