The Source of the Nile

Greetings from Jinja!!! As I mentioned at the end of my last blog, my fellow interns and myself made the short trek to Jinja this week to raft the Nile. I was very nervous about rafting, as the course takes about five to six hours to complete and includes four grade five rapids and a few grade fours. Not only have I lived to tell the tale, but rafting the Nile is one of the funnest experiences I have ever had!!

Our raft had a great guide, who, despite deriving some pleasure from building up the rapids prior to us entering them, made me feel comfortable because of his wealth of experience. There were also a bunch of safety kayakers all around us who I found a few times after getting tossed out of the raft. I made friends with one of them who rescued me from the rapids once and then later chatted with me as I swam alongside the raft during the calmer parts of the river.

The first hardcore rapid we encountered sent everyone in our raft overboard, and I managed to land underneath the raft and had to feel my way to the side of it before I could come up for air. The big rapids were the best, even if you did get tossed because the current was so strong that it would shoot you forward and up out of the water within a few seconds, so it was never really that scary. One of the best rapids we faced included a fifteen foot drop over a waterfall, pretty awesome doing that in a fourteen foot raft!!

Not only were the stretches of rapids great, but there were also calm stretches of water where we could get out and swim. I couldn't believe that I was swimming in the Nile! The riverbanks were really beautiful as well, full of greenery and very few buildings. Unfortunately though, plans are underway to build six dams over the next few years, which will totally wipe out all of the good rafting. So if you have ever had an inkling to raft the Nile, better do it quick!! All in all, it was an awesome day which served as a nice break before the real work begins.