Rafting the Franklin River combines unique wilderness, outdoor camping and an adrenaline-rushing rafting journey that's to be expected from one of the top five rafting experiences in the world. Fellow adventurer, Roger Davis, shares why it was everything we had hoped it would be. 

Reflections on the Franklin are many and varied, and it didn't disappoint.

The rafting was more than a chance to revisit a cause long forgotten in the annals of time, it was an experience for the ages, a true wilderness adventure superbly, and energetically guided, managed, organized and supported.  

Adrenaline rushing rapids, solitude and untold beauty among the majesty of Frenchmans Cap and its surrounding ranges left an indelible imprint. 

We dined like kings, paddled like dervishes, climbed like monkeys as we hauled the boats and our gear over boulders the size of houses, and we soothed our bruised bodies each evening in the sparkling chilled waters of the river. 

Challenged? Yes. Safe? Always. Tired? Certainly, although we didn't push the trip as some brave souls do for reasons that allude me. Why rush to get out of Paradise and an adventure for the ages? Savour the moment. 

We were totally alone with only the sounds of the rhythmic beat of our paddles as they cut through the rushing waters and the bark of the guides with their incessant “left side, right side, hard, forward, fall back” to break the silence. 

There was no lifeline to civilisation here, just us. All alone there was no mobile coverage, no other paddlers, and no sign of wildlife except for the odd trout, one brave platypus and a lonely quoll over 120 km.  

There was nothing but extreme natural beauty, stillness and solitude to embrace each morning as the long fingers of mountain mist crept up the valley and the paddlers emerged from yet another blissful night under the stars. 

Magic. A trip for the ages. 

Words by Roger Davis, who paddled the rapids of the famous Franklin River in March 2022 and has set his sights on his next adventure in Tasmania: the Walls of Jerusalem in winter.