The tubing team before embarking for the activity ( Photo / Marvin Mugerwa)
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JINJA – When you get to travel more and more , you get to  realize  how  gorgeous  and beautiful our country is gifted by the Almighty Creator.

I have been to Jinja several times but I not  have exhausted most the major known activities like many of my friends and colleagues out there yet I travel often.

This brings to my understanding that there is a lot we  have not experienced that is just below our nose and yet people from far and wide  come and savour this undeniable awesome beauty in the Pearl of Africa.

To break the stereotype like the rest, with a group of travel enthusiasts, nature lovers not forgetting daring chaps, we embarked on marine activities after a 

tourism training on trends, achievements , marketing and communication among others with a partnership from the Ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities.

With  Marine tourism and its activities in Uganda,  you can not skip  Jinja and indeed it was the perfect destination for our escapade.

We hit the road to the Bungee Jumping and Tubing Uganda center near Nile Resort about 30 minutes drive from Jinja town and no sooner had we reached than it stopped  raining thus creating the right mood and vibe for our adventure.

For my case,  I had planned to chill and relax at  River Nile and  tubing was my  piece of cake for that day and my attire was all in check. We did not do the tubing straight away because there were other people and also decided to  spend  some time cheering those  who  had decided to take a ” leap of faith” through  bungee jumping and most of the them where whites except the team we  came with,  which indicates that we need more domestic tourists on board though the number  has increased of late especially after the pandemic.

Descending down to the river banks for tubing ( Photo / Marvin Mugerwa)

BRIEFING.

As the luganda adage says ” Enyanja temanyi  muzira ” literally meaning, one should take caution on water regardless of their swimming prowess. We were informed that there were no water animals  on the  river banks like;  Crocodiles, Hippopotamuses, or others which guarantees one’s safety,  remove all metal items and have  all  right attire for the moment and be comfortable since we came to have a blast,  given  life jackets suited for our sizes and of course the  inflated tubes.

Our Kayaking skipper advised us to have vibe since  we were  there to have fun and immediately , we switched to the right moods with chants like ” Tubing Paka Misiri ” meaning we shall tube until we reach  Egypt which was not possible.

After that, we  had some “Kodak” moments as memoirs for us being there and not  be like any ordinary Ugandans  who have  never been there yet these things are very affordable and mind relaxing.

Setting off from with a couple of friends ( Photo / Marvin Mugerwa)

TUBING EXPERIENCE

We descended down to the river banks and got into our tubes  that were tied together in groups of  8  with pylon threads and our  kayaking skipper  started on.

 My team was the most vibrant and we made sure it was mixed with both ” babes” and ” dudes” so as  to have that perfect match  for fun.We  went  in  free style and it was upon us  to make it happen with our crew.  To set the ball rolling, I started flapping my feet so hard in the water so that it could spill  on the rest  and later every one   jumped on and it became a wave. For those that were not ready in the mix, I splashed water  unto their bodies they reciprocated which became part of the game.

While floating on the tubes, you can see the green lush environment and some natural  rocky caves  on the river banks and get to appreciate how River Nile  is another Wonder for tourism  that is not highly tapped in UGANDA yet it  has  a lot of potential.

I was in the middle of the group, we joked and made some banter with  each other as we  floated and some times you  forget that you are on water.

There was another team,  that was scared of the experience and decided to enjoy on on their  boat and  the other  one had  our photographer Marvin Mugerwa who captured  every detail and action  of the fun.

The sail was so smooth  and if possible,  one could have a  an interrupted meal  with their loved one all the way but unfortunately, we did not plan for it.

We stretched farther and  this time, the skippers commenced with the acrobatics stunts in the water,  flung , plunged and many other styles  which was a testament that they had mastered their prowess and had talent. 

SWIMMING IN THE NILE.

We did the tubing for about 50 minutes and we reached  a point were  our skippers asked  for those who could swim in  the Nile, to my surprise even those who could not do the same in the swimming pool  had the opportunity because they had life jackets that could allow them float and pretended to do it as if  were fish in water, and our company as group gave them confidence and  the  morale  was there in plenty.  It is  usually hard to swim in the Nile because the water is always fast moving but at this point it was not the case.  Some of my buddies had a chance to play in the water because they felt safe and this was  another activity of it own.

A female friend  held  her hands on the skipper’s boat which was also interesting and fun way as a style of swimming but not breast stroke or those common ones 

As the rest were enjoying,  there was a one Peter, who decided to stick in the tube claiming he does not know how to swim and fears that much yet he had gone for Bungee Jumping which is such  an irony.

They swam to some point and reached to an extend  where the water was not favourable for swimming probably because it was moving  faster and faster.

At this point, they were advised to get back to the tubes but due to inexperience, they fidgeted to get back.

For some, the  fear started to  surface in their faces which was uncalled for.

They got back and we continued with our sail until we  reached the docking part where we found school kids who admired us since they had come for a tour.

The beautiful caves at the river banks ( Photo / Marvin Mugerwa)

OTHER ACTIVITIES

With Tubing  alone, there are three categories which include;

– Flat Tubing; Which is usually done on calm water which not rough and this can be done by  most people even the children.

– White Tubing;  This is fairly rough and one needs to be brave because they  will have hard sail on the water and definitely   have those interfaces with the rapids.

– Extreme Tubing;  This is indeed rough and one will have those hard rapids and falls while in the tubes and it needs some one who is brave and enjoys that adrenaline adventure. 

The prices for all three are  slightly different and they are worth that try while on the Nile.

– White Water Rafting – This is also another fun-filled activity that is cool for adventurous people who always love trying out new things.

-Bungee Jumping  – This is one of those adrenaline activity that requires one to kill their fears before the encounter other wise, they might shy away from it when they reach the plunging spot. One can jump about 110m from the top to the bottom and either kiss the Nile or swing like a pendulum bob.

– Kayaking and Boat Rides – Kayaking is a fairly single activity because of the nature and its  those ones that bring out rowling and water balancing skills and the boat rides are easy for all  categories of people.

Besides, water activities one can do;  horseback  riding ,  Quad Biking and many others .