My last adventure to Peru had been a geographical success. So, I decided to venture out again and go to Egypt, the land of Pyramids. I told my team to get everything ready as we were going to Egypt to film our next geographical experience.
As we landed on Egyptian land, we got welcomed by some hot weather. After checking into our hotel, we straightaway headed to the Nile River. On the banks of the river, we met some Egyptian Tribe which enlightened us about the emergency protocols in the Nile and even cautioned us to carefully navigate through the place. There were about 20 people in the cute and spacious motor-boat, including us. The best part was that the boat even had eight mighty paddles.
As we started the expedition, it seemed good. The water was serene and we could see wildlife everywhere. The journey was turning out to be pleasurable one with some more boats within view. We must have gone about 400 metres deep into the river when we hit a roadblock. Shocked at what might have caused the boat to jerk and stop, we all looked into the water from our respective sides. Just then, we saw a green monster rising from the water. It was a Nile crocodile! The helmsman turned the boat to get free of the mighty croc and headed the other way around. But, it seemed that the croc wanted to follow us. It started chasing us and was so close to us. As the driver was about to turn on the super engine, the crocodile bit the engine off. We were in trouble…
The Crocodile was getting closer every second. The ominous snare started opening and closing its mouth. In the meanwhile, paddles had been passed on to the physically robust people and once they started paddling, it was no less than a super engine. We quickly managed to row away from the crocodile but something even worse had happened. We were lost in the water!
For as far as we could see, there was nothing but wide stretches of water. We had nothing to do but sail along, so we started making some videos. While capturing the breathtaking environment surrounding us, we suddenly saw some human structures on a small isle.
We rowed the boat to the isle, everyone being hopeful of getting some help. But, it turned out to be small abandoned house with a strange smell and cobwebs. It was practically useless except for the fact that it would provide a good backdrop for our geographical documentary. Inside the house we found some tools and scraps to fix our engine. The helmsman and his team quickly set to work. Meanwhile, other people went to gather some fruits to make up for some food-emergency that might develop. Afterall, we had not planned for this kind of thing. As we were stocking up some material, we heard a roar. A hippopotamus was chasing a crew member and he was leading it right to us.
The ones who were in the house jumped into the boat and we sped off leaving a raging hippo on the shore. But what about the other members who were still on their fruit-hunt on the isle? We now had to find a way to rescue them. In the tool kit, the boat technician had found a huge wrench, rigging knife and 6 SOS flare crackers with a gun. We took our chances and landed at the shore again to rescue the remaining crew. We went back to the small house, all loaded with our tool-kit weapons. There, we found two people lying unconscious. Bringing them back to their senses, we got them back on their feet. While we were looking for the others, we again heard the roar of the hippopotamus.
With the one chance we got, I fired the flare gun at the hippo. Bang! The helpless hippo fell down. But, not for very long. Before people could congratulate me, it was back up. Shouting and screaming, we again scuttled to the boat. Only 8 people made it to the boat when the engine started with the other 12 still stuck on the hippo island.
We still had 5 SOS crackers left and we intended to do something to bring back the remaining people. Soon, hope came as we saw a plane flying above us. We quickly shot three SOS crackers one after the other. The red colour ignited the sky. The plane lowered down and picked us up. We told them about our other members who were stuck on the island. Within no time, a rescue team was commanded and it was promised that everybody would be brought back to safety.
As we flew across the mighty River Nile, we realized that anyone could have got lost in that majestic expanse of the river. We were glad that we were safe and for the rest of our trip to Egypt, none of us dared to venture close to the river again.
Writer : Hari Govind
Grade : 7 (Year 2025)
Place : Sydney, Australia
