The Shifting Sands

The Nile was full of life, fishing, dredging and transporting all manner of things Last year Nors, a friend from Australia, dropped in on her way to Uganda for some kayaking on the Nile.  We went out and hit the white water park at Al Ain as a warm up for her before she caught an onward flight. Nors had a great time and  recommended that I should try to get to Jinja in Uganda to paddle the remaining sections before it further sections of the river were dammed. Warming up on day 1 and familiarizing ourselves to small boats and large boil lines The Nile had enjoyed a period in the late 2000's when massive numbers of kayakers congregated at Jinja to test themselves on the the hard, big volume rapids. The construction of a second dam on the river flooded a number of famous rapids and reduced the attraction.  Now a third dam which is under construction will flood much of what remains. A load of cooking charcoal and old bikes being moved ac

I am on the Board of a Company based in Johannesburg so I travel to Jo'burg for meetings a few times each year.   Kate and I had discussed Ada and her tagging along for a long weekend trip to a Game Park but we were waiting for the opportunity. The opportunity presented in the form of Student led Parent/Teacher meetings which meant that the last two days of the school week were effectively days off. We decided to go but we were a little frustrated trying to get flights, accommodation and choosing a park.  Kruger park was the most famous but was a five to six hour drive from Jo'burg and the flights didn’t really allow use to maximise time in the parks looking at animals.  As a result we focused on the Pilanesberg Park which, with good traffic, was a two and a half hour drive. Our usual channels to find accommodation showing that the lodges in the Pilanesberg were full, due in the main to Indian school holidays, and the Lodge websites did