MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Summer 2018

70 ML BLUE SUMMER 2018 38 WEEKEND TRIPS We set off in the kind of rain that soaks through to our underwear in minutes. But we can’t stop, we have to get to camp. The families have just met and the kids aren’t yet acclimatized; they eye each other suspiciously from the boats. It is the first few minutes of a three-night, four-day family adventure on the French River with Black Feather Wilderness Adventure Company. We arrive at Little Pine Rapids after a short paddle through a downpour. Some of the kids are shivering as we paddle into it duckie style—one boat following another. Splashing through the whitewater, I laugh delightedly while my wife and little boy are silent and terror-stricken. We paddle through the rapids easily and eddy out with the rest of the group. I’m thrilled. The grey sky finally shows signs of breaking and as we pull into camp 406, the sun appears. The parents and guides start making camp, getting kids into dry clothes and making dinner. The rain is long forgotten and the kids quickly form a gang. They run through the woods, laughing, screaming and shouting. The French River Whitewater Family Adventure