Written by Wylie.
After nearly three months back in the UK, working nearly every hour god sent and not being able to go boating enough, it was time for another trip, only a short one this time unfortunately, destination the white Nile Uganda!
So the day of our flight came and realizing I had not really packed, I quickly got my stuff together and bunged it in my boat, a cockpit cover later and plenty of duck tape I was ready to go. We arrived at Heathrow terminal 4, with the boats on the roof, and before we had even stepped out the car, a then random guy called Chris was knocking on the window asking if we were going to Uganda, it turns out that there were six of us flying out there. After successfully checking in all of the boats and blagging one through as he didn’t book before November, we were on our way and the drinking began. We arrived in Entebbe slightly hung over and not well rested but jumped in to kayak the Nile’s mutate (crazy taxi thing) and drive to NRE. We arrived and stepped out in to paradise.
No sooner had we set up our tent, a friend (lachie) that I had met in Canada came strolling over beer in hand and told me to drink this and get my kayaking stuff together because we were going boating. He arranged for 3 boda’s to pick us up from silver back and off we went down to the put in, without even seeing the river before we got on and began our first run down the mighty Nile. As soon as the first rapid (rib cage) was over I could tell this was a whole lot bigger than any thing I had done before. Next up was Bujagali and that was even bigger, but the real shock came when we got to silver back its just a huge and I mean huge wave train, the ramp down in to it is 50 meters long and takes ages just paddling down it, the first wave must be 10ft high and is a big hit, after that its just a crazy under water ride until you pop to the surface and roll up right before the 4th wave (the biggest of them all) which picks you, chews you up and spits you out after. Let me tell you if I had looked at it I wouldn’t have run it, although the boda boda (scooter) ride back was the scariest part.
We spent the first few days running the day 1 section and playing at super hole which is small but chilled out and grate fun, after that we paddled the whole river all 46km of it, a great experience not to be done too often, as you arrive at the hairy lemon tired and sun burnt, well in my case any way.
The hairy lemon is a paddler’s paradise!
Basically it’s just an island in the middle of the Nile, a stones throw away from Nile special and there are never more than 10 people staying on it, plus its £7 a day fully catered. We spent most of our time here just surfing special when the water levels come up in the afternoon, chilling out all morning and occasionally catching a ride up to the start of the day two section, which starts just above kalorgalor and yes after looking at it many time’s I eventually built up the balls to run it, it was great fun, really easy and such a rush.
Uganda is great, I would say to anyone who has a bomb proof roll, get out there in the warm water and you will have the time of your life great boating and savage party’s at NRE (you can get away from that easily though, if its not your scene) oh and your boating will improve no end.