As a family with three kids (13,11 and 9) with no rafting experience, we were a little nervous that we had bitten off more than we could chew by booking the bronze break of three days and two nights. We did not think we were adrenalin junkies and were very nervous as we drove down the 9km dirt track to the riverside campsite. We need not have worried. Though there was never any question from the staff that they would allow us to wimp out and do the more gentle activities, they knew exactly the way to handle us. The owner was our instructor and the grey hair gave the reassurance we needed. Within two hours of arrival, we were on the river negotiating class 4 rapids in the expert care of Bryan. None of us fell in but we all got very wet and had a fantastc time. Meanwhile the more daredevil of the guests were bombing down the river with instructors who gauged perfectly who could handle being tipped in and who could not. They really seem to know what they were doing.

The real bonus was the great relaxed atmosphere in the camp. The campfire really added to the experience.The food was delicious, the hot tub a great communal meeting place (especially for the teenagers in camp who had to socialise in the absence of wi fi and mobile phone reception) and the accommodation clean and comfortable.

We are all desperate to make a return visit and the only thing that might stop us is the distance from the UK. We have caught the rafting bug but will not now consider anything less than class 4 rapids! What a difference two days make.

I booked a trip via Groupon ; the day I bought the coupon (August 14) I called to schedule. They said they had a trip scheduled for the following day at 9am but as I would have to drive up the day before (3 hour drive) I asked if they had anything for the remainder of that week. They did not, but did have a trip scheduled for August 22, which I scheduled.

The company called the evening before (August 21) to advise that the trip was cancelled because I was the only person scheduled. They could not confirm when they would next have a trip available. I emailed them immediately after that call, asking someone to contact me. 2 days later, and no one has emailed or called me back.

Groupon has issued me a refund, thankfully. From the number of excellent reviews I gather my experience was an anomaly but one would think that if they sell 44 coupons that have to be used over the following 3 weeks, they would schedule trips and ensure they had capacity for those 3 weeks.

Spend the weekend at ReoFest, this was my second time rafting on the Nahatlatch river and the Canyon. The all of the rapids were finally open so we got to experience Rose Garden and Meatgrinder for the first time this year. The same applied to the Canyon which opened this weekend....Woo Whoo! We were going to do the Stein River on Monday but partied too hard on Friday and Saturday night so we decided to make that an adventure for 2012. Bryan and Karen the owners are wonderful hosts. It was Karen's birthday on Friday so she got to saber a bottle of champagne that I brought up..had no idea it was her birthday so it made for a fun time for people to watch :-)

The live music was fantastic, the musicians put on a great show jamming together into the wee hours and then finally around the two camp fires. Jamming under the stars around a camp fire is truely Canadian...any Europeans reading this would absolutely love to do this. Being a Brit I know....it's a piece of heaven trust me... :-)

The guides are awesome, I knew Mark Bond from my previous trip so got the skinny on finding the best crew to be with. On this rafting trip Jamie Wright was our guide, a charming British chap that made the whole experience such a hoot.

The river was very high so we got to feel first hand the power of the river in full flow. The pic's they took of us going down the the rapids showed our raft almost totally submerged with bearly any people showing in the pic which was awesome! It's a total mad house at times being tossed about like a cork in a raging river.....fun times people.

You owe it to yourself to do the Nathatlatch river and the Canyon. I promise you you will have a blast, get a group of nut cases together and go have some fun.

Bryan and Karen, we will be back next year for ReoFest 2012 and we will be bringing a big crew with use!!!!

Cheers Ben

PS: Make sure to make friends with Robin and crew, the peeps in the kitchen

If I can only go on one vacation a year, this is it. There is no better way to enjoy the great outdoors, adventure and fun all in one. This is a great experience for any age, and you can totally trust that you will be safe as this place keeps safety as a number one priority. The water levels were very high, so there were parts of this river they wouldn't let us raft on and instead took us by bus to the safe spots, but even so, OMG those whitewater rapids were high! and Fast! We rafted with a couple who had rafted all over the world and they said that this had been there best experience yet. Wow! that's quite a compliment.

You will be well fed and well taken care of . You can bring your camper or trailer, or just stay in the cabin tents (felt like I was on safari) in an actual bed. Some things to remember to bring: ear plugs just in case the roar of the river is not "soothing" to you, bug spray (yup, its the woods), flashlight (its the woods and gets very dark), marshmallows (yay one of the few places in the summer that has campfires!), booze (they just serve you food, you bring the bevies).

Can't wait til next year, so I might just go again!.