Imagine a big green rainforest full of life and nature. Now try to imagine being on a boat racing through the cold and cool river while looking at this amazing scenery. This is exactly what we did on the island of Sumatra in a small part called Ketambe. Now close your eyes and try to imagine a picture of big mountains and tall trees growing alone with no fires or no palm oil plantations around it with the animals roaming freely with no worries about what could happen to them. 

We had planned to go rafting that week and were briefed on what to look out for, what to bring, and what not to do when on the raft, but also to look out for the rainforest around us. When the day finally arrived we collected our final materials and headed outside to hop onto a truck that had two huge colourful boats on top of it. When heading up the steep hill we could see the cold river with its huge rapids and this got us very excited for the adventure ahead.

When we finally arrived and got our life jackets and helmets on we waited for further instructions from our guide Putra. When he gave all the “green go’s” we picked up the boats and began to move them into the ice cold river. When we had all started to head off into the river it was almost as if the rainforest knew we were there because it all of a sudden became brighter in the sky and the rainforest itself lit up in the sunlight. After about 20 minutes of big rapids and fun, the water began to slow down and become calm and cool. This was a time of reflection and a time to look at the rainforest and really see how amazing it was in your own eyes and possibly others.

The rafting lasted abut 4 hours including the breaks in between to eat lunch and to snack. Once the rafting came to an end it was upsetting to leave such an amazing activity and sight. But a lot of information and facts were gained throughout this journey around the rainforest.

Written by: Lola Sweeney