Hairy Lemon Kayaking and Social Weekend

The long awaited Hairy Lemon weekend is back. So get ready for the social highlight in MCU’s calendar with a big fancy dress party on Saturday night.

For the kayakers the Hairy Lemon weekend offers the great opportunity to explore a different part of the river and run some new rapids. Kayak the Nile will be offering discounted kayaking lessons for beginners to advanced kayakers. For more details and sign-up click here to sign-up.

Non-kayakers are more than welcome to join – judging from last time there were definitely more people just enjoying a chilled out weekend than kayaking.
As the Hairy Lemon is an island, it is vital that you book accommodation and please note that the usual shuttle service is not available for Hairy Lemon weekends.
Please email laurabierer@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Nile Kayaking Weekend

This MCU kayaking weekend will be on February 25-26^th in Bujagali!

Once a month MCU heads to Jinja for discounted group lessons with the stellar team at Kayak the Nile. Paddlers of all levels – including beginners – are welcome. It’s always a fun weekend out of the big city! More info take a look at Kayak the Nile and here for the MCU discounts and all-you-need-to-know on the lessons. The sign-up sheet will become available after the last month’s lesson took place – so please do not sign up yet.

Non-kayakers are more than welcome to join and enjoy a chilled out weekend with MCU. There are plenty of non-kayaking options from swimming, stand-up-paddle-boarding on the Nile, going on community walks, horseback riding and many more.

Please email laurabierer@gmail.com if you have any questions.

2017 Nile River Festival

The Nile River Festival is a four day event hosted by Kayak the Nile that makes the most of some of the biggest rapids in the world and celebrates all that is awesome about the River Nile, here in Uganda. Every year, the NRF draws some of the best athletes from around the world to compete for the overall champion title.

MCU often has a big group spectating and competing so be sure to mark your calendar!

For event updates, check the Facebook event page and event website!

Nile Kayaking Weekend

This MCU kayaking weekend will be on January 14-15^th in Bujagali!

Please email laurabierer@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Tana River Festival

The 2^nd annual Tana River Festival is taking place in Kenya. The festival aims to bring together the East African and International whitewater community for a weekend of fun, challenging competitions on Kenya’s most famous river. The festival hopes to increase the participation of Kenyans in the sport, while encouraging international paddlers to come to Kenya for trips on world-class whitewater. MCU members went out to represent and compete last year so hopefully another contingent will be head out to this epic festival in November!

Follow the festival’s Facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/kenyariverfestival/ or email kenyariverfest@gmail.com

MCU Kayak Weekend- Hairy Lemon Edition

The long awaited Hairy Lemon kayaking weekend is back!

This is definitely the social highlight of the MCU kayaking calendar with a big fancy dress party on Saturday night. Non-kayakers are more than welcome to join – judging from last time there were definitely more people just enjoying a chilled out weekend than kayaking.

For the kayakers the Hairy Lemon weekend will give you the opportunity to run some of the other rapids further down the river. Make use of this opportunity as many of these rapids will disappear once the dam is built. Beginners are more than welcome and the stellar Kayak the Nile team will be offering lessons for the total beginners to the more experienced kayakers. Take a look here for more details on the lessons and MCU discounts. The sign-up sheet will become available after the last month’s lesson took place – so please do not sign up yet.

Accommodation:

As the Hairy Lemon is an island, it is vital that you book accommodation! You might be turned away if you don’t book as they have to organise food and the non-camping options will most definitely sell out.

Transport:

As this weekend takes place at the Hairy Lemon, it will not be possible to use the shuttle option. So you’ll need to organise your own ride! Please use the Facebook group to offer or ask for a ride – as usual please make sure to chip in for petrol. It should be around 25k per person there and back in a full car. The road to the Hairy Lemon isn’t the best especially not during rainy season, so using a 4 wheel drive is advisable.

Theme: “Human Drawings in Leggins and Hats”
So get a plain T-Shirt with markers and body paint ready!!!
It’s your choice to create your own drawings or to wait till the evening and let everyone else have a go in creating a human drawing out of you.
Spice up your costume with colourful leggins, a hat or any other accessory you seem fit for your human artwork.

Please let laurabierer@gmail.com know if you have any questions.

Whitewater Kayaking Weekend

Our next MCU kayaking weekend will be on October 22-23rd in Bujagali!

Non-kayakers are more than welcome to join and enjoy a chilled out weekend wit MCU. There are plenty of non-kayaking options from swimming, stand-up-paddle-boarding on the Nile, going on community walks, horseback riding and many more. Email Laura Bierer (laurabierer@gmail.com) if you’d like to come but are not sure about other activities in Jinja.

Superholympics

Mountain Club of Uganda presents #superholympics with the support of Kayak the Nile (U) Ltd.

Superhole Olympics is a day filled with fun and crazy events in kayaks on and around Superhole Wave on the Nile River. You don’t need to be a pro kayaker to compete, this is an event for intermediate and advanced paddlers alike. No pressure just good fun. Also great for spectators with a floating bar!

Global Raft for Elephants and Rhinos

Nile River Explorers (NRE) is once again dedicating a day to conservation with the intent of selling EVERY SEAT on EVERY BOAT and giving all the proceeds of the day to the Uganda Conservation Foundation & Rhino Fund Uganda. Why are they doing it? Simply because they can!

