Advertisement
Published: March 7th 2010
Edit Blog Post
The answer is simple. Rafting the source of the Nile may actually be better then sex....but for sure being in love and making love will always be the best activity on earth! Smile!
After Cairo and the Nile views from my terrace...I headed for a short three hours flight to Entebbe, Uganda. This is one new country for my count. Landed at Entebbe at 4am, only 2 hours sleep, one more hour sleep in a bed at my guesthouse...and ready for a one hour drive to Kampala to meet the shuttle to Jinja.
Jinja is 90 minutes drive from Kampala, a 80km east of the city. Jinja is the city that lies at the Source of the Nile. The issue seems to be controversial to where exactly are the sources. But it seems that we could admit that the Nile is basically starting from the Lake Victoria.
I did raft the Zambezi 18 months ago at the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. The mighty Zambezi...rightly advertise as the craziest one day white water rafting trip in the world.
So the question...is rafting the Source of the Nile from Jinja better than the Zambezi. Not an easy answer.
As a full day, for me the Zambezi is still the best, but the top three rapids are clearly in Jinja...it's mad. The scenery of the Zambezi is nicer, with a lot more rapids than Jinja though!
Back to Jinja. Our day started in the rain, after all, this is the rainy season! But around 12pm, the sun did appear...and we were on for a good grill! My nose does remember!
On the program, 4 class V and 4 class IV rapids. The Nile is actually dividing itself in many places providing small to more sizeable islands on the way. During the day, we flipped twice and my side of the boat did fall one more time.
But hey, these rapids....mad...the Nile is a "drop and pool" rafting style. Meaning you have a huge rapid, followed by a flat area. Problem is, some of these flat parts....are really flats....looking like long lakes...meaning also you need to paddle, and paddle just to get the raft going.
I did raft with Nile Explorers, one of the 2/3 companies here. The good news is that they use smaller rafts, 14ft (4.5 meters) one. Smaller raft mean...easier to flip and
go for a good bath.
We saw an impressive number of birds, the most amazing one may be the fish Eagle on his tree. Saw also a huge monitor lizard, but did not spot any of the more famous Nile Crocs...
I've got the dvd this time. Because of copyright issues I'm not sure I can post it here. So just go on youtube.com and type rafting nile...it is amazing.
Best of all may be a class V call "The silverback". Wow...you ear the rumbling of the water more than a mile away from the rapid. The ALL Nile is straightening in maybe 50 meters...it's first a huge slide down, before hitting massive waves....wow! We did not flip or fall in the water...but it was very close!
Next best thing, "Overtime"....first part of the rapid is a good class IV....and than....a waterfall! There is a drop of 14ft....yes, this is 4.5 meters....which is also the exact lenght of the raft...meaning, we ended up in vertical position at some point....everybody safe...wow!
Last rapid...."The Bad One". It start with a class VI...this one, we simply don't do it...they carry the boat for 100 meters...and than...back in the
water for 100-200 meters more....this time class V+. Some of my few pics are actually of this huge rapid from above. Should be at least 200-300 meters long. The kayaks...mad ones...are going through the all lot!
In the water...ready to get on with these huge....huge waves! First wave...we flipped. And than, this is the point where I'm happy to have a little of rafting experience. First good news, there is so much water that the chance of hitting a rock are very slim, and this is a good news. I'm machine-washed for something like at least 100 meters. So much strenght in the rapid that my life jacket keep getting loser...I continuously pull it down...keep in mind, that you do spend your time BELOW the water, with a short chance of geting air every few seconds. Than suddenly the water get a little quieter, a safety kayak appears....and I realise that I'm still alright. One of the girl on our raft lost her helmet in this monster rapid, it gives you an idea of the strenght of it.
Wow...rafting the Nile, that was something. I do know now that it will be very hard to top this experience,
as even most multi-days trip don't reach the level of these drops!
The next day was quieter, back to Entebbe, to play some golf. Here, you can say you get what you pay for...it's seriously cheap, but for great courses, South Africa is a lot better! My caddy told me that the Entebbe Golf Club is the first built in East Africa around 1900....no idea if it's true, but I had a good day, with beautiful views of Lake Victoria.
I'll be back soon to Uganda for more fun...but for now, my next entry will be from the South.
Till there, see you soon, with love! And I miss my little family!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.059s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0287s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
safaris
Richard Safari
No need to Compare
Hello, i think we cannot compare the two!! But for rafting at the Nile is such a great activity..there is an option for Bungee Jumping in this very area as well, which was better for me anyway.