Woke up on Sunday morning to find I had been attacked in the eye by the deadly Slovenian mozzies and I was looking like a close relation of Joseph Merrick. After breakfast we set off for Austria with a van loaded up and the ever useful tom-tom (sat nav). With only two stops between Slovenia and Austria to "RECALCULATE" we eventually arrived mid afternoon. Hans the local kayaking/rafting guru took us to the local kayak club where we were to stay for the next few nights. Surprise! It turned out to be a beautiful log cabin with stone fireplace inside and out and situated conveniently next to the slalom course. So of course we got on for a paddle down the Drau to the confluence of the Isel. The climax of the day had to be the visit to mcd's for (in the case of the guys) double mcmenu and for myself (the vegetarian) salad and pommes frites. Monday saw us bright and early pumping up a big blue raft and heading down a lovely bouncy and scenic section of the Isel, with some nice river wide stoppers. After lunch (glad to say not mcd's) we went higher up the Isel and got on a grade III/|IV section where upon Martin managed to hit a stopper sideways and send us all (I hasten to add not Geraint our raft guide instructor) flying out of the raft. On being hauled back into the raft and doing a count of injuries we discovered an extremely bent paddle which fortunately was fixable. Tuesday saw a late start as all the flying and swimming had tired our poor bodies out and everyone was constantly yawning. We eventually made it down most of the section we had rafted the day before with only a few mishaps, like losing Rob who happened to be guiding at the time and decided he would bounce out the back of the raft, or like crashing into a rock and all being thrown out over the rock (again I hasten to add not Geraint), but otherwise it was an uneventful trip with us practicing flipping and climbing back in to the raft. Although I don't recommend trying to flip a raft in less than a foot of water there could be some bruises. Wednesday we were up for a challenge and off we drove to raft the Gail. A beautiful stretch of river with not a lot of water and approximately two rafts wide (and they were the wide stretches), with lots of boulders, trees and potential strainers just lurking around every bend (and there were a lot of bends). Technically challenging as continuous corrections were needed, lots of spins (intentional of course) and large amounts of "hold on, get down" were being shouted, but after approximately 17km we emerged with only one event - that Rob he just loves to bounce out of the raft when he's guiding. Last day in Austria and I do my assessment from the slalom course (the Drau) on to the Isel. A long stretch but incredibly beautiful and after flipping the raft (and it's a monster) I'm a raft guide. After some lunch we head on back to Slovenia for the best ice cream around. Friday sees Rob and Martin doing there assessment. With the additional challenge of having a squidgy raft (not to be recommended), the guys put in an incredible performance - flipping the raft, jumping on and flipping the raft upright, then jumping in again and getting two clients (myself and a.n.other) back into the raft in a short distance - and they pass with flying colours. In the evening we go for a paddle down the lower section of the Soca and one of Deb's friends makes us an incredible mushroom risotto to finish off the week.
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