The Nile river: lifeblood of Eygypt and many other Africa nations.  Since the time of the Pharohs, a refuge for Moses, calm, severe.  Something out of antiquity…. and apparently an excellent place for adventure sports.

As we approached the frothing white waterand the thunderous roar that heralded our first rapids of the day, it was easy to see why this area has becom a haven for extreme sports ranging from white water rafting to ATVs to bungee jumping to kayaking to the ubiquitous tourist “booze cruises”.  You really appreciate the power of the rapids as you bob through them.  The first tow sets were adrenaline rushes but the 3rd, Silverback with seven huge surges, did us in. The 4rth wave is the biggest and the one expected to throw us.  We went out with the first.  I hung on to the boat for a bit but the current was too strong.  As suggested, I came up twice but unfortunately the suggestion of air didn’t pan out. Eventually I surfaced for good, coughing up water and trying to keep from being pulled further downstream.  All passed and I got hold onto a kayak that brought me to another raft that tranported me back to mine.

It was good to get moving again after the break and the group was buoyed by a couple of successful runs.  We even got to agreeing to “50 - 50″ routes. But Neil wanted more.  For the last rapids he shifted to a boat that was going for 100%.  He got his wish.  The raft first bent in half, upended and buckled  before going full over.  They all had a great bob through the remaining white water to the offlaoding point.  We didn’t capsize but had an exciting run none-the-less.  A day well spent.