by Levison Wood
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Caput Nili Quaerere was an Ancient Roman metaphor that translates into ‘to Search for the source of the Nile’. It was applied to anything that was deemed unsolvable, mad or impossible. I think that the same could be said for trying to acknowledge all of the individuals that helped me along the way.
For the outside observer it would be easy to imagine that one man’s pedestrian journey is simply a lone walk into the wilderness. Nothing could be further from the truth. There simply isn’t enough space here to give personal thanks to all those kind hosts that I met along the Nile who housed me in the villages and fed me, despite in many cases not having enough food for themselves. And of course there is the team, friends and family that supported me behind the scenes, and without whose constant backing I wouldn’t have even been able to set off in the first place.
Personal thanks, however, must go, in no particular order, to the following people:
Ndoole Boston, Moez Mahir and Mahmoud ‘Turbo’ Ezzeldin, who were so much more than guides, they became my eyes and ears into the places I passed through and ultimately friends for life. The team at October Films, especially Adam Bullmore, Matt Robins and Martin Long, who made my dream into a reality, and, of course, Jamie Berry and Neil Bonner, whose directorship and creative genius somehow not just created thousands of hours of footage, but turned that into a watchable television series. Tom McShane, whose leadership and logistics in the field made the expedition as smooth as it could be. He takes amazing photographs, too. There simply wasn’t enough space in this book to include all the adventures we had as a team and reluctantly, I had to exclude the many stories we shared, but the reader must be aware that for several weeks along the way, I was joined by these three gentlemen who not only kept me company but kept me sane, too.
I am indebted to Tom Bodkin, whose patience and resolve as a business partner and friend has enabled Secret Compass to grow into the most exciting adventure travel company in the business; Group M and Animal Planet must be thanked for their financial assistance, and Channel 4 – in Particular John Hay – for believing in the project in the first place. For the entire team at Simon & Schuster, especially Abigail Bergstrom. Mike Jones, who gave the book its impetus, and the team at Campbell Bell Communications who provided PR assistance. Thanks also to the several sponsors who gave financial and material support: Chivas Regal whisky, Country Attire, Bremont watches, Berghaus outdoor gear, RailRiders clothing, Know Malaria, Nomad travel and Secret Compass. I must also make mention and thanks to the charities with whom I partnered and chose to support for their reciprocal help along the way: Tusk Trust, Space for Giants, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, and the AMECA trust.
Special thanks indeed must go to those friends who used up valuable leave to visit me and walk for parts of the journey, especially Will Charlton, Ash Bhardwaj, who wrote several articles about the expedition; Jason Florio, who was with me in Uganda for the most tragic episode; John Copeland and Susie Cain. Enormous thanks, too, of course, for those individuals who let me stay on sofas and floors and for those who gave me moral encouragement in the months and years building up to, during, and after the expedition; Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ed Stafford, Bear Grylls, Michael Asher, Tim Butcher, Shane Winser, David Higgins, Maegan Tillock, Pete Wright, Chris Mahoney, Ibrahim Morgan, Dennis Kakande, Simon Clarke, Kara Blackmore, Charlie Bell, Emma Challinor, Wamale Siraje, Andy Belcher, Michael Woodward, Kate Page, Pete Meredith, Col. Andrew Seguye, Briony Turner, Ruthie Markus, Charlie Mayhew, Mary-Jane Attwood, Midhat and Mazar Mahir, Abdallah Houmouda, the team at the MSSG and the late Alex Coutselous. Thanks to Ceci Alonzo, who was a pillar of support for so long, and of course, Pete and my parents, who never doubted that I’d complete the journey, even when I did.
Finally, I thank Rob Dinsdale for his skill in helping me turn a jumble of memories and scribbles into an actual book and, of course, my agents Jo Cantello and Ben Mason for their unwavering drive and mentorship throughout.
