Sunset Cruise on the Nile... Jinja day 1

This weekend we decided to get out of Kampala properly in order to see some more of the country and the attractions it has to offer. A logic first choice, being based in Kampala, then is Jinja. Jinja was (don’t think it still is) Uganda’s second biggest city and an important settlement during the colonial era, especially after a hydroelectric dam was built that now provides a large part of Uganda’s electricity. But Jinja is mainly known for… the Nile! It were British explorers John Hanning Speke in 1858 and Henry Morton Stanley in 1875 who claimed and confirmed to have observed the most distant source of the Nile (as they rightfully say here, they didn’t ‘discover’ the source, the indigenous communities of course were around for much longer). Though it’s not the only source of the Nile, it’s one and it makes jinja popular among tourists. The town itself is quite, in terms of traffic almost a ghost town compared to Kampala, and the town center has lots of hotels and tourist shops.

Anna and I booked a trip with Nile River Explorers (NRE) to do a sunset cruise on the Nile and go whitewater rafting. Rafting on the Nile in Uganda is promoted as the best spot for rafting in East or even all of Africa, and thus we wanted to try it for ourselves. As part of the deal (which included a lot!) we got picked up in Kampala at one of the big malls at 07.00 in the morning (we got to the mall by bodaboda, fortunately traffic in that early isn’t too bad) and were driven together with others to Jinja. In a sense a new experience for us: we’d never been surrounded by that many mzungu’s (‘white people’) before since we arrived here! With only one small and one bigger accident on the way we arrived in Jinja after 2.5 hours driving (Jinja is about 80-90 km east of Kampala). We had a quick stop at the NRE place before we got dropped in Jinja where we were going to spend the afternoon. Although we left Kampala with rain and thunder we got a sunny afternoon in Jinja that we spent walking through the city center strolling from souvenir shop to souvenir shop, buying some gifts and souvenirs and having lunch. Around 15.00 we headed back by bodaboda to NRE where we waited to be picked up to be brought to the Nile River Camp (or something along those lines…). Here the cruise departed and we would spend the night in a dormitory (4 beds per room).

Soon after arriving it was time for the cruise, which departed at 17.00. We got good seats at the front of this double-decker boat and thus had first class view over the stunning nature of the Nile. On board (and included) were an open bar and a BBQ, and shortly after departure we were all sipping a drink and having some starters while the first meat was put on the grill. It was exactly what Anna and I hoped to find for the weekend, ultimate relaxing, fresh air, an utmost peaceful environment and on top of all (who would have thought when we left rainy Kampala) a great sunset over the Nile. We sat next to a lovely lady from New Zealand, second generation South-African with German and Irish roots, who not only taught us some bits about the various birds we saw along the way but also was a fantastic conversation partner throughout the cruise and at least another hour after we arrived back. She told us about her life and travels, about raising kids, about hunting down adventure while you can, and many, many more things. After we split we enjoyed another drink at the bar where we ended up talking to an American guy (I think volunteering somewhere) and a Dutch guy (backpacking). We both enjoyed the opportunity of a warm shower (our first warm shower in a month!) before going to bed and ending our first day in Jinja.

(more photos below!)