Wood walked through some pretty serious terrain (the Sahara) and came this close to dying of thirst, dangerous lands (South Sudan), and paranoid lands (Egypt). What I loved most were his conversations with Boston, Wood‘s Congolese guide who lived in Uganda, which consumed a lengthy part of his walk. Boston provided a unique perspective about so many things, but mostly from the experiences of the destitute who do what they can to survive, even if it means clearing forests to grow crops or catching and selling baby monkeys 😭 to feed their families. Climate change be damned when you have to feed your family. Such a horrible but enlightening truth—one we‘ve got to realize if we are to help create incentives NOT to clear habitats and kidnap baby animals. We‘ve got to listen & understand, or as my parents used to say, “walk a mile in their shoes.” I learned a lot. Highly recommended. ( )

I do believe I like travel logs. This is a serious one, but crucially Levison doesn’t take himself too seriously. In the end, it works. I found myself caring about whether Levison was going to make it. An enjoyable read, loaded with great little nuggets of Africa to ruminate on. ( )

Levison Wood, a British writer, documents his trek from source to sea of the Nile River, and, in the process, provides detailed accounts of the people, politics, history, recent struggles, and ways of life in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. This book is perfect for an armchair traveler (like me) who will never go to these areas but wants to know what this part of the world is like.

Wood encounters many challenges, such as being chased by a hippo, dodging crocodiles, literally walking into a warzone, being detained by one country’s secret police, crossing a stretch of desert in search of water, navigating border crossings, finding guides, buying camels, evading smugglers, and viewing ruins of ancient civilizations. As he travels, he touches on topics related to the areas he travels – he visits the Rwandan genocide museum, talks to the leader of an orphanage dealing with the ongoing AIDS crisis, and discusses the many regional civil wars with their associated displaced populations. He views the changes brought by dams and deforestations.

I was impressed by the hospitality of the people. They enabled him to complete the journey, providing food and shelter despite having few resources. It is well-written, engrossing, and relates a wealth of information. The photos at the back give the reader a picture to go with the written word. Those who enjoy travel memoirs or learning about current-day challenges in Africa will want to read this book.

Memorable quotes:

“The strangest thing was, this wasn’t even the most extreme hospitality we had seen since leaving the desert two days before. In one dusty little shanty, where we had stopped to buy soda and water the camels, a shopkeeper – within ten minutes of discovering I was English – had offered to give me some land, build me a house, and find me a wife.”

“What we were walking through, I realised, was nothing less than the history of the world – not just the history of Sudan or its peoples, the Ancient Nubians, or even the prehistoric people who had come before. Everywhere we looked, there were reminders of how recent mankind’s appearance on this planet has been – and of how the earth has been transformed and transformed again across its lifetime.”

“It gives me great pleasure to think that in a small way my expedition has inspired others to travel and hopefully brought to attention a more positive and unseen side to Africa.” ( )

At 2 o'clock this morning I flipped the last page of this incredibly enlightening armchair travel book. The author Levison Wood embarks on an incredible journey to walk the entire Nile river. Starting in Rwanda traveling North all the way to Egypt, he walks for 261 days through hell. Part Indiana Jones true adventure story, part war-time news journalism, the author encounters much more than he ever expected. Being chased by hippos and giant crocodiles, traversing the great Sahara sand dunes with camels getting lost and about to run out of water, were just a few of the adventure parts of this story. Fleeing wars, trudging through swamps and hacking his way through snake infested sweltering jungles, dodging AK47 gunfire, being arrested and being placed under surveillance by local military, is where current affairs news reporting came in to play. This eye-opening journey was scary, horrifying, and nothing but a misery. I have never read about Rwanda, Uganda, or the Sudan before so I learned an aweful lot. It's sad, terrifying, heartbreaking, and interesting, yet still a really good read! I award the book 5 stars for darn good writing and for being a riveting page-turner. I just ordered another of Wood's books; Walking the Himalayas. Can't wait! ( )

Really interesting to read ( )