Kayaking the Nile II

I have managed to get out in the kayak for five more lessons. I kayak early in the morning and late in the afternoon to avoid the sun. I had a stomach and bowel infestation for about ten days and so went kayaking only when I felt up to it. I have since terminated the infestation with a healthy dose of antibiotic.




It seems that all of Luke's kayaking lessons can be summed up using one of the following statements of broken English:

• Swim hard, Kenny.
• Don't swimming.
• Enjoy kayaking.
• Use yo' hips.
• Keep your paddle very far.
• Don't panicking.
• Paddle very hard.
• It's goood!

But really - what else is there to say? Luke has mastered elegance through simplicity. But Luke's broken English leaves a little to be desired and I am in want of a kayaking buddy. Nearly every day somebody takes kayaking lessons. Some come for two or three days of lessons. One guy came for six consecutive full day lessons paying nearly $600 to do so. No matter how long they stay, no matter what teacher takes them - not a single one has rolled the kayak. Despite this, they seem to have a good time. But their collective lack of progress has been extremely frustrating for me as I head to rapids alone.

The first four lessons were on a class 3 rapid near my camping site - a very accessible place which has been great for playing and working on basics while I'm sick. The rapid is about 100 meters long and 40 meters wide. Approaching by kayak from below you can climb out of the water and walk over an island to run the rapid's lower third (the best part); or paddle in calm water up the side and then cross low-grade rapids to where the water is big and fast. There's nothing standing in the middle, but the lower third starts with a set of two standing waves that you can surf. Luke and I also play on some other class 3s and in the bottom of some of the class 5s and 6s. There is serious fast moving water here.

I have a very fond memory of some runs during sunset and I wish so much that I had a picture.

By the end of day five I had had two consecutive lessons without swimming and was feeling very confident despite having Luke tell me constantly that I have "bad looks" - which I later found out meant that I can't line up the approach for surfing. He is trying to get me to step it up and try Easy Rider, a class 4 rapid nearby. Easy Rider is massive but he thinks I'm ready. See below.

On the weekend, Shannon came to visit from Kampala and on Sunday we went rafting. It was awesome! I got my first taste of Easy Rider when it flipped the rafting and sent us all swimming. Luke was one of the safety kayakers on the trip and it was amazing to see him run the river - most notably Big Brother a giant chute with a four meter standing wave; and Overtime with a three meter waterfall which he dropped down. Shown is our raft just after The Bad Place after Itanda Falls (see video). Crazy!

At lunch time on rafting day, Luke told me that the next rapid was a class 4 and that it would make my day better if I passed it on a kayak instead of on a raft. I agreed nervously. I walked around Overtime with the kayak feeling bad about leaving Shann in the raft alone - the rocks and big drop at the end of Overtime had been the subject of much intimidation. But Shann was relaxed and seemed confident. She sent me onto my adventure with a smile. Getting through the long sections of flat water proved to be more of an issue than the rapids. I watched her from below as she ran through Overtime. She did great and looked relieved when they took the line which didn't drop down the waterfall. I ran clean through Little Spit, my first class 4 rapid with no need to roll. It was noticeably bigger than anything I'd done before and the power was impressive and scary - my first time in waves which are taller than me.

I was very pleased with how things went and decided to stay in the kayak for the next rapid, a class 4 called Bugogo. Bugogo is a series of two big waves. Luke offered some words of inspiration "paddle hard" as we entered the rapid in the middle. We faced sideways to take a line which avoided the first big wave and then rammed the second wave in the middle. The second wave picked up the kayak and threw me into a back flip. I would later learn that I need to tuck into a pike should I want to avoid this - it seems funny that this tidbit was omitted from the preparatory lessons. Being upside down in the class 4 water didn't feel so different, and my roll was perfectly crisp. I sailed through the haystacks to the end and scrambled back into the raft.

Turns out that Shannon was thrown feet first out of the front of the raft on Little Spit. In doing so, she perforating her ear drum. She is fairing well after seeing a doctor in Kampala and a full recovery is expected shortly. Notice me smiling gleefully and Shannon in the water in the picture.

Lesson seven and I am energized after a day off biking in the countryside. My first lesson without a stomach flu. Luke was teaching a few Israeli friends of mine to roll, so I went with a new guy Baron to Easy Rider (picture on right shows our raft flipping on Easy Rider). Easy Rider is bigger water than Bugogo and has five big waves as compared to Bugogo's two. I was quite nervous about attempting it and felt like we were rushing things. Baron and Luke were encouraging - so why not check it out? An island in the river is straddled by two rapids - Easy Rider is to the right, and an unnamed class 2 passes on the left. The plan was to go down the class 2, study Easy Rider from below, then maybe walk above and run the chicken line. The chicken line is the easiest line on the rapid but you have to approach sideways which makes things a bit technical. While on the class 2, I was caught off guard by larger than expected boiling water and whirlpools. It was nothing I couldn't handle - but I'm just not composed in the mornings. I got sucked down backwards by a small whirlpool. I rolled out but each time was sucked down. If I would have paddled hard I would surely escape - but I just let myself drift and spin and get scared and lose my breath. On the fourth overturn, I rushed two attempts to roll and ended up taking a swim.

I'm swimming on the left side of the river where the class 2 merges with Easy Rider. The safe eddy is on the right bank, so I had to swim across Easy Rider's tail. The water was very strong and fast. By the time I made it to shore, I was very fatigued but the water was moving fast and oddly by the bank forming an odd pattern indicative of strong undercurrents. To avoid this dangerous water, I had to swim away from shore back into the main current. Exhausted, I let the paddle float away and I thought about ripping the skirt off me to reduce the drag. In this state of mild panic I was able only to think of myself - retrospectively I regret this decision, regard it as lazy, and wish I had kept my composure as there was time to rest. Too bad Luke wasn't there to remind me of the "don't panicking" lesson. I made it into the eddy safely. Baron leapt into action when I told him about the paddle "now the real adventure begins" he said as he paddled after it. I waited for about two hours on the island until he returned.

The paddle's blades are commercial grade but the shaft is just a medal tube. I didn't know this at the time, but its typical African assembly means that it isn't water proof. The paddle simply fills with water and sinks after some time - so my decision to abandon the paddle doomed it to a watery grave. You can't exactly go to the store and buy a kayaking paddle here. The fishermen shim bucket lids into tree branches for paddles. Luke often teaches without a paddle because there just aren't any. Somehow I just did not realize how valuable the paddle was for Luke and Baron. I felt terrible while sitting and listening to Baron tell their fellow safety kayakers about the loss - reactions ranged from total disbelief to glaring looks of disgust in my direction. One jumped into his kayak to look even though more than an hour had passed. Three of the five approached me one at a time over the next day for the story of how it was lost. Later I sat with Baron and Luke in a bar, their heads hanging low. It isn't their paddle to lose - they rent it for 5000 shillings per day from a wealthy local guy. They expect trouble from the owner. I felt worthless.

Gaining a little perspective, I laughed loudly as I left Luke and Baron at the bar. So I lost a paddle? As if we can't fix this. I abandoned my thoughts of squeezing in a trip to Murchison Falls that afternoon - I'll stick around Jinja to see how I can remedy the paddle situation. There is amusement here - but also a sense of duty to my new friends.

On the Nile after a bit more practice: