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AFloat Adventures

Vanessa Sardinas
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Rafting Adventures

Donald

donaldDonald is the entrance rapid to Bujagali Falls and throws a tricky challenge to all rafters.  At the entrance to Donald, the river rapidly gains momentum and drags rafts towards The Thing, a huge, spectacular Grade 6 rapid mid-stream above Bujagali Falls.  A large flow of water rushes headlong into a mid-river island and the boats need to work hard to avoid being swept into this island.  A good line in this rapid is not terribly exciting but a mistake here can be very dangerous.  The rapid was originally called Donald Duck until AFloat removed the hefty branch of a low overhanging tree under which the rafts were forced to run.  Everyone onboard needed to duck their whole body to avoid a painful, high speed, encounter with the branch at head height.

Bujagali Falls

bujagaliThis is the best known of the major rapids on the Nile simply because it is the most accessible. The hydro-power project which will soon drown this rapid takes it’s name from this spectacular set of cascades which is the home to friendly witchdoctor Jaja Budhagali.  Like all rapids on the this section of the Nile, large forest-covered islands divide the river into channels and the Eastern channel offers the safest rafting lines.  At high flows, the AFloat boats hug river-right (the right-hand side of the river as you face downstream) and drop dramatically into a large breaking wave at the bottom of a fast moving ramp of water.  Hundreds of people regularly gather here to watch the rafts in action.  At low flows, river-left offers a dramatic, near vertical drop down the ten shilling tight-rope.

Easy Rider

easyAs the name suggests, this is a classic roller coaster ride where the rafts race down a slick tongue of water then explode over a series of large crashing waves.  As with all Nile rapids, the grading is deceptive and the rapid is surprisingly large but offers a wonderful ride.  Most of the river races right of a single mid-stream island and the AFloat rafts enter the rapid on the river left of this channel.

Total Gunga

gungaUntil August 2007; this was one of the world’s legendary rapids (Grade 5).  Home to the G-spot (a huge breaking wave notorious for surfing rafts) and a series of massive standing waves, crashing holes and a maelstrom of whitewater; this rapid leaves a lasting impression on all rafters and in particulars on guides who have worked on the Nile.  We take our hat off to what was one of the best rapids the AFloat crew have ever rafted.  As a result of the coffer dam blocking the river-left channel around Dumbell Island, Total Gunga has now all but disappeared forever and will remain submerged behind the Bujagali Dam which is due to be completed in 2011.  ‘Gunga’ is a New Zealand slang term roughly translating to mean ‘down the guts’.

Big Brother and Silverback

bigbrotherThis rapid got it’s name from Zambezi River.  Silverback is the massive, hard hitting fourth wave in the this series of towering Nile waves.  Since the coffer dam was created in August 2007, Big Brother is now carrying over twice the volume of what is would naturally and is HUGE and POWERFUL.

 

 

 

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Adventure Menu

  • Family Floatsrapids
  • Extreme Rafting/River Surfing
  • Full/Half Day Whitewater Rafting
  • 1-Day/2-Day Family Rafting
  • 2-Day Rafting/River Surfing
  • Wild Nile Jet
  • Team Building
  • Nile High Bungee

To read an article about Uganda's rafting adventures visit:

New York Times 

 

 

 
 

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