<< Sep 30-Oct 5 Blue Nile Source - Lake Tana 160km

October 6-9 Lake Tana - Blue Nile Falls 194km

The hotel hummed with anticipation as October 6 marked the day the rubber would hit the river. The team was more vivacious than before with health complaints improving to just runny stools and a degree of frailty from the concoctions of medication.

River day 1 began by carting the boats and gear to the banks of the Blue Nile where the crew was greeted by some curious yet uncharacteristically standoffish locals. After some pumping, a few fancy knots and quirky uses for tire tubes, the expedition set sail for Egypt.

Final preparations on the banks of the Nile surrounded by curious locals

The Blue Nile leaves Lake Tana on an unassuming path lined with grassy banks, wild papyrus and a scattering of buildings and straw huts on the outskirts of Bahir Dar.

After barely five minutes of gentle paddling, the expedition was confronted by its first hazard - a frosty reception from a pair of resident hippos. The gigantic beasts made no qualms of their intentions and, after some infuriated snorting, started an unwavering charge for the boats. Rather than hanging around to observe the wildlife, the pace increased, with Rob taking refuge on the larger raft and Ali paddling downstream like he never had before. If the hippopotami had wanted boat burgers, they could have easily caught the rafts, but it would be fair to assume they were just making it clear whose river it was. A family of four further downstream increased the crew's paranoia, who closely inspected every dark coloured boulder that came into sight after that.

Grassy hills dotted with trees boasting colourful songbirds lined the path of the Nile with mountain ranges framing the horizon. The setting was tranquil, broken only by the occasional gurgling rapid and self-assured peasant farmer brashly asking for money.

The team decided it was best to call it a day when they reached a wild waterfall that was truncated by dangerous rocks. Camp proved to be an elevated spot amongst a braid of swampy islands. A heavy downpour welcomed the visitors as they began to unload.

Morning broke with a thick mist creating an eerie ambience that shrouded the tents. Enough locals for 4 football teams had gathered around in silence ready to greet the strange boatpeople when they awoke.

Locals surrounding the campsite amongst the mist.

Local lass fetching water.

By daylight the falls looked just as much a death trap as they had the day before, so the gear was carted around and rafts ghost boated through the chunky boulders.

Having just reloaded everything once again, a stone came from nowhere ricocheting off the raft and hitting Ali square in the chin. A bellowing bunch of kids on the ridge across the river made it clear where the projectile had originated, and rather than waiting to be bombarded by more, the team promptly paddled downstream into more benign waters, Ali sporting a blood soaked chin that more closely resembled a bad Halloween costume.

Shortly on, a few more hippos meant the shaken Ali needed to head for the safe confines of the bank, resurfacing again about a kilometre downstream.

These proved to be the last hippos and rock-heaving locals seen that day, but new hazards presented themselves in the form of wild rapids through jungle chutes and channels that required dodging rocks and low-hanging branches. The liquid labyrinth shot its way through dense forest, occasionally providing glimpses of the stunning hilly scenery that blessed the locale.

Ali and his bloody chin after being cleaned up.

Kelley at the helm over one of the day's rapids

Kelley and Sarahlee marooned in a tight spot

The following morning saw the first portage, carrying the rafts around another set of falls over thick muddy terrain. The safety kayakers weren’t yielding so easily, paddling the cataract, much to the delight of the local contingency that were lining the edges of the river for the best viewpoint.

It was only a few more rapids and jungle islands downstream before the town of Tis Abay. Flanking the Blue Nile Falls the tiny town came into view and soon after the team was met by the local hired help of Thomas and his entourage.

Drifting down the slower section of river just below Lake Tana. The river is lined by gently sloping hills and green pastures before collapsing violently down into sharp canyons of basaltic rock

World Water Monitoring Day Water Test II
Location: Bahir Dar lake front, Lake Tana
Dissolved Oxygen: 8PPM, 95% saturation
pH: 9
Turbidity: 40 JTU

Oct 10-Oct 20 Blue Nile Falls - Shafartak Bridge 404 kms >>

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