WEATHER: Wet and rainy in the morning then overcast for the rest of the day
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Jet boating on the Nile
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Washing not dried
BUYS OF THE DAY: Has to be the Nile Special at 1.20AUD for 500ml
WORD OF THE DAY: Oh shit
ANIMALS SEEN TODAY: Monkeys and 2 dogs at camp
CAMP SITE RANKING: Same as last night no change
Well that lightning and thunder eventuated into pretty much rain all night. I was hoping that my tent was locked up tight enough for no water to get in it, as it was quite a constant fall all night. It was nice to hear the rain on the tent. The 60 day people hadn’t had a good rain on their tent all trip, so 3 days from finishing their epic journey it was quite fitting they got some rain. There were a few claps of thunder that just literally rolled across; you could hear when it started and when it finished. It is pretty amazing to see and hear a storm when you are camping as I think it gives you a different perspective of the storm. The rafters later found out it hadn’t rained in 61 days!
So we got a sleep in with breakfast at 8am! It was still raining on and off, so we had to eat in the truck to keep ourselves dry. So needless to say the truck had mud from one end to the other with us all walking in and out and thank goodness I wasn’t on truck duties today – what a bitch. We later found out that the bus was going to get a professional wash in the afternoon anyway, windows included. As I was doing dinner that night, there were 3 gents cleaning and the security guard got in on the act, with his rifle strung over 1 shoulder as he scrubbed and mopped.
I wanted to get some washing done, but as the weather was crap I wasn’t going to, as from previous washes, the items are hand washed and then hung over trees and shrubs to dry, they don’t have driers. Anyway Jools introduced me to the man in charge of the washing and he guaranteed that my washing would be dry by the afternoon. So with a guarantee how could I resist, so in it goes, for 10,000 shillings (4AUD) it was too good to pass up! Let’s see how it comes back and I hope the day clears up.
Due to the weather, Sean wasn’t allowed to do his bungy jump, which was a bummer, but then after breakfast, the weather cleared enough and he was given the green light. So he was the only one that jumped from our group and I have to say I think it may have been the most documented jump of all time. Paps videoed, I took the burst mode, Lisa had Sean’s camera for the pictures and Jo went up the tower with Sean and got photos from the top! Lucky guy. All went well and he can now add Uganda to the other 4 countries where he has also jumped. From there 8 of the group headed off to do white water rafting for the whole day, there were 5 of us doing the jet boating and the others were going into town and to have a day of rest and relaxation. Our pick-up was supposed to be at 10am, and at 10.25am, Astrid went and enquired about the pick-up and he said he told us the wrong time and was supposed to be 10.30am. Oh, okay – so then when he came over 10 minutes later and said there is a problem with the normal transfer, another one is on the way and will be here in 20 minutes, oh, okay. One hour later at 11.40am the transfer finally arrives. We aren’t too happy, as we could have been doing other things, but it was here now, so in we jumped for the 45 minute drive to the jet boat. It was a good drive, as we were in an 8 seater minivan, it was nice to drive through village’s incognito so to speak, rather than in our massive, beast of a truck and not get as many stares. I think sometimes we take what we have for granted. You look at some of these small communities and what they have (and don’t have) and it makes you think is there a way that I can help somehow? I am really seriously thinking what would be the best way to help and I’m going to have a word to Jools and also to Paps and Emma as they have a charity that they have set up themselves which is quite inspiring in itself. Africa truly is still a third world country and they need all the help they can get, but in saying that you still see big smiley faces as we pass and lots of waves from then children, so there is still hope for the future.
We arrived at the jet boat to have Gavin waiting for us. He used to drive the Shotover jet in New Zealand and now has this gig here in Uganda. So we saddled up in our lifejackets and then boarded the boat. As it worked out I got a middle seat on the end, and I think I had one of the best seats in the house. So Gav took us through the 3 minute safety spiel and the 2 most important hand actions, one to give us a heads up for the 360 and the other one telling us a rough patch was coming up. So after a test 360 to make sure we all could handle the pace and didn’t want to get off, we set off up the Nile. Only after a few minutes we saw some rafters, I thought it had to be our group and yelled to Gav if we could go over there and say hi, he said hell yeah. So at 90km/hr we literally jetted over to the first raft and it happened to be our group which was awesome. I have to say it was so hilarious, at first you could see that they were all happy to see us, nice little waves and smiles on their faces, and as we got closer and weren’t slowing down they knew something was going to happen. I think Paps was the most excited as he stood up and was giving us a big wave with his oar in his hand and then as we got within 10m, we swerved and made this massive wave that soaked the whole raft, and all I could do was laugh my head off as we moved then down the flotilla of rafts and continued to do the same thing to all of them!!! It was so flippin funny, but my Intrepid raft has to be the best splash of all and it still brings a smile to my face. WIPEOUT!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…………. I think I may cop it when they get back to camp this afternoon but it was so worth it……HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…….
We got 40 minutes on the jet boat, which is typical. We went over one set of rapids on the boat and got some airtime and we did about 50 x 360’s and we got absolutely soaking wet, but I have to say it was worth all the debacle this morning and to say that we jet boated on the Nile is a pretty good call to fame and was worth the 75USD we paid for the privilege. It was very different from the New Zealand one, as that is done in a canyon, so not much room for the 360’s and it is more the adrenalin rush of hugging the canyon walls, where this experience was more going the fastest we could go at 90km and without even slowing down going straight into a 360. Every time I saw the 360 hand action, I would say ‘oh shit’. Gav would then swerve one way, then the other so we didn’t know which way he was going to turn and then boom, 360, and water everywhere, Nile water at that, but we figured as we were pretty close to the source, that it was going to the cleanest here than say doing a jet boat in the Egyptian part of the Nile which I just wouldn’t do. Good theory. A few more raft sprays, 2 more rapid runs and some more 360’s it was time to head back. What a great experience and even better when we got off the boat, there was a cold Nile Special waiting for us, how appropriate to drink a Nile beer at the Nile. Awesome.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the bar, overlooking the Nile, and getting my blog updated. They have Wi-Fi here, but it cuts in and out, so if I’m not responding to messages and comments it is purely for this reason, and I will when I get a better connection, somewhere. My main aim is to get my blog entries uploaded when I can, which thankfully I was able to do. Ye haa!
We were on cooking duties yesterday, so I went up at 5pm to see if Liz needed any help, stupid question, as I was the only one from my team in camp, so we were chop chop chopping till the rafter bus pulled up and the second they all got off they came straight over to rib me about the classic water splash! It was cool to hear their side and I still couldn’t stop laughing! It was HILAROUS!!!!
I got the nod that the washing was ready to be picked up. So I walked to the wash room, and I swear there were at least 50 bags of washing in there, luckily mine was at the front and then the lady apologized, saying sorry that it wasn’t 100% dry due to the weather. No shit, I could have told you that this morning. So they were just a little damp, but there’s no way they are going to dry properly with the weather still overcast and now they will smell worse than when they went in, but they are clean.
It was a Friday night, so after dinner we went back to the bar for a few brewski’s and to try and hook back onto the internet, which every man and his dog was also trying to get on, so I wasn’t too successful, but my blog is up to date, so I can’t complain. It was a really good day and once again it is nice to be off the truck.
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