Shooting the rapids on the Shotover River
near Queenstown, New Zealand

A few minutes earlier, I had gotten pitched overboard when we got "stuck in a hole."   I didn't have enough air in my lungs, and was being rotated, under water, unable to see or figure out which way was up.  It turned out that I was under the raft.  After that experience, I was seriously intimidated.  One quickly learns how powerless a human being can be, when the river decides to teach you who's boss.

You can see me on the far right of the photo, trying to fill my lungs with as much air as I can, in case the river swallows me again.  The fellow next to me (with the paddle) hadn't had the pleasure of being under the water, so he wasn't the least bit concerned.  Me?  I think I'll stick with air sports.  Air feels a lot better in my lungs than water does!