Wildwasserfahrt- und ATV-Quad-Abenteuer in Chiang Mai

My tour was with the company 8Adventures. They seem to be the only company with specific safety certifications and are certainly not the least expensive. That being said, IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY! I cannot say enough about every single member of the staff. We had both some children as well as some people who clearly don't get outside much and the staff was able to make them feel secure enough to participate in some things that they would clearly not have tackled without some really good support. I was picked up at my hotel and taken to their facility in an air-conditioned van while being shown introductory and safety videos for both the ATV and rafting portions of the day. Upon arrival, we were given lockers to store our things and then given a safety orientation for the ATV's, followed by some practice riding on a small course within their facility N.B. the practice course is tougher than anything we encountered on the tour. The tour itself took us both into the jungle and up on of a nearby hill, with a stop overlooking a river where a mama elephant was playing with her babies in the river. I have driven motorcycles and lots of power equipment but ATVs were new to me and I appreciated the opportunity to get comfortable before heading out. We returned to the facility for a really good lunch and then headed 10 kilometers up the river to board our rafts. Prior to setting out in the rafts we were given an intensive safety lecture and some education on how to respond to the the captain's commands in extreme situations. We were issued top quality safety helmets and life jackets and then proceeded to tackle some Class 4 rapids with drops of up to 5-6 feet. Because these folks take safety seriously, and because some of the stretches on the river were potentially very dangerous, there was a safety team that would jump ahead on the river and station themselves on the banks and in the river itself with safety lines and rescue equipment, as well as two safety kayaks following us through the rapids. WEe saw some other groups without this support who happened to hit the rapids at the same time, clearly taking advantage of our superior safety support. Thier guides and their equipment was subpar compared to 8Adventures'. I have done a lot of canoeing but I would not liked to have done this river in a canoe. Our captains were skilled and patient and did a great job. Our raft did not flip but some of the others did no injuries or problems. When we made it back to the facility we had a chance to shower and grab a snack before being taken back to our hotels. A GREAT DAY!