Rafting on the Nile

Saturday was the day of our big adventure outside of Jinga.

Well, we didn't exactly go white water rafting, it was more like floating. I had wanted to go white water rafting on the Nile, but the company we were using--Adrift Adventure Company--said Bry'Chell had to be sixteen. Since she wasn't all that excited about going (read: dug in her heels and refused.) I figured it was just as well. However, they had a two hour family float--a shorter and gentler version of white water rafting.

The family float was a two hour trip with a few small rapids, the biggest one was a class three. There was plenty of calm water where we could swim in the river. Bry'Chell, ever the cautious soul, would not go in the water the first time. However, once our guide went in, she was willing to try. Of course, this was with life jackets on. We can both say we swam in the Nile River.

There are plenty of rafting operations in the area around Bujagali Falls, but these guys have been around the longest and had a good, if not the best, safety record. The safety issue is a big deal to me.

The day was perfect, sunny and warm, but not hot. It had rained the night before, so things were pretty muddy, but once we were on the river, that was irrelevant. The river was beautiful. There were lots of birds--eagles, king fishers, darters, and others I can't name. We saw an eagle catch a fish in its claws.

The rapids were just enough to get a few screams from Bry'Chell and for both of us to get soaked. It was fun.

On the way back from rafting we passed a place that did four-wheeler tours. Basically you follow a guide on a four-wheeler ATV. This caught Bry'Chell's eye. She's right at the age where driving a vehicle is pretty exciting. I thought about it and since she was such a good sport about the rafting, I decided we'd do the short trip. It was an hour.

Once again, these folks were into safety. We were outfitted in overalls, gum boots, and helmets. We rode around on back roads for a good hour, saw a couple of beautiful views of the Nile, some typical rural scenes--cows, goats, chickens, fields of bananas, maize, cassava, and sweet potatoes.

We finished our ride just as it was beginning to rain. Bry'Chell said that was her favorite part since our guide rode faster trying to get back before the sky opened up. And in fact, we made it back just before it started pouring rain.

We waited until the rain let up and called the boda-boda guys to take us back to our cabin--euphemistically called a chalet.

When we arrived back at the base camp, there were people bungee jumping. It was fun to watch, but holds no personal interest for me. Jumping head first off a platform with only a rubber cord to keep me from crashing into the shallows of the river below does not strike me as a good time. I was perfectly content to watch others bounce around.