This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
by Alan McLachlan , The trip started with an evening stroll to Plateau Stream where we camped for the night. Next morning we wandered down to the Otaki River where we assembled our assorted crafts. Brian Johnston’s tube took the prize with its DBP system (double backside protection), super harness and probably a Satellite Navigation System. Wetsuits donned, we plunged into the river to confront the raging torrent. Soon the rafters caught up with us and various battles ensued (I couldn’t understand why Lyndsay Fletcher always got in their way!). Already Kirsty Woods had had enough and decided to keep her pack dry and raft down the river. There were plenty of good waterfalls to tube down and we ended the day tired and battered. The next day was leisurely in comparison. Allan’s cooker gave us an exciting spectacle as it blew up in the process of boiling a billy at lunch time. The rafters continued trying to run over Lyndsay. We finished our tubing soon after lunch and basked in the sun waiting for the Duchess to pick us up.