Mefloquine Dreams: Rafting the Nile

This past weekend adventures took a group of 12 of us from the IU compound to Jinja, Uganda. The goal - whitewater rafting on the Nile.

We drove to Uganda Friday night to begin our adventure early Saturday morning. Nile River Explorers picked us up from the campsite in the morning and took us to where we would begin rafting. We divided up into two groups, those that wanted to flip and my boat that didn't want to purposely flip. Despite that, there was still a good chance that we would flip on the rapids so we began with some safety tips. Our guide was Alex, a native of Uganda and excellent rafter/kayaker. Our safety lesson consisted of Alex flipping our boat and dumping us in the water, trapping us under the raft. We practiced flipping the raft over and getting back in the boat. Once we were sufficiently freaked out, we were on our way to the first rapid, a class 5. Way to start the day. Of course, all the rapids except one were class 4's and 5's.

Halfway down the river, we had to get out of the raft and carry it around one of the rapids, a class 6. Recently, a group from another rafting company went down this rapid, tore up the boat on the rocks and injured the rafters badly. Needless to say, I was happy to walk around to continue our adventure down the next class 5.

Itanda Falls - Grade 6

The Nile River Explorers were amazing with wonderful guides and safety kayakers. It was a great day of rafting. Only one injury for a girl who got hit in the mouth by an oar when flipping on the rapid. Easily remedied with some ice and medicine. No stitches needed. With rafting checked off the list, we were able to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend in Uganda, a beautiful country. Winston Churchill called this green little country "the pearl of Africa." Here are a few other pictures from the weekend.