Low water with no hope of higher water levels in the near future convinced us that it was a good idea to come home early. Before we left there were a few things we had to do first. We had been playing an excessive amount of water volley ball, in the court at the Harry Lemon, and were planning a tournament since our first game. Steve Fishers birthday was getting close and the Island was fully booked for the day, a perfect time to go through with our plan. We called it the Waragi Cup.

Waragi is the local Jin in Uganda. It’s also the nastiest stuff you could ever put in your body and a great thing to drink if you want a really, really bad hang over the next morning. The prize for the winning team was a bottle of Waragi with a crappy tin we bought in the market bolted to the top with “Waragi Cup” engraved (scratched in with a rock) on it. The team that came in second place had to buy the bottle of Waragi and any necessary mix for the winning team. The winning team had to finish the bottle of Waragi before leaving the court.

Eight teams signed up for the largest volleyball tournament in Ugandan history. Each player had to qualify for the tournament by completing the minimum requirement of drinking two beers. It was a nail bitter. 40 kayak bums and raft guides that were terrible at volley ball battled it out for the honours and their name on the cup. Referees Ben Marr and Dave Nieuwenhuis took the court in plaid Speedo’s and house coats to make sure a fair game was played. Not so sure that they were in the condition to ref a fair game, Ben looking for a beer with two full ones sticking out of his front pockets and Dave constantly shouting “That’s how you play Volley Ball!”, but they did it anyway. When all was said and done Fisher’s team ended up winning. They drank the Waragi without mix before they were off the court and everyone was pissed before 3:00. Dave yelled “The Waragi Cup has been won for about an hour” then wrestled with Steve and Ben for another.

Day Two Begins

Anyway since the water was so low we spent some time doing the day one and two sections and found a new wave on the Ugly Sisters rapid. The wave was a great find as it allowed any of the aerial wave moves although you had to work harder for some than others. The rapids on the Nile are big safe and fairly easy for any level of paddler. At the same time there is stuff to challenge all levels of paddlers and stuff that will scare anyone. I had a great time in Uganda and will defiantly return some day…I’ll just make sure the water is high!

Ugly Sisters

Special thanks to Jon Best for giving us a place to stay on our over night in London on the way home and to Ben Marr and Zac Crouse for taking the great pictures!