In mid-May, while a colleague was visiting from the US (and was nice enough to bring me a Seagrem's 7!), I arranged another rafting adventure with him and several of my expat friends. Most of these adventure tours in Jakarta claim to require a minimum party of 10 people. The reality is they require fees for ten people, they will happily depart with just eight. Six is what we had, but we paid for ten, so the two drivers were able to raft, also.
On my prior rafting trips - two with my staff, one with my friend from Austria - we walked down the hill to gather our gear, loaded into the back of a truck and made our way up the mountain to our launching point. We then rafted down to the place where we collected our gear, took a break, and then rafted to our final spot another thirty minutes or so down the river. This time, I arranged for us to raft to the sea.
Our day started at 7 AM in Jakarta. Myself, a colleague, and four expat friends met at the Hero's in Kemang, divided into two groups - one in my car, one in my colleague's car - and drove to Sukabumi. The trip was much faster than prior attempts and we arrived by 11:30 and had lunch. We were scheduled to begin our rafting at 1 PM.
At 12:30, the guide collected us. We gathered our gear, listened to the safety briefing, and, instead of boarding a truck for a ride up the hill, we split into two rafts right there. Myself, my colleague and two good friends from Jakarta loaded into one raft, the two drivers and my two other friends loaded into the other raft.
Our first stop was the location where all my previous trips had ended. We rested, drank coconut water, and watched a group of village boys ages 5 - 10 swim and playfight naked in the river. That isn't something I thought I'd ever see in a country as conservative as Indonesia.
When we had finished our break, I quickly regretted having not brought a camera. I'd been on the trip so many times before, and already had so many pictures, I didn't think there would be anything new for me. I hadn't counted on the river beyond my prior stopping point being so markedly different from my prior trips.
The top of the mountain is mostly jungle. There are a few random houses dotting the landscape, a few rice plantations, but it is mostly rock, waterfall and jungle. Beyond our rest stop, there was life. Houses built on the banks of the river with steps carved into the rock to give access to the water. People bathing, washing clothes, and even brushing their teeth in the river. Kids floating on inner tubes, laughing and waving as we paddled by. This was a true representation of life in an Indonesian mountain village, and I missed the opportunity to photograph it. Some of the others brought their cameras, but we were so busy taking in all the sights, fighting the rapids, and feeling excited when we smelled the salt air, no one thought to take pictures.
Our adventure ultimately ended before we ever sited the sea, which would have been the Indian Ocean. We left the river after crossing underneath a bridge. Two trucks awaited and we loaded the gear in one truck, and the rest of us piled into the open-air bed of the other truck, and held on for dear life as it drove back to the launch point via highway, village roads, dirt roads, and one stretch that was so steep even people on motorcycles were waiting their turn so they could build up speed and tackle it alone. It's amazing we didn't fall out the back.
When we returned to Jakarta, everyone said we had to return and this time, take the full, 8 hour trip from the top of the hill to the sea. I tried to get something scheduled for June but, as often happens, talking about doing it was easier than committing to it, and the long trip won't occur before we leave.
I have now rafted in Java more times than we've done anything else other than Taman Safari....and eating at Hacienda. I think that means I enjoy it.
On my prior rafting trips - two with my staff, one with my friend from Austria - we walked down the hill to gather our gear, loaded into the back of a truck and made our way up the mountain to our launching point. We then rafted down to the place where we collected our gear, took a break, and then rafted to our final spot another thirty minutes or so down the river. This time, I arranged for us to raft to the sea.
Our day started at 7 AM in Jakarta. Myself, a colleague, and four expat friends met at the Hero's in Kemang, divided into two groups - one in my car, one in my colleague's car - and drove to Sukabumi. The trip was much faster than prior attempts and we arrived by 11:30 and had lunch. We were scheduled to begin our rafting at 1 PM.
At 12:30, the guide collected us. We gathered our gear, listened to the safety briefing, and, instead of boarding a truck for a ride up the hill, we split into two rafts right there. Myself, my colleague and two good friends from Jakarta loaded into one raft, the two drivers and my two other friends loaded into the other raft.
Our first stop was the location where all my previous trips had ended. We rested, drank coconut water, and watched a group of village boys ages 5 - 10 swim and playfight naked in the river. That isn't something I thought I'd ever see in a country as conservative as Indonesia.
When we had finished our break, I quickly regretted having not brought a camera. I'd been on the trip so many times before, and already had so many pictures, I didn't think there would be anything new for me. I hadn't counted on the river beyond my prior stopping point being so markedly different from my prior trips.
The top of the mountain is mostly jungle. There are a few random houses dotting the landscape, a few rice plantations, but it is mostly rock, waterfall and jungle. Beyond our rest stop, there was life. Houses built on the banks of the river with steps carved into the rock to give access to the water. People bathing, washing clothes, and even brushing their teeth in the river. Kids floating on inner tubes, laughing and waving as we paddled by. This was a true representation of life in an Indonesian mountain village, and I missed the opportunity to photograph it. Some of the others brought their cameras, but we were so busy taking in all the sights, fighting the rapids, and feeling excited when we smelled the salt air, no one thought to take pictures.
Our adventure ultimately ended before we ever sited the sea, which would have been the Indian Ocean. We left the river after crossing underneath a bridge. Two trucks awaited and we loaded the gear in one truck, and the rest of us piled into the open-air bed of the other truck, and held on for dear life as it drove back to the launch point via highway, village roads, dirt roads, and one stretch that was so steep even people on motorcycles were waiting their turn so they could build up speed and tackle it alone. It's amazing we didn't fall out the back.
When we returned to Jakarta, everyone said we had to return and this time, take the full, 8 hour trip from the top of the hill to the sea. I tried to get something scheduled for June but, as often happens, talking about doing it was easier than committing to it, and the long trip won't occur before we leave.
I have now rafted in Java more times than we've done anything else other than Taman Safari....and eating at Hacienda. I think that means I enjoy it.
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