{"id":34022,"date":"2024-09-22T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T07:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/?p=34022"},"modified":"2024-09-11T12:08:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T19:08:52","slug":"how-rafting-saved-the-river-youve-never-heard-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2024\/09\/22\/how-rafting-saved-the-river-youve-never-heard-of\/","title":{"rendered":"How Rafting Saved the River You\u2019ve Never Heard Of"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m nervous, and a little bit shy as I carry my gear up to the truck. There\u2019s a spot open in the cab next to the driver, but I hear voices calling, \u201cCome, Mia! Come on here!\u201d. Hands reach out from the back of the truck. I laugh as they pull me in and tuck me onto the bench. The message is clear: you are one of us. You are welcome here.<\/p>\n

The truck bounces away from the rafting warehouse, and the guides begin to chat, first in broken English, then sliding back into their native tongue until someone remembers me, the visiting American guide, and shouts, \u201cEnglish, English!\u201d as we all laugh. Our route to the put-in is circuitous; we stop periodically and pick up guides from one bus stop or another.<\/p>\n

The road eventually turns to dirt, dust swirling up and partially obscuring my view of the thick jungle around us. One of the guides explains that the area we are passing through is being logged, clear-cut style. I shouldn\u2019t be shocked, but I am. He tells a story that feels worldwide, that could take place anywhere, I just didn\u2019t know it was happening here. Natural resource extraction is pursued fervently, the quick cash from logging and mining overshadowing the long-term economic gains of recreation. We stop by the outskirts of a small village to pick up the rafts. A group of children gather, touching the boats and play-fighting with the guides. I don\u2019t understand their relationship yet, but it\u2019s clearly a fond one.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not in famed whitewater destinations Costa Rica, Africa or Chile. Instead, I\u2019m on my way to a little-known gem, the so-called “River of Eden.” Otherwise known as the Navua, Fiji’s only commercially river.<\/p>\n