Walking The Nile Update: 400 Miles Missed Due to Conflict in South Sudan

Yesterday I posted an update on the Walking the Nile expedition, in which I shared the news that explorer Levison Wood saw his trek along the length of the Nile River disrupted by the ongoing conflict that is taking place in the South Sudan. Since posting that note, the interruption to the expedition has been confirmed, both on the Channel 4 website and the expedition's Facebook page. 

In a statement posted yesterday, Lev confirms that he trekked as far north as Bor, in South Sudan, where he came face-to-face with the conflict there. His description of the place is difficult to read, as it is clear that the civil war is taking its toll on the region. Lev shares his experiences in Bor, which he describes as a "warzone" that includes bombed out buildings, destroyed tanks, and mass graves. It is a sad report to read to say the least.

At the end of the report Wood writes:

"Whilst I won’t be able to walk this stretch of the Nile I will carry on with the expedition on the other side of the warzone - 400 miles to the north, and one day, in more peaceful times, come back and fill in the gap. 

I’m obviously very disappointed but it’s the right decision for many reasons and ultimately out of my hands. I only wish now for peace in South Sudan and hope that people can get on with their lives."

Clearly it was the right decision for Lev to skip over this section, as it is an incredibly unsafe part of the world right now. I'm sure he is gutted by the fact that he won't be able to walk that 400-mile leg of the river, and hopefully he will indeed be able to return, and fill in that missing part of this journey.


It is still a bit unclear as to where exactly he resumed his journey, and when. As I noted yesterday, I had a source that broke the news to me about the situation in the South Sudan who indicated that all of this happened some time ago. This is somewhat corroborated by the fact that the Channel 4 page that shares Lev's latest location, hasn't been updated since March 19, and still has him in Nimule in South Sudan. If this disruption did take place back then, I'm not sure why it has taken so long for the website and social media channels to be updated. In the past, Lev's team has done a good job of keeping us posted on his progress, but for some reason this news has been slow to make its way out.

Fortunately, it does seem that he is back on the river and continuing his journey. The Nile runs for 4132 miles (6650 km), so there is still a long way to go. The 400 miles that had to be skipped represents about 10% of the journey, which is not an insignificant amount. Hopefully, everything works out for the rest of the walk, and perhaps things will be a bit more calm in South Sudan once Lev has finished the remaining miles, so he can return and complete this elusive segment.

Walking The Nile Update: Expedition Disrupted In South Sudan

One of the more interesting and ambitious expeditions that has been underway over the past few months is Levison Wood's attempt to walk the entire 4250 mile (6839 km) length of the Nile, the longest river in the world. The journey began last fall in the highlands of Rwanda, at the Nile's furthest source, and is expected to continue until Lev reaches the river's mouth on the Mediterranean Sea. But, there are reports that his trek has been disrupted in South Sudan, and that the explorer has had to bypass a section of the hike due to the ongoing civil war that is taking place in that country.

I received a tip a few days ago that Lev saw his journey interrupted several weeks back while passing through South Sudan, and that he actually had to leave the country, flying to Nairobi briefly, before heading to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. From there, he proceeded back south to the river, resuming the journey, but missing a section of the Nile of indeterminate size. With this news, I reached out to Lev for confirmation, and he sent me an email confirming the disruption. He indicated that he was unable to walk from Bor to Malakal in South Sudan due to the fighting taking place there. He said that the South Sudanese government ordered him out for his own safety, after the UN mission in the region was overrun. He indicated that he hopes to return to complete the section he missed once calm has returned to the area, but that he was already back on the trail and heading north.

Considering how volatile South Sudan has been over the past few months, this news shouldn't come as a surprise. When Lev launched his expedition, the civil war hadn't started yet, but the ongoing unrest there has continued long enough to cause issues for travelers visiting the nation, which is the newest country in the world.

The odd thing is that in this day and age of instant access to social media from just about any place on the planet, that there hasn't been any indication of this on disruption on either the expedition's website, or Facebook and Twitter feeds. In fact, the "latest position" page hasn't been updated since March 19, and still has Lev listed as being in Nimule, in South Sudan. The expedition page is part of the U.K.'s Channel 4 website, which has been documenting Lev's travels. It seems unusual that they haven't updated his position, nor announced the change in plan for his route. In his note to me, Lev indicated that Channel 4 was running behind in their updates, and that news would hit the site soon.

