So after a long flight (and losing Daryl's luggage!) then a 3 hour drive (sketchy as!) we arrived at the infamous Nile River Explorers bar. I had already heard enough stories to know its a bit of a wild place- everyday is Saturday! So I was a bit surprised to turn up and find the bar closing up and quiet, even at 2am... But they let us grab a few beers to take and we sat under the stars with a doobie and talked. Max and Pablo had arrived 2 days beforehand, and as it tu
rned out, the Scottish guy I met on the flight out (Simon), had come out to meet them both too, having worked with them raft guiding in Austria. What the hell- its a small enough world I guess!After a fitful nights sleep (bloody geckos tap dancing on the tin roof!) I was up and rearing to go. As it turned out we went for a session at super hole, which wasn't what i expected for my first days paddling on the Nile, but still we had a fun day in the sun at a nice feature. That night I got to experience NRE in full swing, a few overland trucks full of rafters partying the night away. I don't pretend to remember the details, but funnels were taken for fun rather than punishment, and it got a bit messy... I woke up in the bar the next morning...
So the early part of the ne
xt day was spent faffing. I mostly laid around feeling like shit... Max and i eventually got our arses into gear and went for a few Bujagali runs. Bujagali falls is an awesome (and huge) rapid that turned out to be the hangover cure I needed petty much every day. Before I knew it I was watching a spectacularly beautiful sunset over the river from a rock island on the paddle back upstream to NRE. That night was much the same as every night at NRE, party until you collapse, or somehow make it back to bed...Over the next couple of weeks I experienced the Nile and with each day loved the place more and more. The Hump into Bujagali falls- the perfect hangover cure! Thoug
h its important to remember to show a little respect as I found out! The Hump caught me out one morning while solo paddling still wasted. I'm not sure what happened but i disappeared into the cushion, and must have flipped, because i hit my head pretty hard, doing a fair amount of damage to my sweet rocker and shoulder! The run down from Bujagali is good fun, with some cool surf waves at 50/50 and Surf City, and plenty of scope for downriver moves all the time! Then its the best of the Day 1 section, Silverback! To try and describe Silverback is a waste of time, its just huge, and fun! Its a little daunting the first time around but after a few runs the downriver moves (or attempts!) started happening over the first wave, and were MASSIVE (nearly always ended with thrashings though haha). Its a rapid best run with the Spanish dudes we met, with a few breakfast chillums on the way down from N
RE!!! After Silverback you can take out and have a wild ride back to NRE on a boda. Make no mistake- this is the scariest thing! Hanging onto your kayak while bouncing around on the back of a boda boda doing ridiculous speeds down dirt tracks may sound fun, and i guess it was after you get used to it... But to start with it left me wishing I was back in the midst of the rapids where it was safe!The Day 2 section of the river is also amazing, and a bit easier. I couldn't wait for Nile Special, but the first rapid of the day demanded my full attention. I had seen Kalagala Falls on enough paddling videos and although it looks big, as always it always seems bigger when you are standing right there! It certainly gets the blood flowing! I had already decided to go for it, and was a bit surprised to find everyone else deciding to walk around it on this particular day. However the line is dead easy so i put on alone above the falls, broke out into the current and paddled for the horizon line. I plugged it deep and popped up dead stoked! After the others had finished putting on we ran down the next rapid and then had a brief look at Hypoxia before laughing at the idea of it and heading off downriver.
All of the Day 2 rapids are pretty easy and offer a few places to play, in particular the wave on Hair of the Dog can be amazing, and there's a beautiful wave at the top of Kula Shaker that's perfect for some soul surfing. The Nile Special was what I was waiting for though- and it doesn't disappoint! With out a doubt one of the best waves I have ever paddled it just seems to have it all! Its big, fast, bouncy and pretty retentive, though it wasn't until I went to stay at the Hairy Lemon that I got to play to my hearts content!
No comments:
Post a Comment