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...

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 th...