Pasyalera
White Water Rafting in Davao

White Water Rafting in Davao

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.

Life Vests Life Vests, Helmets and Lockers Waiver Signing
Rafting Orientation Rafting Orientation Transportation to/from 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.

The Blue Eagols with Kuya Wong Practice Rescue White Water Rafting in Davao
High Five Inside the Cave The guides having lunch
The Lovers' Raft Mimi jumping off the cliff The Whole Gang

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.)

Mabuhay Magazine's Rhonson Ng Rhonson Ng in action Smile for Rhonson

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:

Davao Wildwater Adventure Ad with the Blue Eagols

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/

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 5th, 2009 at 1:01 am and is filed under Davao. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Comments

44 responses to “White Water Rafting in Davao

  1. comment-194
    mimi
    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 :-$

  2. comment-195
    Wayne Post author
    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! 😀

  3. comment-197
    Metz
    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. 🙂

  4. comment-198
    Wayne Post author
    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. 🙂

  5. comment-201
    Zorlone
    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

  6. comment-202
    Wayne Post author
    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!

  7. comment-204
    Icey
    comment-204

    Hi Backpacking Philippines, welcome to our blog! Thank you also for visiting, we’ll also add you on our blogroll. (Y)

  8. comment-208
    Nomadic Pinoy
    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!

  9. comment-209
    Wayne Post author
    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?

  10. comment-211
    Wayne Post author
    comment-211

    Hi Porener! Agree!!! I was wearing a very short shorts during our Davao rafting adventure and arghhhhh!!!!!! It was soooooo uncomfortable. 🙁

  11. comment-218
    camella
    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.

  12. comment-220
    Wayne Post author
    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. 😀

  13. comment-243
    malensky
    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)

  14. comment-248
    Wayne Post author
    comment-248

    @The Lady in Green Ruffles: Thanks! 😀

    @malensky: Thanks also! Yeah, rafting is super fun! I also wanted to try rafting in Kalinga. 😀

  15. comment-469
    Wayne Post author
    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. 😀

  16. comment-539
    Wayne Post author
    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. 😀

  17. comment-554
    r u s s
    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

  18. comment-559
    Wayne Post author
    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. 😀

  19. comment-1122
    Carlos
    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.

  20. comment-1123
    rafting cagayan de oro
    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 ^_^

  21. comment-1137
    Jade Factura
    comment-1137

    i wanna try this awesome adventure to experience the enjoyment!!!Yeah!!!
    i’m so excited!!!

  22. comment-1171
    Tess
    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!

  23. comment-1178
    leah
    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.

  24. comment-1324
    Helen Grace Ortiz
    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.

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