A Kolad Rafting Adventure With My College Buddies

By Author: The Wandering Pen
Total Articles: 10
Comment this article

Ever since I was a schoolgirl, I had longed to go for trips to different corners of India with my friends. Coming from a strict household, that never was an option for little me, but as soon as I got the opportunity to go river rafting in Kolad with my college classmates, I immediately grabbed that chance.
Our college had organised a weekend away for us, and the days leading up to it, I could barely keep my excitement in. We left for our Kolad rafting trip just as our Christmas holidays began. The bus ride from Pune wasn’t too long, and it felt even shorter as my friends and I played games and chatted away. We soon pulled into our campsite and I could feel the mix of excitement and nervousness tingling down my spine.
We checked in and freshened up after a quick breakfast, ready to take on the ferocious Kundalika River. We were 5 of us in one raft along with a guide who briefed us about the safety rules and helped guide the raft. The Kolad rafting stretch was about 12kms long and was dotted with thundering rapids that we tackled with our paddles as well as serene stretches that allowed us to catch our breaths and ...
... soak in the gorgeous nature around us.
With each rapid that came splashing at us, I was drenched in cool waters and waves of thrill! The river thrashed our raft with all its might and it took us a while to regain control. As we neared the end point of our rafting stretch, the water was gentle and inviting. Our guide allowed us to take a dip and, being the fun bunch that we were, we took the chance and splashed right in. The cool winter breeze along with the chilly waters nearly froze us as we hollered and played in the river, but it wasn’t enough to stop us from enjoying ourselves to the fullest.
Soon, we stepped out of the river, dried ourselves and made our way back to the campsite in time for a hearty lunch. All the powering through and frolicking had left us hungry, so we dug right into our food. We spent the rest of the evening exploring the lush campsite and ended our day huddling around a warm campfire. We sang songs, clicked photos and had our dinners before retreating to our tents under the starry winter sky.
The next morning, we woke up in the lap of nature, the sound of the river splashing in the distance flooding our ears. Our tired bodies enjoyed a good night’s rest and we were fully recharged for another early morning of travelling. We bid our goodbyes to the campsite as we had our breakfast and laughed about the previous day’s shenanigans. River rafting in Kolad was such a delightful experience for all of us that we already started pushing our professors into organising another trip where we could take our much-needed breaks while experiencing another adventure.