I thought that my previous post, earlier this morning, would be the last one I would write from Uganda. That was still my thoughts until I got half way down the last rapid this morning.
We started off running the Hump, which we both managed without a single roll. Next up was Bujagali and I was determined to master the right hand line, having got it wrong on my previous three attempts – each one with a different result; the first attempt I was too far right and ended up getting flipped and thrown onto the rocks on the bank, the second attempt I was still too far right, but not as far as the last attempt and I just hit the middle of the hole and got flipped, the third attempt I was so close to nailing the line, but instead I just clipped the edge of the hole and my deck popped. Today I watched Martyn nail the line, yet again, and then it was my turn. I actually managed to hit the line and stay upright! The day had got off to a good start. Next up was 50-50, which both Martyn and I managed to surf. The next rapid is one where we have been trying (and failing) to pull of either a Wavewheel or laterly a kick-flip as we went over the wave. Today I actually managed to nail the Kick-flip and boy did it feel good. However, I didn’t have much time to celebrate as I immediately started to see the sky as I got caught in a little whirlpool on the eddy line. I rolled up to see Martyn coming down the last part of the rapid. The penultimate rapid of our African adventure was Surf City. We both managed to get down the rapid without issue until we both found a selection of little whirlpools on the seam of a joining current which we both managed to escape from without any rolls.
The final rapid of our trip was to be Silverback. Since we first saw this rapid almost two weeks agoI have been determined to manage at least one run down it without getting flipped and/or chewed! This was to be my last opportunity. Martyn went first and I saw him hit the first wave slightly too far to the centre and was immediately flipped and thrown clear of the water into the second wave. I saw him roll up from this as I was approaching the first wave myself. The words of Ibra (our guide for the first few days) running around my head…. “brace hard right for the first wave and then immediately change to a hard left brace for the second wave…” I hit the first wave with a big brace on the right and didn’t get flipped. Before you could think I had hit the second wave and somehow had managed to change my brace to the left. I went through without getting flipped. That was the hardest part of the rapid over, with just two more smaller standing waves to get through. I looked up to see where Martyn was and saw that his boat was still upside down. I only managed to catch a glimpse of it as we were both still going up and down waves. When I next saw it a second or so later I thought I could see the red of Martyn’s helmet in the water next to the upturned boat. I lost sight of it again before I could confirm what I thought. My thought was correct…. Martyn had swam! On the last rapid of the last day of our holiday our trip became complete.
Martyn has since said to me that, only this morning, he had thought to himself how funny it was that I was going to be the only one out of the two of us that had experienced a swim in Africa. This just goes to show how dangerous thoughts like that can be!