Rafting the Grand Canyon

"FEET up, bum up." They are the last words of advice I hear before plunging, toes first, into the turquoise rapids beyond.

Escape Grand Canyon

"FEET up, bum up." They are the last words of advice I hear before plunging, toes first, over the side of the limestone pool into the turquoise water of the rapids beyond.

I squeal with delight as I am tossed from side to side as I travel downstream with the current, out of control, and end up with a mouthful of water. About 30 seconds later it is all over and the water is calm again.

I jump out and run back out to do it all again... and again... and again.

Before we have time to get bored, it is time to float with the current back towards the Colorado River, where our raft is waiting.

Behind me, the sky behind the canyon wall is such a brilliant blue it looks as if it has been enhanced in PhotoShop.

The natural waterslide at the Little Colorado River is one of many desert oases we explore during a six-day trip rafting through the Grand Canyon, in Arizona.

We begin our 300km journey on specially designed motorised boats at Lee's Ferry near Marble Canyon, which is a short light plane flight from Las Vegas.

Before my trip down the river, which boasts some of the biggest rapids in America, the only rapids I had experienced were on rides at Australia's Wonderland and Dreamworld theme parks.

The night before it began, I'd read in Lonely Planet that one of the rapids, Lava Falls, has an 11m drop.

To my relief, our handsome lead guide Evan tells me it's a gradual drop, more like a ramp than a waterfall.

Then he tells me a woman broke her ankle there on his previous trip.

But I know we are in extremely capable hands.

This is Evan's 104th time running the river with Western River Expeditions, which has been operating for 50 years.

His great-great-great-great-great uncle Seth Tanner was a copper miner who has a rapid named after him, his grandfather was a park ranger in the Grand Canyon and his brother is also a river guide.

Evan has also worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. My fellow rafters include a Hallmark greeting card humour writer-turned-professional blogger, a group of playful retirees from California crossing things off their bucket list and a professional bull-rider - a skill that will come in handy holding the ropes in some of the bigger rapids.

The Grand Canyon is Mother Nature's ultimate sculpture, with layers of different coloured rocks, including quartz, shale and sandstone.

It is 29km wide in one part, while in others it is extremely narrow.

We pass petrified sand dunes, shiny black rock that is 1.8 billion years old and see white walls where large chunks of rock have fallen off, almost like missing Lego blocks.

We stop to kick a football around in gigantic Redwall Cavern, where Evan points out ancient plant fossils, and to see the excavated foundations of 900-year-old Indian houses and broken pottery.

We spot the occasional long-horn sheep or deer fawn along the riverbank and, at one point, we even run into a celebrity, when Brian Dierker, who played Rainey in the movie Into the Wild, rescues a thong which someone drops overboard from his tinny.

It turns out Dierker is also a fish biologist, researching the river's endangered humpback chub fish.

Every day on the river is different.

Day three is rapids day, in which we conquer about 30 rapids, including three graded the maximum, class 10.

Before we approach each big rapid, Evan runs through what we should expect and what problems we might encounter.

I can't help but think of the first Spanish explorers who came down the river in the 1500s - for all they knew Niagara Falls could have been around the next bend.

When we go through big rapids a guide yells "suck rubber!" and those sitting at the front lean forward, put their face down on the raft or on the life jacket of the person in front, and hold on like grim death.

At times we get thrown in the air, and on one occasion two people bang their heads together.

There are 120 rapids in the Grand Canyon and our guides know the names of every one of them.

My favourite is Hermit rapid, named after a guy who lived alone on the rim, which is like a wet roller-coaster ride.

The temperature in July hovers in the mid to high 40s, but the water is 10C year-round thanks to Glen Canyon hydro-electric dam. Just as it starts to get too hot, we hit a rapid and cool off with a shock of cold water.

Fifteen companies offer commercial trips through the canyon and you can also go into a lottery to do private trips.

At one point we pass paddlers in a small wooden boat and ask what it is like going through the rapids in it.

"It's like going through a washing machine with a hose in your mouth," one of them replies.

