Holiday USA 2010

		Day 14 : DELIVERENCE..Wildwater on the Chattooga.
		Wednesday 4th August 2010

Ians alarm had us up at 6.15, a short stroll to the Brown house at the wildwater camp & we met John our trip leader. Our 6 seater boat was filled by us , an American couple Jim & Fran, John the leader & a trainee called Britt..5 boats were out in total.

A bus took us 13 minutes away to the put in, The day began hot & misty, but the sun soon burned the mist off.

We navigated some pretty heavy rapids from the word go, John & co got us all out of the boats straight after the first hair raising set & offered us a chance to swim part of the rapid.
We were guided up the rocks & one by one we entered a narrow cave, the roof was very low touching our helmets, the guides pushed us out into the current where we were immediately sucked under & catapulted out into the channel where we could clamber back in to the boat.

During the next rapids our boat collided with a big rock, the side nearest to me dropped away & before we knew it Fran was gone, Fortunately our safety & recovery lectures, pre trip, had all been worth while.
Jim & I hauled her safely back on board, Ian heroicly held onto the camera while Min held my oar.

Next stop the waterfalls..again everybody out & short hike to a pretty amazing waterfall. We were led up a slippery rock path & guided through the curtains of water, Back down was recommended to be done on your backside as the rocks were so slick.

After the next rapids we stopped at a rock tube ,4-5 ft deep each person could drop down the tube dive under & again be catapulted back into the main body of the river , Jumping off the rocks was encouraged!

John gave us some info about our route & showed us the camp ground where " the love scene" from the movie Deliverence was filmed & the very rapids where the film crew came unstuck & lost all their gear.

Towards the end we had a set of rapids too narrow to navigate during the lower water we are having now, We walked around whilst the guides manhandled the rafts across the water & through the narrow openings.

We stopped for lunch, the usual DIY sandwich affair, on a small beach.

Before we knew it we rounded a corner into the calm of a massive lake.
A motor boat was waiting to push us for a relaxing 25 minute cruise across to the pull out, where our bus sat ready to return us to Long Creek

Finally back to our cabin for a much needed shower.
Min & Ian embarked on another pyro technic extravaganza..( mins fire was waaayyyy better than Ians bbq effort ) fortunately good steak can be cooked really slowly : )

Well dear reader, we leave our red neck haven bright & early tomorrow..Sleep well ( do I hear banjo's? ) xx