The Citarik River which is located in Sukabumi is one of the most well-know rivers for exciting rafting in Indonesia. I was blessed to be there for my first experience in rafting.
I happened to be in a conference for my company in Jakarta. So, my experience started from there. Since it was going to take 3 hours driving from Jakarta to Sukabumi, my friends and I, a total of 12 people, woke up at 4:00 a.m and left the hotel at 5:00 a.m. Even though we were still heavy-eyed we were very excited! On the way there we stopped by at the traditional chicken porridge eatery on the street and had our breakfast there. The taste was so good, I guess because the taste was mixed with dust and exhaust-polluted air from the cars passing by. Huhehehe. Then the journey continued on.
When we arrived in Sukabumi, particularly our rafting agent’s base of ARUSLIAR, we got our rafting equipment, like life jackets, paddles and helmets. Then, we went to the starting point, another 4 km by TRUCK!! We were like cows being taken to market in the truck! The road was very steep and with many curves; we screamed the whole trip!! And, we hadn’t even started the rafting yet!!!
Once we got to the starting point, we were divided into 3 groups. My team was named Matahari (Sun) the other teams were Bintang (Star) and Bulan (Moon). The length of the rafting trip was 8 km, but every 2 km we stopped for various games and rest.
The first game was flipping our rafts over. So, as a team we had to flip over the boat with a provided wire. Once it was flipped over, we then needed to flip it back in the right position. It sounds easy but when you have to pull yourself up to the boat, it was really hard! One of my friends first pushed my butt so that I could climb into the boat and then I help pull the rest of my team in. Even though this was a game, it was also a safety procedure as sometime the river rafts can overturn when we don’t expect it.
Then the second game was called “slaloms”. This was the hardest one. We had to paddle our raft against the current and touch a particular thing that was placed on the other side. It was really hard. We paddled and paddled and paddled. I was so exhausted but my team did it!
The third game was “head to head”. It was racing between 3 teams and my group was the loser!! hahahha!! But our group ended the race by flipping our raft over by accident!! It was a great ending of my rafting trip.
Of course, we always had “splash war” using our paddles with other teams along the way of our rafting trip. We also had countless falls down from standing in our rafts when we go through strong current and rapids and bump into big rocks. However, it was still so much fun even though at the end of the day I got several bruises all over my body.
Afterward we soaked ourselves in the river and the water was very fresh! Oh, and I was able to see so many different kinds of wonderful flowers, beautiful birds and biawak along the river. It was awesome. And to get back to our base, we had to ride the TRUCK back again!!! Another screaming session!!
Soon we arrived at the ARUSLIAR base, we took a shower. The agent provided us a great lunch. We had famous West Java food like Sayur Asam (Sour Veggie), Karedok (raw vegetable mix with peanut sauce), Tempe Goreng (fried soy cake), Tahu Goreng (Fried Tofu) and Ikan Asin (Salted fish).
I would recommend this rafting trip to anyone traveling in this part of Indonesia, it is easy to do, the cost is low and the fun and excitement are high. Take my advice, and get wet!
I happened to be in a conference for my company in Jakarta. So, my experience started from there. Since it was going to take 3 hours driving from Jakarta to Sukabumi, my friends and I, a total of 12 people, woke up at 4:00 a.m and left the hotel at 5:00 a.m. Even though we were still heavy-eyed we were very excited! On the way there we stopped by at the traditional chicken porridge eatery on the street and had our breakfast there. The taste was so good, I guess because the taste was mixed with dust and exhaust-polluted air from the cars passing by. Huhehehe. Then the journey continued on.
When we arrived in Sukabumi, particularly our rafting agent’s base of ARUSLIAR, we got our rafting equipment, like life jackets, paddles and helmets. Then, we went to the starting point, another 4 km by TRUCK!! We were like cows being taken to market in the truck! The road was very steep and with many curves; we screamed the whole trip!! And, we hadn’t even started the rafting yet!!!
Once we got to the starting point, we were divided into 3 groups. My team was named Matahari (Sun) the other teams were Bintang (Star) and Bulan (Moon). The length of the rafting trip was 8 km, but every 2 km we stopped for various games and rest.
The first game was flipping our rafts over. So, as a team we had to flip over the boat with a provided wire. Once it was flipped over, we then needed to flip it back in the right position. It sounds easy but when you have to pull yourself up to the boat, it was really hard! One of my friends first pushed my butt so that I could climb into the boat and then I help pull the rest of my team in. Even though this was a game, it was also a safety procedure as sometime the river rafts can overturn when we don’t expect it.
Then the second game was called “slaloms”. This was the hardest one. We had to paddle our raft against the current and touch a particular thing that was placed on the other side. It was really hard. We paddled and paddled and paddled. I was so exhausted but my team did it!
The third game was “head to head”. It was racing between 3 teams and my group was the loser!! hahahha!! But our group ended the race by flipping our raft over by accident!! It was a great ending of my rafting trip.
Of course, we always had “splash war” using our paddles with other teams along the way of our rafting trip. We also had countless falls down from standing in our rafts when we go through strong current and rapids and bump into big rocks. However, it was still so much fun even though at the end of the day I got several bruises all over my body.
Afterward we soaked ourselves in the river and the water was very fresh! Oh, and I was able to see so many different kinds of wonderful flowers, beautiful birds and biawak along the river. It was awesome. And to get back to our base, we had to ride the TRUCK back again!!! Another screaming session!!
Soon we arrived at the ARUSLIAR base, we took a shower. The agent provided us a great lunch. We had famous West Java food like Sayur Asam (Sour Veggie), Karedok (raw vegetable mix with peanut sauce), Tempe Goreng (fried soy cake), Tahu Goreng (Fried Tofu) and Ikan Asin (Salted fish).
I would recommend this rafting trip to anyone traveling in this part of Indonesia, it is easy to do, the cost is low and the fun and excitement are high. Take my advice, and get wet!