Over the era of Idi Amin and the civil wars that followed, severe poaching across Uganda resulted in the violent demise of Northern white rhino and elephants in Uganda. Uganda went from having more mega-herbivores per square kilometer than anywhere else in Africa – with famed herds of thousands of elephants – to seeing rhinos become extinct and elephants dropping to their lowest ever population of just a few hundred. The future looked bleak for Uganda’s elephants and rhinos.

Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) is a UK registered charity (no 1087295) and Uganda non profit organization. UCF works closely with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and park-adjacent communities to develop practical solutions to conservation problems with primary objectives of recovering and reconnecting habitats, supporting anti poaching and law enforcement, mitigating human wildlife conflict and promoting conservation education and livelihoods . UCF currently have active projects in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kibale National Park and Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve, and will soon start working in Kidepo Valley National Park. Since their inception in 2001, UCF has earned a reputation for being a proactive organization who strive to make every penny, dime or shilling count, and after all the decades of war and neglect, have helped UWA generate a slow but steady growth in Uganda’s elephant population. Increased ranger patrol coverage – made possible via UCF-built ranger posts and marine ranger stations – and improved law enforcement has resulted in a reduction in snares and increased conviction rates of 97%. If UWA and UCF can successfully protect conservation areas, Uganda’s elephant population could go on to triple in the next ten years, with their recovery also benefitting many other species.

Rhino Fund Uganda was established in 1997 with the ultimate goal of reintroducing the rhino back into back into the National Parks of Uganda through a breeding and release program. Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) is responsible for raising adequate funds and gaining international recognition for the upkeep of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary at Nakitoma, 170km north of Kampala, as an interim step towards the reintroduction of the rhinos into protected areas. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary strives to protect the rhinos through community education and tourism while at the same time providing a safe sanctuary for rhinos to live and breed.

A security force of 80 Rangers of which many are armed, patrols the fence, guard the gates, and monitor the rhinos 24 hours per day. The sanctuary is not only home to the rhinos but also to approximately 20 other species of wildlife as well as 300 different bird species highlighting Uganda’s unique biodiversity and emphasizing the importance of conserving it. The conservation effort is proving successful as we see the numbers of wildlife growing within the sanctuary and particularly the rhinos. A total of 9 births (June 2009 and April 2014) make Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary one of the most successful breeding programs of rhinos in the world.

All of these efforts to conserve the wildlife of Uganda have to be funded. Building a new ranger post to help recover a key elephant habitat costs circa US $40,000; training and equipping an anti-poaching ranger patrol costs $5,000; a security force of 80 Rangers of which many are armed, patrols the fence, guard the gates, and monitor the rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary 24 hours per day. These initiatives may cost money – but they are working. Uganda’s elephant numbers have increased by 600% since their lowest point in the mid-1990s, and we are the only country in Africa who can claim zero poaching of rhino since their reintroduction in 2005 / 2006

It’s not too late for Uganda to return to having the famed herds it once had! And it begins with You!

FIRST – Please join us for the 2016 global march and raft right here on the White Nile. If you cannot join us on the day why not sponsor a UWA or RFU Ranger to take you place. All profits from the day will go directly to Uganda Conservation Foundation & Rhino Fund Uganda.

SECOND – Educate yourself and share the knowledge. Get everyone you know involved. Send this event invitation to ALL of your Facebook friends. Also share this event by posting it on your Facebook walls as much as you can. And don’t forget to LIKE the Nile River Explorers, Uganda Conservation Foundation and Rhino Fund Uganda Facebook pages to stay up to date on all their news.

FINALLY – Stay tuned for details as they develop closer to September 24th. Thank you so much!

PLEASE JOIN US AND HELP MAKE THIS BIG! ONLY IN NUMBERS WILL OUR VOICE BE HEARD!

Questions? Email us here:
leslie@raftafrica.com
emmanuel.aupal@ugandacf.org
angie@rhinofund.org

Find out more about UCF & RFU:
www.ugandacf.org
www.rhinofund.org

Like Us On FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/NileRiverExplorers
www.facebook.com/UgandaConservationFoundationUCF

Two days rafting on the Nile

Day one: Overtime rapid to the Naluable camp, stopping for a few hours at Superhole. For the non-kayakers we bring river boards and get everyone surfing – then we have lunch there. We pull into the camp around 4pm have some nice snacks, set up camp and have a big BBQ. After the BBQ we usually have a fines meeting to get everyone in the spirit then the local women group come and sing and dance for us around the fire. Lots of beers included.

Day two: big fry up then on the water for about 10am – stop at Nile Special rapid then have lunch either there or floating down to Malalu – finish the day surfing at Malalu then take out.

Food, drinks, tents, transport (including Kampala shuttle) will all be included $210 for rafters (usually $255).

Kayakers are welcome to paddle with the trip but must be signed off by Kayak the Nile. For those that can kayak independently the cost is $65 for food, beers, shuttle… and for the kayakers that are not yet comfortable enough to do a river run on their own, but have done 5 or more lessons with KTN, KTN offers a lesson on the first day along the rafting trip and then you’d join in with the rest of the rafters on the 2nd day. To kayak as a lesson with KTN it will cost $225.