PADDLER 96
Words : Cory Jones . Photos : Cory Jones & Mandy E Rush
“ Do you want to paddle a tributary to the Nile ?” Well , there was no need for discussion ; I simply said , “ Yes , please !”
PADDLER 96
Paddling the Upper Nile
RWANDA
Words : Cory Jones . Photos : Cory Jones & Mandy E Rush
“ Do you want to paddle a tributary to the Nile ?” Well , there was no need for discussion ; I simply said , “ Yes , please !”
In January and February 2024 , I worked with adventure guides in East Africa , delivering Outdoor First Aid courses . Many of these guides have Paddle UK qualifications , and this training is essential to achieving their UK awards . This is part of a project that has been ongoing for eight years , and we have now developed a team of first-aid instructors in Kenya and Rwanda who can run first-aid training for other guides and community members at the same standards we use in the UK .
On this trip , I was invited to run first aid courses in Rwanda and ended up both canoeing and rafting on the Mukungwa River , one of the Niles tributaries . While preparing for this trip , I had not thought much about paddling in Rwanda . The images of Rwanda you tend to conjure up when it is mentioned are of Dian Fossey and the mountain gorillas or things about UK immigration policy . One of the nicest things about my paddling experience in Rwanda was working with and learning from some world-class Kenyan and Ugandan kayak and raft guides .
TRIBUTARIES TO THE NILE
The Nile is the longest river in Africa , with a catchment of ten countries , including Rwanda . Many of the rivers rising in Rwanda flow into Lake Victoria , forming tributaries for the Nile . The White Nile begins as the outflow of Lake Victoria in Tanzania and then flows north until it meets the Blue Nile in Sudan .
I ended up working in the north of Rwanda in the regional capital of Musanze . This is the base for most tourists in the country as it is the gateway to the Volcanoes National Park , home of the endangered mountain gorillas within the Virunga Mountains . The Mukungwa River near Musanze is a tributary of the Nyawarongo River that flows into Lake Victoria . The average annual rainfall for the area is slightly above 1,315 mm / annum , so it should be great for paddling !