Thursday and Friday were business as usual. However, Saturday was THE DREADED RAFTING DAY. Friday night, we stayed in dorms at Adrift, one of the rafting companies, with all the AVs. The dorms were 4 sets of FOUR BED HIGH bunk beds, IT WAS ACTUALLY AMAZING! I was the third bed up and it turned out to be pretty tricky to navigate my way down in the middle of the night!
So we were up at 8am (despite someone’s alarm having gone off at 7am…grrr) and down to the bar for breakfast. We then split into groups of eight and nine – there was eight in my group all from the Guest House aptly named Team G.I. (Get Involved!), six girls and two boys. After embarassing team photos we set off down the river!
The first hour or so was practising how to paddle in time, learn the instructions, flip the boat, and what to do if you get chucked out of the boat into a rapid! Turned out, our instructor was the trip leader and so wasn’t taking any crap from anyone – I’ve never known anyone to be as sarcastic either – but his no crap from anyone attitude actually made me feel safer when watching the rafts with Ugandan guides who are actually just MENTAL.
So the first big rapid was Bujigali Falls, one of the 3 Grade 5 rapids (the biggest rapids possible to commercially raft) of the day, I WAS TERRIFIED. Everything is so much more impressive when you’re at the same level and can see waves about twice your height ahead of you! Tom, Rachel and I ended up being chucked out of the raft and even though you’re told to hold on to the safety rope, it is actually impossible sometimes!
A few tame rapids later was a Grade 4, still pretty big, and naturally, me being the one who wanted to be chucked out the least, was the only one chucked out this time!
Time for lunch on the Adrift private island and I literally stocked up on veg for the week!
Back on the water and guess what’s next?! A WATERFALL!! Obviously a Grade 5 but somehow we all managed to stay in the raft even though Tom who was sat at the front very gentlemanly flew into my face! Again, naturally, more rapids followed and I got chucked in but this time with everyone on my side of the raft (I swear it was cursed!!). WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DIE. No joke.
Next rapid the whole boat was flipped but we didn’t have time to be terrified and think we were going to die because we had to get back in the boat before the next set of rapids only a few meters away!!
THANKFULLY we all survived! There were lots of bumps and bruises, ripped off toe nails, sunstroke and dehydration sufferers but now that I think about it, it was an amazing experience…one that I will definitely not live again though!!
Hopefully we’ll get some photos soon so I’ll pop them up when I do!
Love and all that jazz! xx
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