Say A Little Prayer And Take The Plunge

THERE is a 7m drop between me and liberation, and I'm leaving my fate in the lap of the gods. The true whitewater rafting test with Kaitiaki Adventures.

There is a 7m drop between me and liberation, and I'm leaving my fate in the lap of the gods.

I place the fragile tip of a silver leaf fern in my palm, consider it for a long moment, then toss it into the Kaituna River.

My fate is sealed: the fern has landed silver side up, proof that this boat will capsize as it rolls over Tutea Falls near Rotorua on New Zealand's North Island. This is the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall.

Upriver, my guides Stevie Wall and Andy Loveridge have given me the option of leaving the boat and walking out of the tunnel-like gorge. I laughed at the proposition, and it is now too late to defy the current that churns inexorably towards the sheer drop, the only route home.

There is one other guest on this boat, an English engineer on the last leg of her extended travels who, in agreeing to take the front seat, leaves me feeling a coward.

Stevie has led us in traditional Maori prayer, or karakia, in which we pay our respects to the people of this river, the Ngati Pikiao tribe. Coupled with the sound of gently lapping waters here in the upper reaches of the river, the ritual soothes my keenly sharpened nerves.

We could be out for a lazy afternoon punt beneath a buttery sky as birds twitter and butterflies flit about.

But the bucolic scene is misleading, for the river's dimpled surface hides an unyielding current that propels us swiftly through the rainforest-shrouded gorge.

It is cool here despite the sunlight that has forced its way in, flecking tree trunks and dappling the water, like a Claude Monet painting.

As we approach the first of 13 drops, Stevie and Andy teach us a Maori proverb, or whakatauki. "Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui!" we shout.

It translates as: Be strong, be brave, be steadfast. The bubbling rapid draws us forward and we hurtle over, emerging flushed with adrenalin, a sheen of water kissing our skin.

I am quickly seduced by the rapids, hoping the next one will appear before the thrill of its predecessor wears off.

But our guides are alert to the quick fixes that so easily divert one's attention from other primordial impulses that run through this gorge.

Pulling our boat into a lee, Stevie tells of a ritual in which the bodies of esteemed members of the Ngati Pikiao tribe would be left to decompose in the river, their bones later stripped of flesh and wrapped in ceremonial cloth.

Downriver, we pause at the cave where these bony parcels were finally laid to rest. It is heavy with silence and the souls of the dead.

Thoughts of my own mortality now surface as we approach the mighty Tutea Falls, named for the chief whose remains are said to be buried in the cave behind the falls.

In times of war, women and children would use ropes to lower themselves down this seemingly impenetrable curtain of water, seeking refuge in the cave hidden behind its frothy skirts.

We are taking the more comfortable route, but still it feels dangerous. We position ourselves as instructed, shout out our whakatauki, then hang on for dear life.

Propelled by the full weight of the Kaituna River, we plummet over the edge, a blaze of water rising to meet us.

The boat smashes nose-first into the pool at the foot of the falls and is sucked into its churning waters; after a breathless, watery silence we pop back up to the surface like a celebratory champagne cork.

The silver leaf fern foretold disaster, but it was mistaken, for we have emerged intact. The guides lift their paddles in victory, the engineer swears profusely and breaks into a splitting grin, and I laugh like there is no tomorrow.

Dizzy with exhilaration, we drift downstream. "Do you want to go over the next drop on your back?" Stevie asks.

And before he can say "Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui!" I am floating down the river, waving at the clouds high above and wishing that I could stay put until I am swept out into the Bay of Plenty and the great oceans beyond.

Article written by Catherine Marshall of The Australian

If you think you can take the Kaituna River 7m waterfall challenge visit www.kaitiaki.co.nz and book now.