One of the most thrilling activities available in Davao City, aside from the zip line adventure, is the white water rafting (also called WWR.) According to Wikipedia, “white water rafting is a challenging recreational activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water.”
I was able to experience Cagayan de Oro’s white water rafting adventure last June 2008 so I suggested to my colleagues that we should also include this as part of our planned activities in Davao. And prior to our arrival in Davao City last February 2009, we have already made a reservation with Davao Wildwater Adventure, Inc.
Here is our Davao White Water Rafting Itinerary:
| TIME | ACTIVITY |
| 8.30 am | Assembly at Crocodile Park |
| 9.30 am | Departure |
| 10.30 am | Arrival at Put In Area, Tamugan |
| 11.00 am | Start of Rafting |
| 12.00 nn | Lunch |
| 3.00 pm | Arrival at Take Out Area, Purok 8, Lacson |
| 3.30 pm | Departure for Crocodile Park |
| 4.30 pm | Arrival at Crocodile Park |
We arrived at the Crocodile Park at around 8.30 a.m. just in time for the initial rafting orientation. As we arrived, our life vests and helmets were handed to us then we were asked to sign a waiver. After these, we were all gathered at a certain area in the park where we were asked to watch a pre-taped video on TV which served as the initial orientation. After the orientation, we changed our clothes, kept our belongings in the lockers provided and then we all headed to Davao River.
Upon reaching the put in area in Tamugan, another orientation was given to us. We were taught how to put on our life vests, the basic white water rafting techniques and the different rafting lingos that will be used through out the activity. Since we were ten (10) in our group, we decided to get two rafts – six (6) of us were on the first raft and the other four (4) on the second. The paddles were distributed, the raft assignments were also announced and we were then introduced to our activity guide, Kuya Wong, who is just one of the many well-trained staff of Davao Wildwater Adventure, Inc.
As soon as we got into the water, we secured our feet to the strap on the raft’s floor and started to paddle. We were so excited and all of us were screaming out loud as we face the force of the rapids on this adrenaline pumping experience. There were several small rapids that we encountered but there were also a lot of long-stretched ones that will surely knocked you off your rafts. There is also a small cave along the river trail and a small cliff where one can jump from the top of the cliff to the water. The whole rafting adventure lasted for about 3 hours which started from the highlands of Baguio District, down to Calinan and then to the lowlands. There are approximately 30 rapids of varying degrees of difficulty.
We also saw Rhonson Ng, a photographer of Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) superior in-flight magazine – Mabuhay, during our Davao white water rafting adventure. I think he was with another group of tourists who hired him as their tour guide for their Davao trip. (I never knew who he was until I stumbled upon his photos and his shots on the Internet. I also remember sending him an e-mail before but was unfortunate enough to get any reply from him.)
All in all, our experience with the 13-kilometer river and the 30 rapids was a whole lot of fun. We’re also thankful to our guide, Kuya Wong, for being so professional and dedicated to his work. He is such a great guide and we will surely treasure the great rafting experience we shared with him. Helmets off to you, Kuya Wong! High five!!!
Btw, while I was browsing on Kuya Wong’s facebook account, I saw this as his primary picture:
That’s us, which I think was taken by Rhonson Ng.
