Whitewater on the WebThe Best Rivers on Five ContinentsStarting any vacation with research on the Internet will guarantee you a smoother trip. Now, if you're a whitewater rafter, there's a place where you can find information on whitewater rafting all over the world. Whether you fancy a plunge through the rushing gorges of China's Yangtze or shooting down a stretch of Maine's turbid Penobscot, you'll get all the details at Riversearch.com.
Criteria for taking part in the Riversearch.com site require that operations wishing to join maintain a high safety and service standard as recognized by their industry peers. "Until Riversearch, there was no central site on the web for someone interested in a river adventure to go and see what was available," says Wayne Hockmeyer, owner of Adventure Outdoors in Maine and a founding Riversearch member. "A newcomer to the world of rafting could easily be duped by a computer screen filled with empty promises while overlooking any number of outfitters who have spent their lives developing high standards and extreme customer satisfaction." But, more than simply a web site developed as a service for adventurous canoeists, rafters, or kayakers, Riversearch.com was conceived and designed as a portal to draw people with a common interest in whitewater rafting to a single site where they would be free to choose between outfitters. Those outfitters could promote and preserve the world's great rivers while maintaining the integrity of their sport. "Joe Kowalski, owner of Wilderness Tours, Ottawa, Ontario, says "The outfitters who gathered to launch Riversearch agreed that a single source of information on the web that could guarantee a consistently positive river experience was the best way to combat the less conscientious practitioners and keep people coming back to our wonderful sport." Riversearch.com is organized by geographic region, with member outfitters identified alphabetically by river. Interested web surfers merely point to the region of interest and click on a link that opens a detailed map. Outfitted rivers are indicated by name with an icon that reveals a list of member outfitters operating on that river. Links to individual member web sites allow the user to research each outfitter's specialties, prices, and services. Riversearch Edited by Dave Shultz |
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Riversearch.com has taken advantage of the Internet to unite a growing membership that includes 35 of the world's best whitewater outfitters from ten countries, representing over 53 of the world's best rivers.