Goddard, Robert. Kayaks Down the Nile. New York: Holt 2019. Print
For those wondering why three men with sound minds and healthy bodies would want to risk their comfort and security -- even their lives -- in exploring the largely untamed Nile River, I offer the reasons why the river intrigues me.
The 4,145-mile Nile is the longest river on earth, and one of the greatest of all natural wonders. For 6,000 years it has been the world's most important watercourse, with a vital role in the development of the human race. And the Nile Basin's million square miles contain the world in miniature: a fantastic variety of races, animals, terrain, agriculture, and weather.
The water of the Nile is the source of life for an immense population of humans representing dozens of races ...
Description:
When I was in high school in Southern California, there were two days that every student and teacher looked forward to with complete abandon. Those were the days that John Goddard, a former graduate of my high school, came to visit and give an assembly on his latest adventure. You see, Goddard was a world-famous explorer and documentarian for National Geographic of the world's natural beauties: from mountain tops (by foot) to jungles (by elephant), to underwater (by scuba and also by holding his breath for 2.5 minutes) and to the air (by flying a fighter jet). He was Indiana Jones before there was an Indiana Jones, but without the treasure-hunting.
Goddard, at age 15, heard an adult say he regretted not pursuing his goals when he was Goddard's age. Fired up, Godddard created a list of 127 things he wanted to accomplish in his lifetime. Included were relatively simple tasks like "Type 50 words a minute," "Become an Eagle Scout," and "Make a parachute jump." Others were more challenging, such as, "Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco," "Retrace travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great," and "Milk a poisonous snake." Some were just plain daunting: "Visit every country in the world," "Land on and take off from an aircraft carrier," and "Visit the Moon."
I still remember Goddard's assembly when he came back from exploring the Nile River from source to mouth by kayak. The trip proved the basis for his book, Kayaks Down the Nile
(#97 on his Life List: "Write a book").
Just walking up to their starting point of that adventure proved ominous:
I highly recommend Kayaks Down the Nile for its fearlessness and variety of experiences, and then marvel that this tremendous Nile adventure, so challenging, so threatening, so inspirational, was just one of many such expeditions undertaken by Goddard. I still am in awe of him and his accomplishments 50 years after first listening to him tell his tales. This book shows you why.
When I was in high school in Southern California, there were two days that every student and teacher looked forward to with complete abandon. Those were the days that John Goddard, a former graduate of my high school, came to visit and give an assembly on his latest adventure. You see, Goddard was a world-famous explorer and documentarian for National Geographic of the world's natural beauties: from mountain tops (by foot) to jungles (by elephant), to underwater (by scuba and also by holding his breath for 2.5 minutes) and to the air (by flying a fighter jet). He was Indiana Jones before there was an Indiana Jones, but without the treasure-hunting.
Goddard, at age 15, heard an adult say he regretted not pursuing his goals when he was Goddard's age. Fired up, Godddard created a list of 127 things he wanted to accomplish in his lifetime. Included were relatively simple tasks like "Type 50 words a minute," "Become an Eagle Scout," and "Make a parachute jump." Others were more challenging, such as, "Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco," "Retrace travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great," and "Milk a poisonous snake." Some were just plain daunting: "Visit every country in the world," "Land on and take off from an aircraft carrier," and "Visit the Moon."
I still remember Goddard's assembly when he came back from exploring the Nile River from source to mouth by kayak. The trip proved the basis for his book, Kayaks Down the Nile
(#97 on his Life List: "Write a book").
Just walking up to their starting point of that adventure proved ominous:
Occasionally, as I plunged through the spongy mat of humus, my foot sank into cold slime, after extricating my leg, I had the distasteful chore of prying off the slimy black leeches that had immediately fastened themselves onto my bare legs.Goddard was attacked by a Nile hippo on one of his very first days:
My private opinion that an unmolested hippo was not dangerous to man was refuted when this great barrel-shaped hulk plunged after me in a vicious charge that left no doubt as to his intentions. He was nearly as long as my kayak and must have weighed well over three tons, yet his rage drove him through the water at an incredible speed. His nostrils blasted spray with every snort, and his yellow tusks were to say the least, awesome.When he and his fellow explorer Jean came across some fifteen foot tall termite nests near Lake Victoria (#68: "Swim in Lake Victoria" - done) and sliced into one to see what it was like inside, Goddard got a surprise:
Suddenly an aggressive soldier termite bit Jean on the forearm with such ferocity that Its pincers pierced the skin and overlapped. To free Jean, I had to split the head and pull out each mandible separately.That's just a taste of the adventures and energetic writing style of Goddard. You can see how he could hold audiences of every age and country breathless with his casual descriptions of dangerous events encountered in his travels.
I highly recommend Kayaks Down the Nile for its fearlessness and variety of experiences, and then marvel that this tremendous Nile adventure, so challenging, so threatening, so inspirational, was just one of many such expeditions undertaken by Goddard. I still am in awe of him and his accomplishments 50 years after first listening to him tell his tales. This book shows you why.
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Kane, Joe. Running the Amazon.
Joe Kane documents the nine-member expedition to explore, for the first time, the entire length of the Amazon River from its source high in the Andes to its mouth in the Atlantic. (previously reviewed here)
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