Rafting the Nile at the Source

I just spent a day in Jinja, Uganda doing perhaps the craziest white water rafting I have ever experienced. I headed to a company named Adrift, who 18 years ago started taking people down big rapids on the Nile River. I had heard stories, and seen pictures of tiny looking rafts surrounded by nothing but white water completely upside down. I was pumped, and a little nervous. But I love that feeling, it means you are about to do something different, dangerous, and memorable.

I was grouped up with guide Tutu, and 2 guys and 4 girls. I headed to front left, my favorite spot because of the likelihood of getting tossed. I was excited that the water was so warm. We are just above the equator near the source of the nile where it emerges from Lake Victoria, so the water is still quite warm. Certainly warmer than the cold mountain rivers I had rafted before back in the states and Honduras.

There were six big rapids and somehow we made it thru all of them without flipping, although we came very close once as you can see. The other rafts didnt fare so well. One flipped 2 out of 6 rapids and the other flipped 3 out of 6, plus a woman lost her bikini bottoms on the first rapid! She took it all in stride..after someone gave her some shorts to wear.

We stopped for lunch and had beer and snacks after we finished around 4. It was a full day of paddling and we ended up going 31 kilometers. I highly recommend this trip to any adventure seekers. You can even double it up with a bungee jump if you really want some adrenaline pumping.