INDEX
Abu Simbel temples, ref1
Acholi, ref1
Acropole Hotel, ref1, ref2
Adjumani, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
African Queen, The, ref1
Ahmad (camel handler), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7 passim
departure of, ref1
request of, to go home, ref1
saddle-sore, ref1
Ahmad, Muhammad (Mahdi), ref1
Ahmadiyya Central Mosque, ref1
AIDS, ref1
first reported case of, ref1
Ajai Wildlife Reserve, ref1
Al-Kush, ref1
Al Zabaleen (Garbage City), ref1
Alexander the Great, ref1, ref2
Alexandria, ref1
Allam, Andrew Ray, ref1 passim, ref1
Boston distrusts, ref1
and Sudanese secret police, ref1
Alur, ref1
Amani (guide):
Boston’s friction with, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
on Genocide Memorial Centre, ref1
at Gisovu Prison, ref1
and Nile’s source, ref1
nominates self as expedition leader, ref1
and Rwandan genocide, ref1
Tutsi ethnicity of, ref1
Amin, Idi, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Amun, ref1
and Bayuda Desert, see Bayuda Desert
Anti-Dams Coalition, ref1
Ariike (protection ), ref1, ref2
Arua, ref1, ref2
Asher, Michael, ref1
Aswan, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
author’s confrontation with officials in, ref1
Elephantine Island, ref1
quarry at, ref1
return to, ref1
Aswan High Dam, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Atbarah, ref1
Awad (camel handler), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7 passim
departure of, ref1
request of, to go home, ref1
saddle-sore, ref1
Ayod, ref1
Baghdad, fall of, ref1
Baker, Florence, ref1, ref2, ref3
Baker, Samuel, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
birth of, ref1
and Murchison Falls, ref1
queen shuns, ref1
and slave trade, ref1
Bala (camel market overseer), ref1, ref2, ref3
Banyarwanda, ref1
Bashir, Omar al-, ref1, ref2
Batwa, ref1, ref2
Bayuda Desert, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
haboob in, ref1
thunderstorm in, ref1
volcanoes in, ref1
water found in, ref1
Bedouin, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
ancient tomb of, ref1
see also Ahmad; Awad
Bedouin Lodge, ref1, ref2, ref3
Belcher, Andy, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bentiu, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bhardwaj, Ash, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4 passim, ref1
author’s gifts to, ref1
departure of, ref1
last night of, ref1
Blue Nile, ref1, ref2, ref3
see also Nile
Bodkin, Tom, ref1
Bogart, Humphry, ref1
Bor, ref1, ref2, ref3
Boston, Aurore, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Boston, Jezu Adonis, ref1, ref2, ref3
Boston, Lily, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Boston, Ndoole:
on African languages, ref1
on AIDS, ref1, ref2
Allam distrusted by, ref1
Amani’s friction with, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
author misses, ref1
author’s parting from, ref1
back in Kampala, ref1
Congo fled by, ref1
and crocodile encounter, ref1
on education, ref1
and equator crossing, ref1
and escaped goat, ref1
on fears of Tanzani
an porters, ref1
jack of all trades, ref1
at Kampala home of, ref1
and Kigali crocodile, ref1, ref2, ref3
on leadership, ref1
at Mama Fina’s, ref1
Martin’s religious conversations with, ref1, ref2
militia life of, ref1
and mission’s practicalities, ref1
and Nile’s source, ref1
old photographs of, ref1
outspoken nature of, ref1
and Power’s death, ref1
and Power’s hyperthermia attack, ref1, ref2
recommended as a guide, ref1
request of, to walk entire Nile, ref1
royal ancestry of, ref1, ref2
and Sudanese secret police, ref1
takes over leadership of group, ref1
on Tanzanians, ref1
Uganda’s praises sung by, ref1
Boston, Penny, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bunyoro, ref1, ref2, ref3
Burton (camel), ref1, ref2
on finding water, ref1
and need for water, ref1
Burton, Richard, ref1
camel named after, ref1
and 1864 Nile debate, ref1
in Somalia, ref1
and Speke’s death, ref1
and Speke’s source-of-Nile claim, ref1, ref2
Buwama, ref1
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, ref1
Cairo, ref1, ref2
Al Zabaleen (Garbage City), ref1
author’s welcome in, ref1
Christian ghetto of, ref1
modern-day incarnation of, ref1
Mokattam, ref1
Pyramids, ref1, ref2
Rabaa Massacre in, ref1
Sphinx in, ref1, ref2
Tahrir Square in, ref1
Zamalek, ref1
camels, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
author’s purchase of, ref1
on finding water, ref1
and need for water, ref1
cannibalism, ref1
Casson, John, ref1
Charles (ranger), ref1
and Power’s hyperthermia attack, ref1
Charlton, Will, ref1, ref2, ref3
passim, ref1 passim, ref1
author’s gifts to, ref1
departure of, ref1
last night of, ref1
Christmas, ref1, ref2, ref3
Churchill, Winston, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Cleopatra, Queen, ref1
Commanda (Ugandan biker), ref1
Commander Dan, ref1
Coptic Christians, ref1, ref2
coral, ref1
Dabuka, ref1
Dan, Commander, ref1
Darfur, ref1
Democratic Republic of Congo, ref1, ref2, ref3