I have asked him for more information about where exactly he had to stop his walk through South Sudan, and where exactly he resumed again as well. That will help determine just how much of the Nile he was forced to bypass along the way. I'll post an update as soon as we know more information.

Journalist Dies While Walking The Nile With Levison Wood

There was sad news out of Uganda yesterday when we learned that journalist Matthew Power died while on assignment there. Power, who has written extensively for Outside and Men's Journal, was in Africa to cover his next story, which was to be on the Walking the Nile expedition with Levison Wood.

According to reports, Power was traveling on foot with Levison when he collapsed and fell unconscious. All attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he passed away a few hours later. The exact cause of death is still unknown, but it is suspected to be heatstroke.

Matthew was a well respected adventure journalist who traveled the globe to cover the big stories that many of us follow ourselves. His travels have taken him to K2, the jungles of Costa Rica, the depths of the Amazon, and beyond. He loved his job and was always eager to find his next big story, no matter where it would take him. Levison Wood's attempt to walk the length of the Nile River was that next big story.

Sources indicate that Power and Wood were traveling through the remote Ajai Wildlife Reserve located in northeast Uganda when he collapsed. The team was being escorted by local rangers at the time, but due to the location, there was little that could be done to save Matthew's life.

My condolences go out to Matthew's friends and family. He died doing what he loved, but was taken from us at the far too young age of 39.

Walking The Nile Update: Into Uganda

It has been awhile since we checked in with Levison Wood, the British explorer who is walking the length of the Nile River in Africa. The journey began back on December 3rd, and Wood has been making steady progress through often challenging and difficult conditions. Starting at the furthest source of the river, located in the highlands of Rwanda and Burundi, the trek will eventually cover more than 4000 miles (6440 km) and require a year to complete, making it one of the most amazing expeditions in recent memory.

Currently, Lev is in Uganda, where he has been enjoying a bit of downtime in the capital city of Kampala. There, he has found himself to be a bit of a celebrity, and had a very nice welcome party a few days back. He even received a ritual blessing from one of the more well-known local witch doctors, that was performed to keep him safe and give him strength on his journey.

Wood has now been joined on his expedition by a local Ugandan man named Boston. He has been traveling with the Brit for some time, and was reunited with his family when they arrived in Kampala as well. It isn't clear how long Boston will continue to walk with Lev, but his addition to the expedition reminds me a bit of Cho, the constant companion of Ed Stafford, the explorer who walked the Amazon a few years ago.

Wood and Boston have now completed the first 1000km (621 miles) of the walk, which means they still have a very long way to go before they reach the Nile Delta in the Mediterranean Sea. They are expected to attend a large festival in the town of Jinja this weekend before returning to the trail next week to resume the walk. After they leave Uganda, they'll face the uncertainty of travel in South Sudan, where political upheaval and old rivalries are making things difficult at the moment. They are still weeks away from crossing the border however, so hopefully things will have quieted down by then, and they'll be able to pass without too much difficulty.

You can follow the Walking the Nile expedition on Twitter, Facebook and on a special Channel 4 page dedicated specifically for the journey. Lev is posted regular updates, with good information from the field. It should be a lot of fun to follow along with his progress.

Epic 4250-Mile Trek Along The Length Of The Nile Set To Begin

Way back in February of this year I wrote about two adventurers who were planning to embark on a trek along the length of the Nile River, covering some 4250 miles (6840 km) in the process. At the time, the team of Levison Wood and Simon Clarke were raising funds to support their efforts while aiming for a start this past summer.

That launch date came and went, and apparently so did Clarke, as Wood is now nearing the start of this epic adventure. He intends to leave the U.K. early next week and travel to the furthest headwaters of the Nile before officially getting underway on December 1. His starting point will be high in the mountains of Rwanda, where the Nile's earliest tributaries can be traced. From there, his path will take him into Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, and eventually Egypt. Along the way, he'll pass through mountainous terrain, deep jungles, one of the largest swamps in the world and of course the Sahara Desert.

