Watch Erin Run the Rapids of the White Nile!

September 2007 – Jinga, Uganda

After volunteering for a few days with an amazing organization called Mifumi, in Tororo, Uganda, I was looking to chill out and have a little fun. I had heard of some fairly radical white water rafting at the mouth of the Nile (the “White Nile”) in Jinga, on the Uganda side of Lake Victoria  — one of my Top 3 Lakes in the World. I was not disappointed. These rapids were *crazy* — with five Class 5-rated stretches (the highest “navigable” level). Rapids are classified on a scale of 1-6.  Class 5 rapids are described as: “Whitewater, large waves, continuous rapids, large rocks and hazards, maybe a large drop, precise maneuvering.” Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience.

Unfortunately, a week before, a 14-year old girl died because her life vest wasn’t on properly and several of the older men got out of the rafts half-way through because they were afraid they were going to have heart attacks. In fact, by the last rapid, more than half the paddlers decided to stay on shore. Needless to say – this is my type of fun! If you watch to the end – I stayed in to ride that last rapid — you’ll see me get sucked out of the raft and held under the white water until I can swim my way out of the vortex.

Happily, one of the rescue kayakers came to fetch me. Whew!

Can’t see this? Go watch the video on YouTube!

Originally, I was planning on a 2-day white water adventure, the first day in the raft and the second day in double kayaks. But after I saw how many times the kayaks flipped and how long you were held under, I elected to hang out at my lake-side bungalow the next day.  Good choice, Erin! Has anyone else had a rafting adventure like this?  Tell me about it!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 and is filed under Africa.