Hi, I’m the new addition to Nirvana team and within 4 days of me being here I was invited along to partake in an afternoon of whitewater rafting at Lee valley for a day of inspiration!

I thought that this would be an exciting opportunity to ‘bond’ with new colleagues and really see people out of their comfort zones. I had heard good reviews from friends about the Lee valley White Water Centre and knowing the centre is due to close this Autumn in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games, I felt this was an opportunity not to miss. I had also checked the weather forecast and we were due a heat wave that week, so all in all it seemed perfect!

Upon arrival we peered over the bridge on to the course, it looked very daunting with the sight of people being flung from their boats and a few abandoned oars drifting downstream, at this point I felt like turning back.
We headed to reception where we were greeted by staff who ushered us to promptly change in to our wetsuits. Facing people I had known for less than a week dressed in a wetsuit accompanied with a dashing helmet was not how I had imagined my first week at Nirvana.

Once we had all got over the fact that we looked silly we then had to split in to two groups, one of 6 and one of 7. Our team went on to find out that we had been assigned the ‘strict’ instructor!

During our briefing we had to go through a couple of safety procedures, some of these more fun that others e.g. standing by the waters edge and one by one jumping in to the ‘milder’ rapids, this was so much fun but having watched Jaws the night before I half imagined a shark to appear out of the water and grab us! This of course didn’t happen and instead we were all bobbing along in the water having carefully followed the safety instructions.

With the adrenaline now pumping through our veins I think it is fair to say we were all ready to take on the course without any fear of what may lie ahead!

Team 1 went in front, with us following. We steered the boat towards the start of the course where we all sat aligned on this type of conveyor belt looking like a prize on the Generation Game.

Approaching the top of the belt we got in to position to ‘sailed’ across the tame waters to where we were met with our first plunge in to rapids, scary times ahead!

Throughout the course our instructor was bellowing out instructions and sternly telling us off for either not listening or rowing the wrong way, oops! We were met with at least 3 other drops in to the rapid pools and within the blink of an eye we had completed the course!

I actually thought we had got away with it lightly and had finished for the afternoon but we continued to go around 3 more times, some of us being submerged and dunked along the way, Team 1 managed to tip their boat over
(more than once) novices! It did make pleasant viewing for Team 2 when we stormed past a sea of bobbing heads looking neglected in the cold waters!

Once we had reached the end of the course our energy levels had dropped and with the sun still shining it felt perfect to take a little swim back to the (manmade) shore after battling such treacherous waters.

We all met on the decking area to soak up the last of the sun and quench our thirst with a cold beer/cider, this felt like a perfect ending to an activity filled afternoon!