On Monday 14 July, Dad, Ollie and I went rafting on the river Aude. It was awesome.
Me (middle) and Ollie (right) geared up ready to raft.
I went with the guide, Ollie went with Dad, and there were some other people who went with each other.
The rapids were awesome and I got splashed in the face at every one. There were also two dams, and they had slides down the sides with a little drop at the ends.
The rapids just below Le Palace, Quillan
Stephen and Ollie (left), me and the guide (right)
Later in the rafting we were on a calm bit and the guide said we could jump in and have a swim if we wanted, so I took the chance and leaped in, shoes and all. It was quite deep and very cold. And after my swim I couldn’t get back onto the raft because it did have sides so Dad helped me up.
Then after a few more swims the guide told me to stand up at the front of the raft so I stood up and it was fine but then he told me to stand up ON THE SIDES and I thought “oh no” but I stood up. At first it was fine but then the guide shook the raft and I fell face first onto the raft. Then I stood up on the sides of the raft again, and you can guess what the guide did, he shook the raft again and I fell backwards onto the raft, sitting down with a good, hard THUMP.
In a calm section of the Aude at Quillan
Then it was over and we got into a van, which carried us back to the place we started A.K.A: La Forge, where we got into our hired Citroen c4 Picasso and drove home to our rented apartment in Quillan overlooking the Place de la Republique.
This was great fun. We covered about 7 km of the river, from La Forge, which is just upstream of Quillan to near Campagne-sur-Aude, in about two hours. Jennie saw us from the Old Bridge at Quillan, hence the photos. At each of the rapids or tricky sections we stopped to get the guide’s advice about how to tackle it, then stopped again downstream until all three boats had made it OK. No-one capsized, though Ollie and I came close at the first white water. The guide advised us to lean downstream next time, otherwise the boat catches more of the current and can tip you over.
What a terrific way to end your adventures in France, Tom. We were glad to see you were well kitted up, which kept you safe and made it easier for you to standup (or lie down?) to those tricky manoeuvres of the guide. In our experience, guides always seem to want to give their customers a thrill! You wrote well and your last sentence is a masterly end to the story. A professional writer in the making? Enjoy your last couple of days in Quillan.