Tubing in Saklikent Gorge (and some muddy fun)

It was about 17 degrees on a semi sunny day of Turkey's Mulga province. 

Standing around in our bathers, oversized PFD (life jacket) and sexy 'water' shoes on, holding our paddles and tubes, we listened to our Turkish guide explain to us in heavily accented English the guidelines for taking on Saklikent Gorge. 

A few minutes later we were heading towards the stream. There was a few minutes hesitation after the instructor asked 'who's going first?'

Out of the group of 59 people, with about 30 - 40% males, no one volunteered. 

Step forward me:

Stepping into the water was an instant body freeze. That clear blue stream was arctic!

The tubes themselves are pretty self-explanatory - a rubber ring with a hole in the middle (you were lucky if you got one with handles) that you sit in with your legs dangling out in front of you. Direction is determined by the rush of the water and how good you are with the paddle. 

Being the first out was probably not the best idea I've ever had. The water carries you away from the starting point before anyone else has a chance to board their vessel. This includes the instructors.

I was lucky enough to 'find' a few of the hidden rocks - I became an expert at lifting my bum out of the water. 

It took about 20 minutes to get down to our final destination. We were lucky enough to have only a few mishaps on the way down. One or two people fell overboard and one poor girl was hurdled into a tree and lost both her paddle and her tube. 

Side note**** For those of you who are familiar with the banks of the mighty Murray River (Australia's main water supply river) and the overhanging branches of the trees on the bank, it was pretty much like that. 

Luckily she did get saved and wasn't lost to the wild Turkish countryside. 

Our tubing destination was a massive mud pit. Some of the more outgoing people got straight into it, diving headfirst into the mud. 

I was a wee bit more dainty as the mud can suck you in and it's a right bugger trying to free yourself from it's clutches. 

After a good cleanse with the mud, as well as a bit of flinging and throwing, we were ordered back into the arctic waters of the river to clean off for the van ride home. 

                      





Fun Facts
Saklikent Gorge is located about a 40 minute drive from Fethiye.
The canyon is one of the deepest in the world.
The tubing was part of my Turkey ANZAC Adventure with Busabout and was in conjunction with our accomodation of the day: click here
There is a high possibility of a bruised behind.