Fee
White Water Rafting Package – P2,000/pax
Inclusions:
- Round Trip Transportation from Crocodile Park to the Rafting Area and back
- Packed Lunch plus Bottled Water
- Use of Rafting Gears & Equipment (Lockers provided)
- Activity Guide
- Souvenir T-Shirt
- Photo CD
Rafting Tips
- Wear light and comfortable clothes that dry quickly (Rash guards and board shorts are recommended)
- Bring a set of dry clothes that you can store in dry bags in the raft or that you can leave at your destination
- Avoid wearing slippers. Wear sandals with strap or aqua shoes instead
- Use waterproof sunscreen for protection against the heat of the sun
- Leave your valuables such as jewelries, cell phones and camera on an area where it can be safe
- Always listen to your guide
Contact Details
For inquiries and reservations you may contact Davao Wildwater Adventure Inc. directly at:
Mobile Nos: (+63 920) 954-6898 [Atoy] / (+63 920) 954-6897 [Poloy]
Landline Nos: (+63 82) 301-2020 / (+63 82) 286-1055
E-mail Address: davaowildwater@yahoo.com
Website: http://waterrafting.psdgroupph.com/
comment-194
comment-194
galing talaga ng information gathering mo reys. di pa nga nakapagreply si kent sa fee, alam mo na agad. (Y) wooohoo!!! saya nyan! nagka sunburn ako after natin mag rafting. pro ang saya parin! di ko namalayan ang init. eheheh :-$
comment-195
comment-195
Hey Mi! Oo nga eh. Ganun talaga pag mapuputi. Madaling ma-sunburn. I remember 2k yung binigay sa ating fee. Pero nagkaron tayo ng discount. I just can’t recall how much yung discount na binigay sa atin. So just to be safe, 2k na lang ang nilagay ko. 😀
Btw, model na naman kita dyan sa pagtalon sa batuhan. Haha! Baka magkaron ka na naman ng fans dito ha? Sabihin mo kay Kent, andito yung Davao WWR experience natin para makita rin nya. Thanks! 😀
comment-197
comment-197
wow pasyalera your site is amazing 🙂 bookmarking it now for future visits 🙂 am amazed at what is here 🙂 cant wait to see what else you will be writing about. 🙂
comment-198
comment-198
Hi Metz,
Thanks a bunch for the kind words. :-$ That’s so sweet. Pasyalera is actually a new site and we will soon be posting here all of our travel adventures in the Philippines. Hope to see you again. 🙂
comment-201
comment-201
Hi Wayne,
I enjoyed this post. Reminded me of my Davao rafting last year. I too was able to go to CDO for the rafting and had a lot of fun. Comparing the two, I would say that Davao rafting was more enjoyable. More because after the CDO rafting, I already know a lot of things to expect.
Plus that group was great. I forgot the name of my boat captain, he was hilarious. I will ask my friends and will let you know the guys name.
Z
comment-202
comment-202
Hi Z,
Good to hear you enjoyed our post. 😀 Same here, I enjoyed more when we had our Davao rafting compared to CDO. Maybe because we were just two when we had our CDO rafting and we were mixed with another group. Haha!
comment-203
comment-203
thanks for visitng my blog and leaving comments. you have a promising blog. keep it up. I’ve added you on my blogroll 😛
comment-204
comment-204
Hi Backpacking Philippines, welcome to our blog! Thank you also for visiting, we’ll also add you on our blogroll. (Y)
comment-208
comment-208
Any overturns at what they call the “washing machine” section of the rapids? Looks like that photo was taken indeed by Rhonson, lucky you!
comment-209
comment-209
Nomadic Pinoy: None. Too bad we didn’t have. Sayang. 🙁 Yeah, I really think so. He’s the only person at that time whom I know could take good pictures such as that. 😀 Do you know him personally?
comment-210
comment-210
it’s also not advisable to wear very-short shorts for ladies 😀
comment-211
comment-211
Hi Porener! Agree!!! I was wearing a very short shorts during our Davao rafting adventure and arghhhhh!!!!!! It was soooooo uncomfortable. 🙁
comment-218
comment-218
wow!
I was watching a show about wwr yesterday and then here, meron ka post about wwr in philippines. ganun pala kaganda ang ilog dun.
comment-220
comment-220
Hi Camella,
Bulilit, bulilit, sanay sa masikip. Hehehe! (Joke lang!) Yup, maganda nga yung ilog sa Davao. Hindi ko nga rin ineexpect na may ganun kaganda at ganun kahabang ilog sa Davao. 😀
comment-235
comment-235
that’s one thing i’d like to do once i have the time and the budget to visit Davao. That looks exciting…
comment-237
comment-237
Yup, very exciting indeed. Lalo na kung marami kayong magkakasama. Mas enjoy! 😀
comment-241
comment-241
ano email mo?
