When you and your group of friends book a raft tour, you'll generally navigate the raft through safe waters that provide a few exciting or challenging areas. A novice route will ensure the safety of the group. If you're visiting a river rafting center to book an outing and everyone in your group has significant rafting experience, however, you may be able to take a route that offers more challenges. Additional challenges can not only be exciting, but can also create a bonding experience for your group. Here are some elements that this type of outing may include.
Rougher Water
The biggest difference that you'll experience when you book a raft outing as a member of an experienced group is rougher water. Your route might not have just a couple of stretches with waves — instead, much of the route may be challenging to navigate because of the roughness of the water and the strong currents that may pull you toward either side of the river. You can expect that the water will be rough enough that it will require expert paddling to navigate, and you can also expect that water will enter your raft frequently.
Drops
Another element that you shouldn't be surprised to find on a raft tour for an advanced group of paddlers is a series of drops. These are rare on routes designed for novices, given the challenges that they present. The size of the drops will depend on the area that you've visiting, but you should definitely be prepared to have your raft drop from one section of water to another — in essence, navigating what you might call a mini waterfall. There are few things more thrilling when you're rafting than successfully navigating a drop.
Rocks
You may even have to face rocky terrain, which is something that is rare in routes that are designed for novices. Rocks present a serious challenge, as your group will need to be proficient enough that it can steer the raft away from these threats. Sometimes rocks will jut out from the surface of the water. In other cases, they'll lurk out of sight. Your tour leader may show you the position of some rocks areas on a map in advance of your outing, and he or she will definitely call out as you approach rocks. You'll all need to be working together to move the raft to one side or the other of these hazardous areas so that you can escape unscathed.
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