Levison believes it will take roughly 12 months to complete the journey, which he says is inspired by Ed Stafford's amazing trek along the length of the Amazon a few years back. If he is able to pull off this expedition, the Nile walk would also rank amongst some of the greatest adventures in history as well. Wood won't face the overwhelming oppressiveness of the Amazon Rainforest of course, but he will have plenty of challenges to overcome none the less.

You will be able to follow Levison's progress on the Walking the Nile website as well as on Facebook and Twitter. This will certainly be one expedition that we'll be following closely in the months ahead. Good luck to Levison as he gets underway next week.

ExWeb Interviews Walking The Nile Crew

Back in February I posted a story about two British explorers, Levison Wood and Simon Clarke, who had announced plans to walk the length of the Nile River, something that has never been done before. Since then, the expedition has received a great deal more attention and while no official start date has been announced yet, the two mean are gearing up to begin their journey later this year.

Earlier today, Explorers Web posted an interview with Wood which shares a few more details about the team's plans. He talks about how he and Clarke met (both soldiers stationed in Iraq), their experience as guides and what precautions they're taking for their upcoming adventure. He also discusses some logistics and inspirations for the journey, which will be quite the challenge.

The expedition will commence at the source of the Nile River, located along one of the tributaries in the dense forests of Rwanda. From there, Wood and Clarke will proceed more than 4250 miles (6839 km) to the sea, crossing through Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, The Sudan, and Egypt in the process. They are estimating that it will take approximately 12 months to finish the source-to-sea trek.

At the moment, the two men are reportedly in Sudan and South Sudan exploring part of the route ahead of their start sometime this summer. When they finish up that work, they'll likely head home to London for the final gear prep before setting out. But one of the biggest hurdles they still face is fund raising to help them get the expedition off the ground. With that challenge still ahead of them, they continue to ask for support through their Kickstarter page.

Good luck to Levison and Simon on this epic adventure. It certainly will be one to keep an eye on in the months ahead.

Walking The Nile Team Launches Kickstarter Campaign

Earlier in the week I wrote a story about two Brits, Lev Wood and Simon Clarke, who are preparing to walk the length of the Nile River. At the time, the details for the expedition were still filling in, but we knew that they were planning a year-long expedition that would cross through seven countries and cover more than 4250 miles in the process. There was no date set for the start of the journey, but we do know that Wood and Clarke intend to embark this year.

Fast forward a few days and we're starting to get a clearer picture of their plans. The team has now launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the expedition and they're hoping to raise £30,000 (roughly $46,500) to get things underway. The campaign is scheduled to run for another 51 days, which means they won't be setting off on their trek until late April at the earliest.

The Kickstarter page tells us that Lev and Simon have already secured a television deal which will include three 60-minute episodes of their expedition to be aired on the BBC. Once underway, they'll also have a live GPS tracker that will allow us to track their progress at all times. The Walking the Nile website will also be updated to provide regular blog posts as well as video and photos from the field.

As of now, the team has received just 2% of their funding goal on Kickstarter, with 11 people contributing to the cause. Hopefully they'll achieve their goal however and be able to get the expedition off the ground. This is definitely one adventure I'm looking forward to following.

Walking The Nile: Trekking The Length Of The World's Longest River

Two British adventurers are preparing to set out on one very long and demanding expedition that will see them pass through seven countries, covering more than 4250 miles (6840 km), along the entire length of the Nile River.

Inspired by Ed Stafford's record setting walk along the Amazon, Levison Wood and Simon Clarke have dubbed their adventure Walking the Nile. If successful, they'll become the first people in history to walk the longest river in the world from source to sea, and along the way they hope to encourage others to get off their couch and seek adventures of their own.

Their journey will begin in the highlands of Burundi and Rwanda before descending into the thick jungles of Tanzania and Uganda. From there they'll walk along the edge of Lake Victoria before entering the newest country on the planet – South Sudan. Crossing through the largest swampland on the planet, they'll move into North Sudan before passing into the Sahara Desert for the final leg of the expedition in Egypt. Wood and Clarke estimate that it should take them roughly 12 months to complete their adventure.

No date has been announced for the start of the expedition, but presumably you'll be able to follow progress on Facebook and Twitter once they get underway. For now though, you can get a sense of what they are facing in the short video below.

Walking The Nile from Secret Compass on Vimeo.