The Voyage of the Guinea Fowl

Warning: Mommy and Daddy B – you probably should skip this post, since I’m fine. Please.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early, as the walls of our tent were easily penetrable by the sounds of our camp stirring. We were staying at the campsite/staging ground of the rafting company, Adrift, that we had signed up with in our attempt to recreate Moses’ journey down the Nile. Clad in our finest grubby swimwear, we stumbled down to the breakfast lodge for a early morning menu of coffee, eggs, toast and bungee jumping…BREATHE, Mom, I didn’t jump. I just watched in awe as one of the other VolCons executed the jump perfectly and kept her collar popped the entire time.

The Nile River has some of the best whitewater rafting in the world, which would have meant more if I had actually understood what I had signed up for – you’re in a raft and go down a river, right? Adrift is the oldest company in Jinja and is a very well-run, professional operation. Renee, the owner, was incredibly helpful in accommodating our random requests, including our last minute change of plans to stay in Jinja instead of returning to Kampala Saturday night.

The short term result of this change and the resulting delay in grabbing our gear was that our group wound up with some interesting equipment. Instead of a fiberglass paddle, I had a giant oversized wooden baking spoon…I mean oar. Luckily, the rafting company took pity on us and put us in the boat with the lead guide. Tim, an American, had no patience with our antics but was an expert at keeping us in the boat and the boat right side up.

The idea of white water rafting itself is vaguely absurd. Put a bunch of giddy tourists in a glorified inner tub, give them a ton of modified kayak equipment, and shoot them down the equivalent of a Disney World ride, just without the safety bars.

The rafting itself was actually very akin to being at Disney. It was long periods of calm waiting as we floated or half-heartedly paddled our way down some of the prettiest tretches of river I’ve ever seen. A few instances of intensity were interspersed during which our raft lined up patiently behind the 8 others in the flotilla before shooting down a rapid. The best parts of the day for me were not actually the rapids – I might be in the boat, but I’m the cautious one in the back – but just floating down the Nile. It’s wonderful to be warm and toasty from the sun, lazing about, taking in the scenery, and watching the kingfishers dive bomb the massive expanse of the river looking for Nile perch.

For the most part, our group, nicknamed team Guinea Fowl after the Ugandan national bird (seriously), acquitted itself quite well. There were a few minor injuries (I split my lip by bumping into my oar and came out of a grade 3 rapid with a lovely bloody grin), but the boat stayed upright the entire time. We even kept almost everyone in the boat until the last rapid, when the boat stood on one edge. Most of us happily floated out of the boat to hang onto the safety kayakers and basically use them as kickboards to the shore.

Our hard day of rafting ended with chapattis, kebabs and cold Nile beer on a bluff overlooking the river. We then all jumped into a bus for the ride back to Jinja. Unfortunately, the campsite did not have any beds, which forced us to stay in bungalows at the luxury resort next door. We tried our darndest to negotiate a discount, but they were having none of it. Clearly, this was not a Starwood property.

After shedding our wet clothes, we wandered back down the path to the adjacent Adrift camp in time to watch the video of our voyage. This outfit is so well-run they have a guy in a kayak follow you down the river to catch every glorious moment in both video and still photos. Pretty cool, although somewhat embarrassing. After our impromptu starring role in the DVD, we moved the show to the dance floor. “Land Down Under” with an Aussie or two in a New Zealand bar overlooking the Nile in Uganda? Go Team Guinea Fowl!