reply asap :-*
comment-242
comment-242
wow..that is all i can say..i envy you (Y)
comment-243
comment-243
i love davao! i tried rafting twice already, 2008 and 2009, super enjoy plus the staffs and guides are very entertaining and helpful
nice blog here, will surely come back for more and thanks for visiting my blog too :o)
comment-247
comment-247
Hi shea! our email address is pasyalera at gmail dot com 😀
comment-248
comment-248
@The Lady in Green Ruffles: Thanks! 😀
@malensky: Thanks also! Yeah, rafting is super fun! I also wanted to try rafting in Kalinga. 😀
comment-324
comment-324
davao is indeed the best!!!
comment-326
comment-326
Hey Father! Absolutely, one of the best. (Y)
comment-378
comment-378
agree! super excitig magrafting 🙂 whew!
comment-386
comment-386
Apir! Gusto ko rin ma-try yung rafting sa Kalinga Apayao. 😀
comment-466
comment-466
kami naman, we tried white water rafting sa CDO. ang saya anO?it was so much fun! 🙂
comment-469
comment-469
Hi KG! We’ve also tried rafting in CDO. Yup, exciting rin. Pero parang mas na-enjoy ko yung rafting namin sa Davao. Kasi mas maraming rapids sa Davao compared sa “Beginners” rafting ng CDO. Yung pang beginners lang kasi yung natry namin nun sa CDO. Siguro kung yung Advance ang kinuha namin mas masaya. 😀
comment-538
comment-538
It is more expensive than the one in Cagayan de Oro…
Which is better?
comment-539
comment-539
Hi Mr Whattaworld,
I enjoyed more in Davao. Though I haven’t tried the advanced rafting in CDO yet. Maybe because there are more rapids in Davao than in CDO. 😀
comment-554
comment-554
So is it true — that white water rafting in Davao is more advanced compared to CDO?
It’s more pricey but the gears look like they’re in better shape.Ü
comment-559
comment-559
Russ: I think CDO is more advanced compared to Davao. When you go rafting in CDO, you may opt to choose between the Basic and Advanced rafting. But in Davao, I think they don’t have such. So if I were to compare the Basic rafting of CDO to the usual rafting in Davao, I think Davao is much better since there are more rapids compared to CDO. 😀
comment-897
comment-897
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comment-1098
comment-1098
wow!i like water rafting..i already tried in CDO..im so excited to go there… :-$
comment-1122
comment-1122
After reading about the WWR at Davao. Can someone enghlighten me whether this WWR trill ride through out the year or apply to certain time of the year. Understand there is a raining season in Davao.
comment-1123
comment-1123
while looking at the pictures,i cant stop myself from thinking how blessed we are by having these kind of gift from our mother nature ^_^..astig! if your looking for another kind of rafting adventure,there’s another one in Cagayan De Oro…check it out ^_^
comment-1137
comment-1137
i wanna try this awesome adventure to experience the enjoyment!!!Yeah!!!
i’m so excited!!!
comment-1138
comment-1138
😀
comment-1139
comment-1139
😀 😀
comment-1171
comment-1171
Wow…As I was reading I could picture what we did when we went wild water rafting in that same river last June 2009. You gave a riveting account and complete information. Hats off to you, Pasyalera!
comment-1174
comment-1174
:-/
comment-1178
comment-1178
i’m planning a Mindanao trip next year..almost wanted to drop Davao off the list but you made it all the more interesting and exciting! so i’ll try to squeeze it in the schedule.
comment-1232
comment-1232
wow,,galing nman,,sana mkapunta ako jan..hehehe…mlapit lng nman…
comment-1233
comment-1233
magkano ba ang entrance fee nito?
comment-1324
comment-1324
Hi! Punta kami ng friends ko sa Davao (4d3n) at gusto namin ma experience to. Do you have available itinerary na pwedeng tularan? Ayoko kasi sana kumuwa ng mga tour packages. Thanks.