Day four is waterfall day, and we visit several waterfalls.

At Shinamu Falls, we wade through a rocky creek to a small but powerful waterfall, in which you can climb through a tunnel cave behind and jump into the cascading water.

The second, the appropriately named Elves Chasm, is so pretty it's like something from Lord of the Rings.

Deer Creek is a tall, thundering waterfall, where we drench ourselves before hiking up the canyon to see the beautiful view of the river slithering through the gorge.

We have the choice to continue to yet another desert oasis, but Evan warns us it involves a sideways face-against-rock climb over a thin ledge overlooking a canyon, and those with a fear of heights shouldn't attempt it.

"If you fall, you will die," he says.

It turns out to not be as bad as it sounds and on the other side we find another group of pools with another small waterfall.

At Havasu Falls, another limestone wonderland with turquoise water, we take turns to jump from a 2m high rock even 73-year-old retiree Leon.

Jerry, who previously ran a rehabilitation hospital for people with spinal and head injuries, looks on in quiet horror.

Each afternoon, Evan chooses a beach on the river that will be our camp for the night. After we are given a chance to choose a campsite, Evan calls "fireline!" and we form a human chain to unload gear from the boats.

Some people pitch tents, but I opt to sleep on my cot under the stars and just hope it doesn't rain.

I wake one night to see the moon emerging from behind the canyon and illuminate the night sky.

Another night I see a shooting star.

Two toilets are set up at camp - one in a small tent and another out in the open beside the river, where you just cross your fingers and hope another boat doesn't go past. If it does, Evan's advice is to smile and wave.

Meals are cooked on a barbecue beside the river and one of the guides blows a conch shell to let us know when it is ready.

After dinner some nights Evan reads us a "bedtime story"; fascinating tales about such things as two crazy guys who swam the river and a mystery about two honeymooners who went missing there in the 1920s.

It doesn't rain while we are there but apparently, when it does, the muddy water flowing down the canyon walls makes it look like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

The guides constantly surprise us. Before one particularly hot hike, Evan pulls out a bag of chocolate bars. Another night they bring out ice-cream dessert to go with guide Johnny's birthday cake.

They tell us it was dropped in by helicopter while we were sleeping (and some people actually believe them).

On the last night they dress up in collared shirts and ties and serve prawn cocktails before barbecuing fish, which we joke is the endangered humpback chub.

After dinner, guide Scotty plays his guitar and harmonica and sings songs he has written about the river and his other great love, sailing. It is extremely moving and I see more than one person wipe tears from their eyes.

But there is still one more class 10 rapid to go - the dreaded Lava Falls on the final morning.

It turns out I had every reason to fear it.

At one point I see a monster 6m wave bearing down towards me, knowing there is nothing I can do to stop it.

I am in a relatively safe spot on top of the coolers, but down the front it is chaos.

The force of the wave has caused super-fit Leon to lose his grip on the ropes and he is hugging the front of the tube. Our guide, Matt, jumps on top of him to save him from falling overboard.

About halfway through the rapid I notice 18-year-old Oliver, from England, is holding the back of his neck in pain after being flung backwards.

To our relief he can move his fingers and toes, but we pull in to shore and call a rescue helicopter on the satellite phone to airlift him to hospital, just in case.

Evan tells us he has had to airlift five people out in his 14 years' guiding on the river, and three have been this year - something he attributes to the 10-year-high water levels.

Fortunately, Oliver is released from hospital the next day with only minor injuries, but it is a reminder that rafting the mighty Colorado River definitely isn't Dreamworld.

Go2 GRAND CANYON

Getting there:
United Airlines flies a direct daily service from Sydney and Melbourne to Las Vegas via Los Angeles. See www.united.com

Vision Air flies from Las Vegas to Marble Canyon. The cost of this flight is included in the rafting trip price.

Doing there:
A six-day rafting trip with Western River Expeditions starts at $US2495 ($A2445). Trips run May to September and it is best to book a year in advance as they sell out quickly. You must also pay $15 compulsory emergency evacuation insurance. Visit www.westernriver.com