education in, ref1
Ituri Forest, ref1
‘tree fish’ (snakes) in, ref1
Dinka, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Discover Rwanda, ref1
Dongola, ref1
Eastern Sahara, ref1
Egypt:
Abu Simbel temples in, ref1
Al-Kush, ref1
Alexandria, ref1, ref2
Aswan, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
author’s confrontation with officials in, ref1
Elephantine Island, ref1
quarry at, ref1
return to, ref1
Aswan High Dam, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
author’s arrest in, ref1, ref2
Cairo, ref1, ref2
Al Zabaleen (Garbage City), ref1
author’s welcome in, ref1
Christian ghetto of, ref1
modern-day incarnation of, ref1
Mokattam, ref1
Pyramids, ref1, ref2
Rabaa Massacre in, ref1
Sphinx in, ref1, ref2
Tahrir Square in, ref1
Zamalek, ref1
Christian churches burnt down in, ref1
Coptic Christians in, ref1, ref2
dwindling tourism in, ref1, ref2
England at war with (1882), ref1
Hatshepsut Temple, ref1
Islamic conquest of, ref1
Kom Ombo, ref1
mosque in, ref1
Luxor, ref1, ref2
massacre in, ref1
Temple of, ref1
Memphis, temple at, ref1
and Muslim Brotherhood, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
as part of Roman Empire, ref1
and pyramids, Meroe’s compared with, ref1, ref2
Rashid, ref1
Rashid/Rosetta, ref1, ref2
Red Sea resorts, ref1
revolutions in: 2011, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4 2013, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and smuggling, ref1, ref2
Sudan incorporated into, ref1
Thebes, ref1
Valley of the Kings, ref1
violence against tourists in, ref1
virtual police state, ref1
El-Mahdy, Tarek, ref1
Eldamaty, Mamdouh, ref1
Elephantine Island, ref1
Elizabeth, Queen Mother, ref1
Emmanuel (porter), ref1, ref2, ref3
police rob, ref1
Entebbe, ref1
equator, crossing of, ref1
Ethiopia, and second Sudanese Civil War, ref1
Ezzeldin, Mahmoud ‘Turbo’, ref1, ref2 passim, ref1, ref2, ref3
Ferlini, Giuseppe, ref1
Florence (monkey), ref1
see also monkeys: vervets
Florio, Jason, ref1 passim, ref1 passim, ref1
Fountain of the Four Rivers, ref1
Francis (ranger), ref1, ref2, ref3
Gangsta (Ugandan biker), ref1
Garang (soldier), ref1
Garang de Mabior, John, ref1
Genocide Memorial Centre, Rwanda, ref1
Geoffrey (Kiga village chief), ref1, ref2, ref3
George (porter), ref1, ref2
Gisovu, ref1
prison in, ref1
Gladstone, William, ref1
Gordon (camel), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
on finding water, ref1
and need for water, ref1
Gordon, Gen. Charles, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Grant, James Augustus, ref1
Green Hills of Africa (Hemingway), ref1
haboob, ref1
Hamed (chef), ref1
Hatshepsut Temple, ref1
Hemingway, Ernest, ref1, ref2, ref3
Hepburn, Katherine, ref1
hippos, dangers of, ref1
HIV and AIDS, first reported case of, ref1
Hotel Le Bougainviller, ref1
Hutus, and Rwandan genocide, see Rwanda: genocide in
Ibrahim, Meriam, ref1
Ibrahim (tour guide), ref1, ref2
International Criminal Court, ref1, ref2
Iraq, and fall of Baghdad, ref1
Ituri Forest, ref1
James (in Kiga), ref1, ref2
Jebel, ref1
Jebel Barkal mountain, ref1
Jinja, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Ripon Falls, ref1, ref2, ref3
John (protection ), ref1, ref2
Johnson, Hilde, ref1
Juba, ref1, ref2, ref3
arrest in, ref1
Bedouin Lodge, ref1, ref2, ref3
conflict in, ref1
Jebel, ref1
Rafaj Hill, ref1
Julius (porter), ref1, ref2, ref3
Kabaka Yekka, ref1
Kabalega, King, ref1
Kabarega Falls, see Murchison Falls National Park
Kabila, Laurent-Désiré, ref1
Kadabas, ref1
Kagera region, ref1
Kagera river, ref1, ref2, ref3
Kakwa, ref1, ref2
Kamaagagi, Dr, ref1
Kampala:
Ahmadiyya Central Mosque, ref1
AIDS reaches, ref1
arrival in, ref1
description of, ref1
/> ethnic and cultural mix in, ref1
Hotel Le Bougainviller, ref1
Nakasero Market in, ref1
Owino market in, ref1
urban sprawl of, ref1
Kandt, Dr Richard, ref1, ref2
Karima, ref1
Karuma, ref1
Kasansero, ref1, ref2
and AIDS, ref1, ref2
Kazungu, ref1, ref2
Kenya, independence movement in, ref1
Kerma, ref1
Kerreri, ref1
Khartoum, ref1, ref2
Acropole Hotel in, ref1, ref2
cultural diversity in, ref1
modern nature of, ref1
origins of, ref1
siege of, ref1, ref2, ref3
and slave trade, ref1
Kiga, ref1
Kigali, ref1, ref2 passim
boom-town status of, ref1
as centre of genocide, ref1, ref2
Kandt founds, ref1
Natural History Museum in, ref1
Kiir Mayardit, Salva, ref1, ref2
Kimisi Game Reserve, ref1
Kitchener, Lord, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Kom Ombo, ref1
mosque in, ref1
Kony, Joseph, ref1
Korti, ref1
Kosti, ref1
Kush, Kingdom of, ref1, ref2
Lake Albert, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Heritage Lodge, ref1, ref2
and seismic testing, ref1
Lake Bisongu, ref1
Lake Gashanga, ref1
Lake Kidogo, ref1
Lake Kyoga, ref1, ref2
Lake Miravi, ref1
Lake Mugesera, ref1
Lake Nasser, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
rules concerning, ref1
Lake Nubia, ref1, ref2, ref3
Lake Rumira, ref1
Lake Sake, ref1
Lake Superior, ref1
Lake Tana, ref1
