Types Of Craft On A White Water Rafting Vacation

There are many varying craft on offer on white water rafting trips to enhance your adventure. Each offer a different means to run rapids on a river, giving you safe options to challenge some of the biggest whitewater in the world, such as on the Zambezi or in Nepal. Other craft are there for your safety. Safety kayaks and safety catarafts primarily run rapids first and wait at the bottom of rapids in strategic locations in case you should pop out of the raft. Paddle raft: This raft will have 6-8 paddlers plus a guide, who will give commands from the rear of the raft. An extremely manuvreable craft which involves excellent teamwork. A common boat used on the steep creeks of California. Stern Raft/Paddle Assist: This is an adaptation of the above craft, however the guide will sit at the back with a set of oars which allows extra power and stability in big water rapids such as in Chile and the Zambezi. Oar Raft: A boat that is traditionally used for equipment such as food, coolers, but on occasion, these craft can be used to take passengers too. This is common on the Grand Canyon although traditionally most … Continue reading →

Paddle rafting at it's best on the steep creeks in California.

Capturing Memories Of Your Rafting Vacation

Having immersed yourself in your rafting holiday, who might be there to capture YOUR memories for you? An integral part of any river trip (numbers permitting) is to have a video kayaker along, whose sole purpose is to capture trip memories for you in the form of still photographs and a 30-45 minute DVD of your trip for you to show your family and friends on your return! Just think, when they are just starting to get bored of all of your stories, you can show them, just how much fun it is on a river trip! With the onset of many inexpensive and excellent quality waterproof cameras, many of our trips also have Go-Pro cameras offering HD quality photos and video from the front of the raft facing back at the crew, or alternatively, some other great views can be obtained putting the camera on the guides helmet at the back of the raft. In addition, we take small waterproof pelican cases so you’ll have the opportunity to capture your own special images on the trip. Just remember, if there is something that might make the DVD amazing for you, ask the cameraman to grab that shot for you. … Continue reading →

Mikey Amos, one of our talented cameramen in Morocco

Cuisine On A White Water Rafting Trip?

Eating a wonderful meal in the outdoors is a must. Forget beans on toast and “spam” your river guides transform into wonderful chefs preparing cuisine we have been told “restaurants would be proud of”. As any past guests of Water By Nature will attest to, from sundowners of Canapes, prawn cocktail or wine and cheese and an ice cold beer, to our very own “cake guru” Steve Hammond’s dutch oven cakes, you should not plan on losing any weight on your holiday! Given the range of food on offer in many of our destinations such as Morocco, Nepal and the Zambezi, many meals the guides prepare are from scratch. On a recent trip to Morocco, the guests were blown away by riverside pizzas and chips, made with their own choice of toppings. Breakfasts are no exception. Fresh fruit each morning, cereal and those wanting a cooked breakfast, French Toast, bacon and eggs or perhaps Eggs Benedict will satisfy your taste buds. Lunches include fresh salads, cold meats and fruit. Given the nature of a river trip and taking gear rafts with you, there is no need to scrimp on comfort and the same applies to the food. Send us your … Continue reading →

A Stunning Insight Into Moroccan Rafting

Rafting is perhaps not the first thing that people associate with the Kingdom of Morocco. Most people will associate it with the vast Sahara Desert, camels and the vibrant and fascinating cities like Marrakech. Around 5 hours north east of Marrakech lies the picturesque and fun Ahansel River. It has many of the qualities of a European Alps style river, but without the crowds. Starting beneath the imposing La Cathedrale and traveling via a series of stunning campsites littered with cedar trees and rhododendrons down to the lake of Bin El Ouidane offers those wanting to explore this wonderful region, time to walk to ancient Kasbahs, meet people and sample wonderful food prepared along the way by our guides. A recent group visiting from the USA, many of whom had done the Grand Canyon, felt this trip was even more impressive in it’s beauty. Advertising agency executive Duncan Shaw, celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary with wife Marybeth, was blown away by the food on the trip. Canapes, wine and cheese, cake made on the river and pizzas made from scratch individually for all guests was something that was unique for them all. On the Deserts & Rivers option of this … Continue reading →

Your Rafting Crew Have Arrived In Morocco

For those of you heading out to Morocco later in the season, your river crew have just arrived in Marrakech to what we hear are sunny temperatures and plenty of snow in the mountains. Steve Hammond, has been to the river and says there are excellent levels, so get ready for some fun in the sun. Many of our guests have enjoyed tracking the crew on their trip to Morocco and you can still follow the progress of the trips on the river. The crew had plenty of adventures on the way to Morocco, including picking up some charity hitchhikers from Kings Medical College in London who were trying to get as far away from London as possible in 36 hours. They were collected near Dover in the UK and 36 hours later were dropped in Malaga Airport to get home! They could not believe their luck! Through Spain the crew experienced driving snow, so the welcome warmth of Morocco was pretty well received. Hope you can join them for a trip later on in the season, either rafting or kayaking, which runs through until June.

