How to Walk the Nile

The man who conquered the Nile, Levison Wood battled through blisters and exhaustion, he walked the length of the Nile, through war zones and completely deserted regions of Africa. He had to bypass a small section of the Nile because he found himself caught in the midst of a civil war in South Sudan, he also battled through temperatures as high as 62C, he raced to reach a well in the desert through dwindling water supplies, but he made it, 9 months and thousands of miles later. 

Lev had to stay hydrated, walking with guides and journalists covering his adventure, unfortunately an American journalist, Matthew Power collapsed due to heatstroke, hours away from help he died, Lev carried on, dedicating the rest of the expedition to Matthew and his wife Jess. The tragic incident was a stark reminder of the physical challenge which lay ahead, not only to get to the end of the Nile but simply to survive. 

Lev, a former British Army Captain was used to being around in war but he said this was like nothing he'd ever seen, he said "One guy tried to attack me, and threatened to kill me", in the Channel 4 series, he talked about the fact he became a target because they wanted to attack anyone accosiated with the UN, potentially supporting the other side. 

Months later he completed his expedition, although his hopes for being the first to walk the length of  the Nile were ended after he was forced to skip a 400 mile war torn stretch of the Nile. 

As he entered Egypt, he viewed it as a kind of respite, although he was consistently followed by two police cars and a personal bodyguard, all to protect him from extremist groups or any other problems which may have occured. Throughout the trip, he explored some of the treasures of Africa, even some pyramids that a Pharoh blew the tops off to hunt for treasure - all to no avail, as he found treasure in only one of the pyramids! 

So how do you walk the Nile? The answer? Walking the Nile is a battle, a battle with the elements, a physical and mental battle and certainly not for the faint hearted,with temperatures averaging 50C it's about staying hydrated, drinking as much water as humanly possible - but as Lev has proved, it's all possible. 

Levison's book, Walking the Nile is available to buy from all well known book stores and Amazon