Booked the extreme version as we have 2 teenagers with us. Early start (bus pick up at 6!) filled by a long trip to tully to start about 10... Fortunately it was well worth it. The guides were all excellent (ours was Johnny) and focused on safety. I was a bit concerned it might be too sanitised, but that wasn't the case. We did a number of rock jumps, body surfing, rapids without the raft! And other stuff that was actually quite scary. I guess the guides have the experience to know but it FELT dangerous, which is all I care about!

The river was great as was the weather, just watch out for those flies. They're big and they bite. No lasting effects though! Lunch was great and stopping at a pub afterwards a great idea.

The only issues I had were the amount of travel (tully is a fair way from palm cove) and the lack of changing facilities. It was very difficult for the girls to get changed on a dirt track with no bathrooms... I can't believe they can't improve on this.

you get over that pretty quickly though and remember a spectacular day out - best of our holiday.

The crew of Raging Thunder were friendly and enthusiastic, which is saying something at 4am in the morning!

The balloon ride went off without a hitch and it was spectacular! The views over the landscape were everything you expect. The serenity of ballooning is something that just can't be replicated in a helicopter or airplane.

After the balloon lands, everyone is asked to help pack the balloon up - there wasn't that much to do really when everyone helps out.

This was a great experience despite the early morning start.

As expected an early start and to picked up in a timely manner by a helpful bus driver. Back to the base (location on this map) for payment and a few options including the footwear at a nominal charge ($4 if memory serves). Make sure you have plenty of entertainment (book/music) as the bus trip is lengthy. On the bright side you do get to see more of the countryside without having to drive yourself.

You can also opt in for their "Extreme" version of the same rafting run. This one involves a lot more work on your part (and $30) so consider carefully if you're up for it to avoid bringing it down for the rest of your boat. As a result you will get an express trip, with more breaks to get some more deliberate mishandling by your Guide resulting in a lot more dunking.

Our guide Paul did a great job making sure we got through some of the main rapids well and was able to deliberately keep us stuck in one particular location getting drenched for a much longer period than any of the other guides appeared to pull off.

No doubt the pub afterwards will appeal greatly to many, and the resulting pictures from the intrepid hiking camera woman are well worth buying (you have no idea what she hikes through to get them for you so cough up already!).

An excellent day that will serve as a highlight of your trip!

We went rafting on the Tully River on the Xtreme package and it was absolutely fantastic! The guides were fun, friendly and full of energy and they made the trip tremendously memorable. Although it was clear that safety always came first, Paul our guide kept making sure Fun came first, Looking Good came second and Safety third! Haha... He was brilliant! Made sure we were all comfortable doing the activities like cliff jumping and swimming down the rapids. The other guides on the same bus Vinnie and Matt(?) were brilliant too - even the bus trip was fun!

I could not recommend this more!

(small suggestion though - couldn't you guys make the photos cheaper? would be a nice touch since most of us on trips like these are on budgets... )