13 “Wet Dreams” For 2013

Like many of us, we all make resolutions at New Year to “do something new” or try something different this year. With January almost gone, how is your adventure planning going for 2013? We hope that this list of the world’s greatest river based adventures will stir you into action. 1: The Big One – The Mighty Zambezi: Simply the most fun, big water river trip in the world. The season to run the multi-day section of the Zambezi is from late July until November. The Zambezi, has the best and warmest whitewater on the planet. Trips range from 4-7 days and start under the magnificent Victoria Falls and conclude with a flight over them by helicopter before you are dropped at your hotel. Add a multitude of activities from luxury safari to relaxing in the Devils Pool. Stunning beaches to camp on, great weather… 2: The Classic – The Grand Canyon: It IS the most famous river trip in the world. And with good reason. Our rafts allow us access to this stunning place, where time feels like it stands still and you float beneath the canyon walls, with it’s shadows and “moods”. A trip down the Colorado River … Continue reading →

Morocco Whitewater Rafting – Ahansel River

Whitewater rafting was only pioneered in Morocco less than 15 years ago, by Water By Nature. The Atlas Mountains hold the hidden secrets of the spectacular valleys and rapids of the Ahansel River. Home to turtles and monkeys as well, the Ahansel is a perfect getaway from the UK and Europe for a long weekend. The trip is frequented by families, school groups, scout groups, stag and hen weekends. Starting from the picturesque Tilouguite the season is at its best from February until June, with warmer temperature generally experienced later in the season. With spectacular camps set up on the riverside, groups get the chance to relax and explore the area led by a team of international river guides from New Zealand, USA, South Africa, Australia and the UK. We paddle past ancient Casbahs high on the hillsides above us while tackling the best whitewater Morocco has to offer. On the final day of the trip, we raft through spectacular canyons 100’s of metres high, taking the only mode of transport to see this spectacular part of the Morocco. Rafting trips need not be “hardcore” This whitewater experience on the Ahansel River is one of the best on offer and … Continue reading →

The Ultimate Expedition in Morocco

We have recently returned from Morocco with the Ripon Explorer Scouts on what can only be described as a truly inspiring expedition. This team of 15 and 16 year olds along with their scout leader and mentor Phil, had been fundraising for more than 2 years to take part in this expedition. With super market bag packing, letters to prominent businesses and people in the community and Céilidh for donations, they reached their target and left for Morocco in late March 2010 for their two week expedition. Phase one of the trip was an 8 day trans atlas crossing hiking from the Dades valley to the river put in point, La Cathedrale. The kids did the long 6-8 hour days, camping in remote Berber Villages along the way. Looking tired, but relieved they had made it, we met them by the side of the river to take part in the river portion of their trip. The river was relatively high, however Phil and the scouts, had spent a great deal of time on their paddling to get it up to scratch to paddle the Grade 3 Ahansel River. The Ahansel River is a gorgeous paddle through the heart of the … Continue reading →

Rafting In Morocco – Who Can Do It?

Our team is now well and truly in the midst of our Morocco rafting season. But who rafts in Morocco and what different trips are on offer there? When many people picture Morocco, they think Sahara Desert and lets face it, the rafting wont be very good there! However Morocco is home to the Atlas Mountains and the wonderful rivers that feed from it. The best time to go to Morocco is in fact now in the spring when the run off is at it’s best, however rafting and kayaking can be done until late May when the Ahansel River gets too low to run. The Ahansel River is a perfect Grade 3 river, suitable for both first timers, families wanting to go rafting and seasoned rafters just wanting to go and explore a river off the beaten track. The river trips in Morocco are all of different lengths. Go for a “quick fix” and stay in our Berber Camps for just £210 for 3 days including a stop at Cascade D’Ouzoud, or take your time to raft the entire river from Cathedral to the lake on our Hidden Morocco trip. Water By Nature also offers kayaking trips for Grade … Continue reading →

Moroccan Madness

If you believe in karma you sometimes wonder what some creatures did in a previous life to deserve their present state. Questions like this riddle the brain when you travel in Morocco. For example, what creature deserved to be reincarnated as the Moroccan donkey that suddenly collapsed dead in front of my van under a load of two tonnes of cement causing a horrific traffic jam in Marrakech. An even more severe example are those who revisit this earth as Berber women, the hardest working souls in Northern Africa, whose husbands lounge in the tea and coffee shops sipping strong brews and generally do nothing. Yet another example of severe karmic debt repaid in Morocco are those Water By Nature guides who experienced the most difficult rafting and kayaking season to date. Morocco is a beautiful country with a rich culture, varied geography, and interesting people. It is a land that is not quite Africa and not quite Europe. Some say its Islamic roots classify it with the Middle East but even still its geographical displacement keeps it separated from this region as well. As a result, this No Man’s Land of a country is a unique destination. In addition … Continue reading →