On the Nile

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Maybe with good reason, a couple of readers have said that Uganda doesn't seem like much of a vacation destination. Now, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about the country because it is not quite my idea of a vacation destination. To be sure, a lot of other people from within Uganda, from Europe, and every once in a while, from America, travel here for rest and relaxation. The most popular activities here are going on safari (which I think involves a khaki shirt and a national park) and river-rafting (an enjoyable activity made better in a country with enormous whitewater and no tort laws). Other options include gorilla ($500) and chimpanzee tracking ($50), mountain climbing ($400), bird-watching, bungee jumping, etc. Basically, lots of outdoor activities and generally, if they involve National Parks or guides, they are very expensive. A typical safari drive starts at about $150 US and a trip down the Nile's class IV rapids will cost you the same. If it's something that the locals would not do, it probably costs a lot of money. If you avoid these activities, you can travel the country for less than $10 a day. For a cheaper vacation, I spent a couple of nights at a place on the Nile River, northeast of Kampala, called "The Hairy Lemon." It's a hostel-style island resort with water and rapids flowing around both sides.
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For $20 a day, I had room and board covered, and a fine beach (free of the Bilharzia parasite, I'm told), and if I had fishing equipment or a kayak, excellent opportunities nearby for both. The Hairy Lemon's name apparently comes from a pub in Dublin. About a 10 minute paddle upstream is the Nile Special - a 10 foot tall wave on a class IV section of whitewater - so the Hairy Lemon is a popular destination for professional circuit kayakers who are looking for training in the off-season. The above picture shows a calmer section of the river, a long canoe ferry in the distance and matoke or plantain trees on the sloping bank behind. 
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The hostel itself was an adventure to get to via public transit - a three hour bus ride to Jinja from Kampala, an hour-long taxi ride down the west bank of the Nile, and finally, a 5 mile boda-boda ride down a dirt road to the dock where I was picked-up by Mike and Isma - two of my Ugandan hosts, and briefly, my ferrymen. The island was a version of paradise. It was a little tough to be surrounded by some of the best whitewater in the world and to not have a canoe, but it was a wonderful place to be stranded for a couple of days. 

For a good article on what whitewater rafting the Nile is like, take a look at this New York Times piece, "Wild on the Nile," from last spring: http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/travel/24uganda.html
And a photo from the NY Times article to whet your lazy interweb palate:
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