Today’s guest post comes from one of the most popular independent travel blogs out there. Caz and Craig, from the yTravelBlog, are not only fantastic writers and bloggers, but are just two great people. You don’t meet many nicer, down to earth people like them, and I am quite excited to have them write for my site.
Living and travelling the world since 97 both solo and as a couple, and now with a 3 year old, Caz and Craig believe life is all about the memories and travel to create more of them. Their travel tips and stories on y travel blog aim to inspire and teach you to make your life a story to tell. You can join their community on facebook and twitter.
Caz and Craig at Victoria Falls
Rafting the Nile
Like jelly, my legs were struggling to hold me up as I stood on the riverbank and watched the churning, frenzied white-water raging in front of me. We could not raft through “Itanda” a notorious, un-navigable 50m stretch of the Nile and had to walk along the banks past this section. Commercial rafts are not allowed to go through it, as the chances of death on the grade 6 rapids are extremely high.
Our safety guides, however, decided to put a skillful show for us and kayak through the tumultuous water. I guess spending the day rescuing us as we were ejected from the raft over and over again was not exciting enough for them. Yet, for us it most certainly was.
I was victorious in claiming the most amount of ejections from the boat so far. Craig was not far behind me. Of course there were the grade 5 rapids that most of us got creamed on, but the pretty calm grade 3 “Easy Rider” that gently slapped me backwards out of the boat was a little embarrassing. Floating on my back on the cool rushing water waiting to get picked up by the kayak was quite enjoyable though.
But now my stomach fell too my ankles as I stood for 30 minutes to watch the kayakers successfully make their way through without a scratch. It was not this that terrified me as much, as the grade 5 rapid that sat right at the end of the Itanda stretch waiting for us to arrive.
“The Bad Place”
One of the toughest rapids in the world - "The Bad Place" *pic from Neils Photography
This was called “The Bad Place,” and anyone who has survived the Bad Place will nod their head with that knowing agreement that there was never a place to enter that was filled with more adrenalin and fear.
Guaranteed to be thrown from the raft, the timing to reach the right entry into the whirling sink hole had to be perfect, or else your entry into the water would be far from it. A thin stretch of river passed between two grade-6 rapids and if you navigated your way through there okay then pow- you smacked the Bad Place and you were over and out. And if you didn’t? Well who wants to know the answer to that one, but I am sure you can guess.
What the hell was I doing? Craig and I had just returned from an incredible adventure chasing gorillas through the rainforest of Uganda, and we enthusiastically went in search for something that would have our heart racing a little more than a silverback charging us.
White rafting the longest river in the world seemed like the most obvious thing for us to do. We came to Africa for adventure and we were going to have it. With Craig, a professional athlete and my supportive strength by my side, I knew I would be fine.
Jinja is the quiet riverside village that rests on the banks of the Nile, the source of where this great river begins. The evening before this madness we had spent a peaceful evening camping by the banks of the river watching the local boys run through Bujagali Falls, the first couple of grade 3 rapids on oil drums. From the safety of our swinging hammock, the rapids looked pretty safe and easy to raft through and we were excited about the next day adventure.
Our Australian guide had plenty of experience leading rafts down some of the world’s’ most famous rivers such as The Zambezi, which many travelers choose to do instead. According to him, the other guides and safety kayaks traveling with us both rivers are comparable in terms of spills and thrills, but none compare to the Bad Place, probably the largest hole rafted commercially in the world.
Overtime - An appropriate name for this rapid *picture by John and Mel Kots
How could it be any worse than the Grade 5 “Overtime” rapid? As we approached the top of this waterfall rapid, our guide began frantically screaming instructions to “Paddle, crouch, hold on Tighhhhhhhtt.” All of this happening in mere seconds, my head feeling as if it was already in the white wash.
My laughter from the craziness of it all and my inability to follow any instructions soon stopped as we hit the lip of the 4.5 meter waterfall. Our boat turned side on, putting Craig and I on the side that went first over. As it slid over the side we were facing a wall of water rushing up to our heads from below. Our screams were soon swallowed up by the water sitting at the bottom of the falls, and we slid back upright somehow remaining to stay in the boat.
“Can you believe that rapid?” Craig screamed. We were buzzing with adrenalin and the words raced to express our experience with the free fall. It took some time for my heart to stop racing and I was grateful for the hour long break that we now had in between rapids, where we could stop for lunch and a swim in the apparently crocodile free part of the river.
“I don’t know if I can do this Craig. Look at that river. This Bad Place has really got me scared.” The kayakers were almost out of the rapids and I knew it was almost time to go again.
“We’ll be okay. Just follow the guide’s instructions.”
I could barely breathe with fear when we were told to get back into the boat.
“You really need to be highly alert for the Bad Place. We have had once chance to hit the gap right between the grade 6 raging water and the grade 5 hole.
Last instructions guys. The whole time down this river I’ve told you that when we hit a rapid, you get down, and hold onto the rope for dear life, even when you get tossed over.” With 5 throws overboard I was great with those instructions.
“The rules have changed for the Bad Place. Whatever you do this time do not hold onto the rope. Let go of it. If you could get trapped in the suck hole, probably get stuck under the boat and be in serious trouble.”
“See the riverbank there When you go over swim for your life to the shore.”
I gulped and jellied fear washed through my whole body; it took me literally 30 seconds to recondition my body to follow the right steps. “Let go of the rope, let go of the rope, let go of the rope,” was all I repeated as I furiously paddled with others to make the gap.
Before I knew it we slipped into the giant hole, the white wall of water rose above me as the bottom of the boat popped up and somersault flipped us clean in the air. Miraculously, I let go of the rope and was catapulted into the raging water.
My life jacket helped to raise my head above water where I caught glimpses of the guide standing on the upside down raft pointing to the riverbank and shouting to swim. Just as I gasped air into my lungs, another wave washed over me and pummeled me back under. Several washing machine cycles later I had reached the calmer section of the white wash. I swam for my life to the shore, which seemed to slip further and further away with each stroke. Upon finally reaching it, I crawled out and collapsed onto the sand with exhaustion.
Craig joined me a few minutes later. After he finally got his breath back, he began to tell me his story of how he popped up to blackness and a roof over his head. He had somehow become stuck under the raft; the very thing our guide didn’t want to happen. After a couple of panicked moments he managed to get himself back into the white wash and pop himself back out into the raging, yet roof free waters and swim to safety.
Bujagali Falls, the camping spot for the night *picture from Stefan Gara
Craig and I have been living and travelling the world together since we married in 02. We have incredible memories that we share together. White water rafting the Nile River has to be one of our favorite activities we experienced together. There was no beer on earth that tasted better than that first one we cracked when we were finally able to extract our faces from the sand and have our legs hold us upright once again.
Thanks again to Caz and Craig of the yTravelBlog. Be sure to find them at their social media outlets like facebook and twitter.
