In December 2013, photojournalist Levison Wood
set out to become the first person to walk the length of the Nile River.During
his travels, he was robbed at gunpoint, evacuated out of a war zone and almost
eaten by crocodiles. He crossed swamps, climbed mountains, cozied up to
scorpions in the Sahara desert, and dined on rat stew and grasshoppers.
Those
months, he says, were the best of his life. "I've always been interested
in the stories of the great Victorian explorers, like Livingstone and those guys,"
admits Wood.
"This
was an opportunity to try and do something that nobody's ever done before, but
really, it was an opportunity to explore Africa in the 21st century and see how
things have changed and how they've stayed the same.
Wood's
journey began in Rwanda, took nine months and spanned 3,750 miles. It was
necessary to make the trip on foot, he says, because "walking is the only
way you can really get under the skin of a country."
Occasionally,
he was joined by a film crew from the UK's Channel 4 (the network is planning
to air a four-part documentary on his travels). Sometimes he traveled with a
local guide. Mainly, though, he walked it alone.
"The
biggest difficult was keeping up the motivation and momentum to wake up every
morning, walk 20 miles, and do it over and over again," he says.
"At
times, the monotony was crushing. Khartoum (in Sudan) marked the halfway point,
and the most difficult time was probably just before I reached it. I wasn't
halfway there and I still had 2,000 miles left to walk. That was pretty
demoralizing," he admits.
The
kindness of strangers
Wood
acknowledges that his survival was often dependent on the hospitality of local
villagers, of which there was an abundance. The people of the Sudan, he says,
were probably the most giving of all.
"It's
portrayed in the Western media as this pariah state, and the government does
leave a lot to be desired, but it had by far and away the most incredible hosts
I've ever encountered across the world," he says.
Even
sharing water, he says, demonstrated an incredible act of kindness -- given
it's a 20-mile walk to the nearest source for many villagers.Carrying on would have been
tantamount to suicide.
Levison Wood, explorer Half the time he slept outdoors, while the other half he would lodge with a local. Food wasn't always a given. In Uganda, he recalled a two-day period when he went without food completely.
"My
guide had a catapult," he recalls. "He would shoot pigeons. We ate
what we could catch. Other times we'd eat with villagers. The local delicacies
could vary, from grasshoppers to rats."
Out
of harm's way (almost)
The
journey wasn't without danger. Civil War in South Sudan broke out shortly after his arrival. As he
ventured closer to the country, he started hearing tales of death, destruction, and a
steady trail of fleeing refugees.
He
made it halfway through the country, to Bor -- the front line of the war. It
was there that he was arrested and brought before an army commander, who told
him he was not welcome, and threatened to kill him if he crossed into the rebel
side. He was evacuated to the capital, and flew to North Sudan.
"I
missed out 400 miles of the journey, but it was a sensible thing to do;
carrying on through would have been tantamount to suicide."
Had
he made the trip uninterrupted, he would likely have achieved a Guinness World Record. Now, he's not so sure, though he says it
doesn't matter.
"It
was never about breaking records, it was about taking the biggest adventure in
my life, and it was certainly that."
The
finish line
Wood's
journey ended in Egypt, where the Nile meets the Mediterranean Sea.It was a
cathartic moment, he says, and one that was bittersweet."When you're doing
something every day for months and months, to see it end, there will be some
sadness," he admits. Mainly, though, he remembers it as "one of the
happiest days of my life."
"The
first thing I did was run into the sea, and just enjoy the moment," he
says
Wood traveled 3,750 miles
on foot over nine months.
Courtesy
Levison Wood
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