Thursday, April 13, 2006
The How to Guide to Kayaking in Uganda
By: Dave Nieuwenhuis
Has the cold of winter got you down? Tired of scraping the ice and snow off your car, fingers frozen to the windshield (or tongue to metal), and being late for work? Sick of being tempted to lick frost? Sounds like you need a hard earned vacation from temptation! What to do – why not go to Africa? They don't even have frost.The White Nile in Uganda is quickly becoming one of the most heard of, and sought out kayaking destinations in the world...and for a good reason – this place is WICKED! Here is a quick guide to where you will need to go, and hopefully help answer some questions your loved ones may have…
Safety first:
Get your shots and a good Malaria medication. Book an appointment at the travel medicine clinic in plenty of time (a few months before hand) and bring your immunization card if you can find it. Tell them where you are going and they will hook you up with the shots you need. Have them spread them out over both arms – there is a lot of them. Depending on how well immunized you are already this can cost you some bucks, so be prepared. Yellow Fever alone (and you need a travel card for this one) is $100. The doctor there will prescribe the Malaria pills that are best for you according to your medical history and science like that.
This thing we call "Travelling":
Well, you can’t drive there! The best way to get there is to fly into Entebee - a small town about 3 hours from boating bliss. British Airways offers flights direct from London (Heathrow Airport), and it takes a cool 8 hours from there. Depending on who you book your ticket with, and family connections, expect to pay about $2000 for this one. Beachburg local legend Cindy Jamieson is the undisputed Queen of booking tickets for this trip!
Oh ya, and a Ugandan Visa, gotta have a Visa. You can get this in Canada by phoning the Ugandan Embassy and having them mail you some forms and stuff. Or if you’re in Ottawa, just drop in. Prices vary depending on length of stay and multi entry. The multi-entry 6 month is $120. Or, you can actually buy this at the airport when you get there. It is cheaper, but if you want the piece of mind, get it first and sleep easy on the plane - NOT.
Now that you got all your shots and bought a ticket, you’re signed up and ready to rip! Go to www.kayakthenile.com and arrange an airport pick-up with Jamie. He’ll set you up for a small charge, depending on how many are in your group. But if your flying solo, expect to pay a chill $80 for a 3 hour trip. It is a small price to pay for delivery to the Nile.
Once your there, I would highly recommend spending a few days at the Day 1 section (Bujigali, Silverback etc.) before heading down to the Day 2 section (home of Kalagala, Nile Special, Malalu, and the tropical island home away from home Hairy Lemon). Have your driver take you to NRE or Eden Rock. Adrift is another great choice, but it is way out of the hub. Stay at NRE if you’re a party animal, and Fraggle Rock for a more quiet stay (but a short walk to good times at NRE). Costs of living here will vary on your lifestyle. For camping and eating local goodies at Maritmer, that goes by the code name Zack Crouse, lived on 10 000 shillings a day (about 6 bucks). For a dorm room with a bed and eating some sweet meals expect to spend like 20 000 – 30 000 a day.
After scaring yourself senseless on the boda-boda’s in the mud, coming up from Silverback (3 500 shillings), or paddling for hours down to Itunda with the raft trip (10$), it may be a great time to head to the Day 2 section and some wicked play! Just a quick note here; the river has a trillion channels, and you probably don’t want to scout anything because everything in Africa is poisonous. Hire a guide from Jamie for your first rip down each section, or hook up with the least suspicious looking person that has been down before. Remember, you’re on vacation and a snake bite could bung this up big time.
Have someone at NRE or Eden Rock text message Rob on the Hairy Lemon to let him know you are coming – this is extremely important. Load up the matatu (mini-van taxi) with as many people as you can, all your stuff, a couple boxes of water from town and hit Day 2 with authority. The matatu will cost 70 000, which is for a drop off at Day 2, and a rip down to the Lemon to meet you with all your stuff. Once you get there, just go to the matatu and get your stuff, pay the driver and set up shop on the Lemon for a little slice of paradise. Camping on the Lemon will run you 20 000 a day, including three buffet style, all you can eat home cooked meals. If your into the vegetarian thing, or have any allergies, they will cater to you no problem. I’m not gonna lie, that place is NICE!
Money, money, money, mooooney!
You can use your bankcard in any big towns, like Jinja, which is a 5 000 boda trip from NRE at the Standard Charter Bank. NRE will exchange American notes (newer than the year 2000) at 1800 shillings per 1 American dollar. The Hairy Lemon will also accept American at an exchange rate or 1700.
Keeping in touch with the loved ones:
The Lemon has wireless internet capabilities if you have a lap top with that type of technology. In Jinja there are tons of Internet Café’s that are slow, but do work eventually. You can also buy a cell phone for 80 000 shillings for a base model, or splurge on the deluxe for 40 000 extra. With the cell phone, you buy MTN phone cards in set denominations. It costs somewhere just over 1 000 shillings per minute to call back to Canada.
Round, round, get around, I get around: (Ya, thanks to the Beach Boys for that one!)
Getting around is fairly cheap… here are some prices:
Lemon to NRE (about 1 hr) – boda (scooter) – 7 000
Lemon to NRE – matatu – 70 000 (up to 10 – 14 people)
Lemon to NRE – private taxi – 40 000 (up to 4 people)
Lemon to Kampala – public transport – 5 000
Lemon to Kampala – matatu – 100 000
That’s about all I remember of the prices, but the bottom line is power in numbers. If you can round up a crew, have some cash saved up, then getting around can be cheap, comfortable and stylish.
The Typical Tourist:
You have to treat yourself!If you have time and feel like taking in some sights, the markets in both Jinja and Kampala are wicked. They have everything in the markets, including knock-off anything. In Jinja, you can hit up "2 Friends" for some sweet grub. But if you’re in Kampala, the Blue Mango is the place to go – super sweet little pad. It is s little over 10 000 for a dorm room, and steak diners for 13 500. They have a pool, a pool table, Internet, oh ya, and a bar. The bar is pricey compared to NRE or the Lemon. The beer and shots at NRE and the Lemon are 2000, plus 1000 if you feel like putting some soda in your whiskey. But hey, you’re only in Africa for a short time, not a long time – let’s rip!
That’s the basics of Africa. If I have left anything important out, it is likely you will realize it when you go there. But don’t sweat it, things are super laid back and pretty easy to sort out –It just takes a while, as everyone is on "African Time". Oh ya, and bring a couple bankcards just in case the machine gets hungry.
Things to bring:
Tent
Clothes
Tooth brush/paste (and stuff like that)
Adapter kit for any plug in stuff (like nose hair trimmers)
Things to buy there:
Mosquito net
Deet
Foam mattress for sleeping
Pineapple (1000, and they are so dang good!)
So next winter if your looking for something to do that doesn’t involve having the neighbors kids throw snow balls at you, or having a car without heat, go to Africa – they don’t even need heaters!
