From Cam McLeay’s diary on the Ascend the Nile Expedition
75kms traveled
Within minutes of seeing us he has leapt chest deep in the river and was wading mid-stream by the time we came level to him. This excited local was holding his shirt high above the water level with one arm and waving frantically with the other. A little later four teenage boys abandoned their dugout canoe hastily and ran. Three went right along the trail and the fourth disappeared amongst the sugar cane. The dugout floated off in the swift current. At another stop, one elderly women was quite simply awestruck. You could tell by the expression on her face that she could not believe her eyes. She didn’t even talk to the crowd around her but just stared fixedly at us. The crowd reactions today have been incredible.
Early in the day, we had raced down to the top of a steep gorge on the Nyabarongo so as to measure the distance from the top of the impassable gorge. I stopped above a shallow rapid, reluctant to risk our equipment for the sake of one rapid. Eventually I changed my mind and on the way back up the rapid, I hit a rock at full speed. The momentum of the boat took me safely to the shore at the top of the rapid but I had smashed the drive shaft. The gears would no longer engage and the propellor spun in an oval indicating a bent shaft as well. We were left with no other option but to tow my boat and motor back to ‘Bridge C’ where we pulled it ashore for the last time and loaded it onto the truck. I have become very attached to my boat and after a thrilling run on the river today; it was sad to think that our boat journey is almost over.
As we used our detailed maps to trace the longest source of the Nile, we left behind the Nyabarongo as the river was renamed the Mwongo. Above ‘Bridge C’ the river really changed character and flowed in a deep channel coming back on itself often and then it shrunk again to become the Rukarara. Soon afer the bridge we celebrated the arrival of our Fortnum and Mason chop box. Packed with a collection of wonderful food, we began with the King size Japanese rice crackers. These complimented fresh tamarillos and mangos nicely and made for an exotic mix of flavours.
To our utter amazement the Rukarara flows in a very narrow, deep channel and for such a tiny river the conditions could not have been more superb for our boats. The little river was spilling its banks. Grey crowned cranes wandered in shallow water, cattle grazed on islands near the river and surprised herd boys dashed to higher ground before we waved at them. At couple of points log foot bridges crossed the river. Twice today we had to remove the bimini covers from the boats in order to pass under the bridges much to the amusement of the local audience watching.
I have just taken a cling-film wrapping off my legs. We lay half asleep on the boats until 10pm tonight waiting for Juma, Landy and the truck with all of our equipment to rendezvous with us. All of our overnight kit including most of our warm clothes were still on the truck. With a warm woollen top, my shell jacket and hat I was almost warm enough. However, the mosquitos attacked with a vengeance soon after dark. We had no mosquito repellent with us and nothing to cover our legs except the dry bag which Neil had already climbed in to. I wrapped my legs in cling film which warmed them and immediately made a barrier impenetrable for the mosquitos (or to their distaste). I managed some sleep while watching satellites and distant lightening storms but soon the heavy due began to fall and the temperature starting dropping.
