It ain't just a river in Egypt...

Back to our favourite spot, the Kampala bus station, and then on to Jinja. It's a small city a few hours east of Kampala and it seemed to be NGO central. For tourists the main attraction around Jinja is the famous white water rafting at nearby Bujagali Falls. After some consideration we signed up and showed up a few days later full of anticipation. While we chowed down on a huge breakfast we watched the promotional video and that really got the adrenaline pumping. We were all carted off on the back of a truck to the starting point and climbed into the rafts. Each raft takes six people plus the guide, and we were with a group of 3 Americans, a Scot and a Swedish girl.

We paddled around a very flat part of the river and our guide taught us various techniques and commands he would shout to us. We flipped the raft deliberately and learned how to flip it upright and climb back in. (You learn pretty fast once you're told there are lots of crocs in the river!) Immediately following the introduction the Swedish girl decided it wasn't for her, and so we pulled over to the side of the river so she could return to camp. We didn't realize it at the time, but this was possibly a smart decision!


We navigated through a few smaller rapids and started to get comfortable, until our first Class 5 rapid. After the first few seconds our raft plunged down sharply, and then rose completely vertically in the air. I remember seeing Tim launch himself off into the water once it became clear we were going to tip. Unfortunately no one else had the same courtesy, and since I was sitting in the back of the raft everyone fell on top of me as we were tipped into the river. (If you don't believe me, this is all documented on the DVD we bought!). When several people landed on me I was pushed deep into the rapid and the water took over from there. It's a terrifying feeling - the force is so incredibly strong it just sucks you right under. Our guide had warned us about this and promised that if you could just stay calm and count to ten your life jacket will eventually bring you back to the surface downstream. I started counting to ten, but by the time I got to three I felt like my lungs were going to burst since I had sucked in so much water when the others fell on top of me. I kept counting, and opened my eyes but still couldn't tell which way was up - all I could see were millions of air bubbles rushing through the water. Thinking these were my last living moments, I started to panic just as I finally reached the surface. I was so relieved it was over, but I must have been winded or completely stunned because my brain kept sending messages to breathe but nothing was happening - I couldn't take in any air! Then, before I knew it, I was sucked back under but thankfully it was for just for a few seconds this time. Finally I surfaced for good and realized I was still clutching on to my paddle with a death grip. I didn't realize I had been holding on to it, and the added resistance it caused had probably kept me under for longer! While I coughed out half the Nile a safety kayaker towed me and one of the Americans over to a waiting raft. At this point I started to worry because I couldn't see Tim, but a few minutes later he showed up with our guide and explained that he had surfaced at a different point in the river.

We continued along for the rest of the day and even survived a few more Class 5 rapids. (To give you some perspective, a Class 6 rating means certain death for anyone other than a very experienced expert rafter or kayaker.) I was completely terrified after our first tipping experience but thankfully the raft remained upright for the rest of the day. Tim and I did actually get pitched over the edge at one point, and we were briefly sucked under again, but when you don't have three people landing on your head it's a much better experience! There was another exhilarating moment when our raft was going backwards and we looked over our shoulders to see the river disappear from sight. Seconds later we went over the edge of a vertical 6 foot drop! We made it through that one with no problems and it was a pretty incredible feeling.

After the rafting we returned to the campsite for a huge bbq and enjoyed some drinks while we watched the DVD of the day played on a big screen. It also happened to be Canada Day, and we found a bunch of fellow Canadians who had come prepared with temporary tattoos! It was a great end to the day after what was probably the most terrifying and fun thing I have done in my life. I think Tim would agree.

We headed down to Lake Bunyoni (near the border of Rwanda) for a few days of R&R. We were even ready to tackle water again, so we took a dugout canoe onto the lake and promptly displayed what the Africans call the "Mzungu corkscrew" - spinning around and around in a circle. The dugout canoes looked pretty similar to regular canoes, but as it turns out they are much more difficult to operate!