Jinja
UGANDA
Rafting the Source
By LYNDI
Monday, March 14, 2011
Umm… confession time. For the past 30 years of my life I have been pretty clueless about the Nile River. I knew it was in Egypt and I knew it was pretty darn long. What I learned in Jinja, Uganda is that a) the source of the Nile is in southern Uganda, b) there’s a heck of a lotta water, and c) there’s Class V whitewater rapids that unknowing tourists can sign up to raft on! Hey – I’ve gone rafting a few times on Class II – sign me up!
Most people come to Jinja for it’s adventure activities – most having something to do with the Nile. Beyond whitewater rafting you can do a ton of kayaking trips, hiking, bungee jumping, or canyoning nearby – just to name a few things. I have a few cousins that have been through Jinja and between them and a few other travelers we had encountered heard high marks about the place, so Aaron and I were excited to get there and see what the city had to offer.
Which – is nothing. Jinja the city is a colossal disappointment. It’s your typical crowded, worn-down African city. It’s once you get out of the city that it starts to impress you. After a looooong hot walk from where the buses from Mbale dropped us off, we arrived at the famous Nile River Explorer’s hostel just outside of town – only to find out that they had a new location right on the Nile River in a suburb called Bujagali Falls. Combined with enticing views of the epic river (and a free ride out there), Aaron and I were sold.
The location of River Camp is perfectly situated so that the restaurant/bar area overlooks a beautiful delta where the sun conveniently sets behind it every night. Since we’ve just started the rainy season, tourism is pretty low all over and Aaron and I were the only ones in our 6 person dorm for both nights – which also meant that we were nearly the only tourists there at all.
The dorms were pretty good too – if you don’t count the morning wake-up call that can only logically be described as monkeys playing hockey on the roof. But no matter. We spent our first day at the hostel catching up on laundry and internet – only to discover that Aaron’s nice Columbia hiking pants had been stolen while they were hanging up to dry. Having something stolen can be disappointing enough, but when we asked one of the workers if they’d seen someone taking down his pants from the drying line, the worker told us it was our fault they were stolen because we’re rich and can just buy new ones. Oooookay. Thanks for the reassurance pal.
Luckily that was the only hitch during our stay. We had a nice relaxing day on the hostel’s private beach and on their patio with views to die for – not to mention a lively night as the hostel’s bar filled up with locals and expats alike.
The cost of a full-day rafting on Class V rapids is pretty steep – which… you would want it to be. We each forked out US$125 for the full day, but conveniently it included breakfast, lunch, a barbecue dinner, a free night’s accommodation at the hostel and free transport to Kampala. Basically an offer we couldn’t refuse.
We drove to our starting point in a large open-air truck passing through a dozen small villages as we went. And I must say, I think I know what a Rose City Parade Queen must feel like. Every single child we passed ran out to us and enthusiastically waved and yelled “Hello!!”. I don’t think our arm stopped waving or our smiles faded the entire time.
When we arrived to the starting point, we slopped on a ton of sunscreen and listened to a very thorough safety briefing. I remember what impressed me was NRE’s crew – two guides for the two different rafts, a guide on a safety boat for sunscreen, shoes, lunch, wimpy rafters, etc. that would take easy routes down, two photographers, and four kayakers to pick up loose paddles and paddlers.
Aaron and I jumped into a raft with three Canadians and a Swiss guy and a mildly insane guide named Peter. Peter had us practice a few rowing moves while in the calm waters – including what happens when we flip over which, he added, we have a 99.9% chance of doing. Great. But thank goodness we rehearsed it, since we ended up flipping the boat about 4 times during the trip and it was only semi-mass-chaos as we all tried to find the boat, paddles, loved ones, etc. The whole day took us through 12 rapids – the highest of which were Grade V. Thanks to an abundance of water at the source of the Nile, flipping and falling out is pretty safe because you won’t hit any rocks or get stuck anywhere.
Everything was going great and we were having an amazing day when the brewing storm finally reared its ugly face. With about 2 rapids to go, the skies opened and rain began to pelt us. Enough so you could barely see the end of the boat, much less brave a rapid. So in a calm spot, we flipped the boat and hid underneath for shelter – not only from the driving rain but also from our now crazed guide who giddily hopped up and down on the overturned raft with all his rafters hiding beneath. The worst was over after about 15 minutes, but we floated down the river in just our life jackets instead of the boat so the bathwater-like Nile River could keep us warm.
Finally – maybe an hour later – the rain relented and we conquered the last rapid. Peter had told us we would “surf” the last one, which means he would keep us in the middle of the rapid so we could all be tossed around a bit. The two front paddlers – including Aaron – were quick to get ejected while the rest of us rode a human whirlpool for a few minutes. It was great.
And as much as we loved the rafting – the barbecue at the end was a highlight too. It was a real barbecue!! Skewers of beef cooked medium-rare, chapatti, green salads, potato salads, and an all you can drink bar – a perfect ending to an amazing day.
