Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
meaning of his existence. It isn't surprising then that, in 2004, he was the man who led the
first team to travel its entire length in a raft. He'd also been the source of much help in
planning my own expedition.
'Whatcha gonna do about South Sudan? It's not good there at the moment, but you'll
have some fun . . .'
By fun, Pete really meant danger. I liked Pete; in spite of his new hippie leanings he was
a soldier at heart.
'You're in good hands with Boston, but don't let him rip you off!'
As Pete slapped Boston on the back, Boston's face broke into an expression of disbelief.
'Mr Pete, how dare you! You know I would give my life for Lev . . .'
'Let's go have some beers,' Pete said.
In the NRE, it seemed that all the expatriates in Uganda had gathered together. Pete was
unusual, having shunned life's material things to live the life of his choosing - but not
as unusual as many of the expats communing here. That's the thing about ex-pats - they
really are often very odd. It was fascinating to see them in their adopted habitat, carefree
and wild. As Pete explained, you only had to spend a few minutes speaking to one before
you discovered who coveted whose servant, who had slept with whose wife and who had
bribed which local chief. In Jinja there were Americans, Dutch, French, South Africans
and plenty of Brits - and, like elsewhere in Africa, they ranged from travellers to mercen-
aries, charity workers to missionaries. Each had their own agenda, whether it was money,
oil, God - or simply the opportunity for bragging rights.
'Not me,' said Pete. 'I'm here for the river. Nothing else.'
Soon, outside the bar, the mist would burn away, and the Nile would be revealed to the
hundreds of kayakers who were about to converge on it for a three-day celebration of dare-
devilry on the water. I had already heard Jinja spoken about as a 'black hole', a kind of
vortex that sucked people in and refused to let them go - and the Nile River Festival was
part of the reason. It is at the heart of Uganda's booming tourism sector and, as Pete led
Boston and me to its banks, sport lovers and groupies of every nationality were getting
ready. Colourful streamers and stalls lined the riverbank, and the sounds of carnival were
in the air.
By the time Boston and I reached the river, the party was already in full swing. Music
was blasting out of speakers, beer was being drunk, and at first it seemed that kayaking
was the last thing on anybody's mind. Rather, the festival was about one thing: beer, and
how it might be used to celebrate life along the water.
'Check out the Special,' said Pete, pointing to a seething explosion of foam. On the
river, waves cascaded over enormous boulders to create a swirling rapid. It was the fam-
ous 'Nile Special' - unique because it performs its aquatic marvels 365 days of the year.
Suddenly a red flash flipped in the air, spurting out of the rapids like an insignificant bean.
