The Maitum White Water Tubing Experience
After witnessing the beauty of Mlangen Falls, I decided to follow through on our adventure with an adrenaline-pumping experience. I thought of nothing else to fulfill the assignment than white water tubing in Maitum. I scoured the internet for information and made the most out of what little details I found. Maitum is a small town anyway so it wasn’t very hard to ask for instructions from the locals.
From the town proper, we drove to Brgy. New La Union. We took the turn to the left before reaching a bridge. There’s a sign pointing to where you’re supposed to go if you’re headed to the white water tubing spot and it’s hard to miss. The drive was through a concrete road and it only took 15 minutes to reach the jump-off.
There are several resorts in Brgy. New La Union, that not only offer accommodation but white water tubing activities as well. We chose the very first resort that we found. Upon arriving, we were ushered to the registration area. The person in charge was accommodating. He quickly ran through a briefing, explaining the fees and what needs to be expected. After the briefing, I paid the fees and went on to choose our guide. The guide-to-participant ratio is 1:1.
Once we were ready, our guide drove us on their motorcycles up the highlands where the starting point of the white water tubing was located. The ride only took 5-10 minutes. From the parking area, we walked 20 minutes along a slippery trail with minor inclines.
We immediately set ourselves up for the activity upon arriving at the spot. Our guides made sure that we were comfy before we began the adventure. The ride was pretty uneventful at first until the first plunge. I was still holding my GoPro to take videos of our adventure but our guide took it from me so I could focus. We free-fell on a 3-foot cascade. My raft overturned and so did Pani’s. I wasn’t hurt and it was reassuring to know that apart from our guides navigating us through the rapids, there were two other men on standby in every critical spot.
Not far away from the first fall was another 2-foot fall and this time I managed to stay in my raft. This isn’t my first time with water tubing. I had experienced it before in Antique but the most recent was in Real, Quezon. Despite my experience, I still get the same unnerving feeling and excitement.
The exhilarating ride continued alternating from weak to strong rapids. There were about 4-5 free fall in small cascades that followed. We chose the 4-kilometer adventure so it took us almost an hour to cover it all. The whole time I was smiling from ear to ear and was simply having a great time. I was also fascinated to see small children skillfully navigating through the rapids as if they weren’t even dangerous.
White water tubing in Maitum wasn’t so dangerous after all. Yes! It is an extreme adventure but with a skillful guide, it is easy to turn it into a safe, fun, and memorable experience.
