User:Morgan30/White Water Rafting on the Tully River

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Chris Sykes in the Early days
Fun in the Sun Festival, Cairns, 1987
Peter Marsh Rafting the Corkscrew
Peter Marsh rafting the Tully River

White Water Rafting on the Tully River began in 1984 after two river guides (Chris Sykes and David Wilson) came from Queenstown, New Zealand to North Queensland looking for warmer waters and the possibilities of rafting a variety of rivers including the Tully, Herbert, North Johnstone, Russell and Barron rivers.

White water rafting on the Tully River, North Queensland is an outdoor sport conducted in the Tully Gorge National Park.

Formation of the business[edit]

The Tully River, which flows through the Tully Gorge National Park in North Queensland, was chosen for white water rafting due to its accessibility, with a road alongside it and the constant regulated flow of water from the Kareeya Power Station and its location in world heritage listed rainforest. Sykes and Wilson formed a[citation needed] company called Raging Thunder[1] – a name derived from a company in Canada called Rolling Thunder and because they liked to party, which in the 1980s was called "raging".

A separate company called The Raft and Rainforest Company was formed in 1985 shortly after Sykes and Wilson had a business falling out. Sykes and his partner Paula Fursman formed the new company, named to appeal to people more interested in an informative and educational tour in the rainforest than partying.

Development and impact of the business[edit]

There was enough business for both companies and they grew by more than 30% per year for the next 8–9 years. By the mid 1990s each company was taking up to 168 people a day down the Tully River, approximately 100,000 people per year. In the 1990s 75% of these people were Japanese as tourism with Japan was flourishing at this time. 90% of people who rafted on the Tully River came by bus down from Cairns, 150km north of the river.

Business on the Tully river peaked in the late 1990s. The loss of Cairns as the South Pacific Hub for international flights as well as the Asian stock market crash contributed to a downturn in the industry. Sky diving became the new adrenalin sport and with white water rafting companies springing up all over the world, the Tully lost some of its uniqueness.

The Tully River in the 1990s injected approximately $5 million per year into the local economy through the large number of employees involved in the operation. This included river-guides, cooks, bus drivers, photographers, merchandise sales, hoteliers and travel agents.

Rafting[edit]

The Tully River has grade 3 and grade 4 rapids.[1] The type of rafts used on the Tully are 14-foot, eight-person paddle rafts; that is, each person on the tour is a part of the team manoeuvring the raft down the river, commanded by an experienced river guide. River guides are intensively trained in river skills, swift water rescue, people skills and first aid, for approximately three months before they are allowed to guide a commercial trip. There have been injuries and a number of drownings have occurred on the river. In August 2007, an English schoolteacher drowned (i), another man drowned on 14 February 2009. (ii).

The section of the Tully River that is usually rafted is approximately 15 km long from just below Kareeya Power Station down to the Tully Recreational Park. There are approximately 50 rapids altogether. When the river is in flood rafting trips will continue down to the 'Ski Ramp' 3 km past the Tullly River Bridge.The main Rapids in order from the top are:

  • Confusion reigns supreme
  • Alarm Clock
  • Two to Fifteen
  • Double Water Fall
  • Ninja Chute
  • Birds Nest
  • Scales of Justice
  • Full Stop
  • Staircase
  • Gobblers Trench
  • Killer Falls
  • Wet and Moisty
  • Pony Tail Falls
  • Doors of Deception
  • Corkscrew
  • Midnight Rock
  • Tower 22
  • Pipeline
  • Lava Flows
  • Cardstone Falls
  • Helicopter
  • Twisted Sister
  • Koolmoon Creek
  • Double D Cup
  • Kauri waves
  • Jabba the Hutt
  • Two Inch
  • Hundred Rapid
  • Kamikaze Rock
  • Flip Wilson
  • Sharks Fin
  • Zig Zag
  • Yankee Pass
  • Minefield
  • Cochables
  • Dogs Balls
  • Lookout
  • Junction
  • Sweeper
  • Bridge
  • Surprise Surprise
  • Double Decker
  • Junior Slalom Rapid.

The "Ski Ramp" was once used for launching ski boats into a long pool used for recreational purposes before crocodiles began repopulating the river in the 1970s, after it became illegal to kill crocodiles in the wild. Now, after 40 years of unhindered crocodile breeding, crocodile populations have increased dramatically. They are now seen much further up the river and are now becoming a risk to swimmers at many of the recreational swimming areas.

Threats to the business[edit]

The rafting industry on the Tully River was under threat in the 1990s from a plan to divert the Herbert river catchment into the Tully valley, build a bigger dam and place the power station 20km down river thereby drying up the riverbed that was rafted. Fortunately the project was scrapped when the detrimental implications of the project were realised.

Kareeya Power Station was upgraded about ten years ago from 72 megawatts to 88 megawatts delivering more water for rafting, and thus making the river more exciting (iv). Full power from the power station is considered to be the optimum level as it gives maximum excitement at a predictable level. During the dry season or when unexpectedly low rainfalls occur, the power station will reduce their output to conserve water in times of need. The rafting companies pay the power station to guarantee that the water flow does not go below 36 megawats when there is a rafting trip being conducted on the river. It is a peak load power station, able to reduce power output depending on load. Despite this, high rainfall in the region over the last ten years has seen the power station operating at full capacity most of the time.

In more recent years due to the Global Financial Crisis and then Cyclone Yasi in 2011, tourism as an industry has taken a battering and many hotels in Cairns rarely fill to capacity. As a result, numbers on the Tully have dwindled to a point where the two companies found it necessary to “amalgamate” in order to survive. Since mid 2011 the two companies are now managed by one operation which is called White Water Rafting Queensland although each company still maintains its name and unique image.

Viability[edit]

The Tully River is considered to be one of the top ten white water rafting day trips in the world and continues to be a major draw for tourism in the area, although these days fewer than 50% of the clients come from Cairns. Most rafters now come from accommodation at[citation needed] Mission Beach, only 20km from Tully.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Tim Uden (1 June 2005). Australia: The Backpackers Ultimate Guide. BUG Backpackers Guide. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-9581796-4-5. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  2. ^ Lee Mylne (21 January 2005). Frommer's Portable Australia's Great Barrier Reef. John Wiley & Sons. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7645-8803-7. Retrieved 27 April 2012.

External links[edit]


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