No longer do we hear the greeting ‘Muzungu’ from the hordes of small children that followed us everywhere, rather the sight of a foreigner in these parts attracts little attention other than some occasional suspicion. An expedition across the River Nile by a Forsbrook adventurer has been marred by tragedy after the sudden death of a journalist who was accompanying him on part of the journey. His nine-month journey takes him through jungles, savannah, deserts, cities and war zones in some of the continent’s most remote and spectacular locations. Obliterating any visible man made track way, we are forced to follow the winding, dusty red dirt road that runs parallel to the river. Day 143-147 – “The difference between South Sudan and its northern neighbour – and former master – the Sudan couldn’t be more striking.

Captain Wood continues in his diary: “My first experience of Uganda is one of great warmth and welcome. The threat of rain has finally passed and the most annoying issue at the moment are rogue scorpions which find their way into my boots with some regularity. Throughout the dark hours there is constant shooting, red glowing tracers dart through the trees, machine guns chatter away and fires light up the sky. So feeling rather soggy we struggled to rescue our kit and raced to higher ground where we spent a rather damp night being bitten by millions of mosquitoes.I’m hoping to cover about 100 miles each week but sometimes flooding, detours and just plain losing my way will take it toll. He is currently [Summer 2015] undertaking his second major walking expedition – I know where he is, but am sworn to secrecy. Having walked into a war zone I can’t stop my mind drifting back to my time in Helmand province with 3 Para during my tour to Afghanistan in 2008.

Unfortunately this forced us to backtrack some 10 miles after completing a full day journeying on the road.I can tell by the reaction of the men surrounding the campfire that this is causing some amusement but having come this far the head massage that follows is a welcome treat. They were also joined by a local news crew from Ugandan NTV who undertook a live interview which brought out the crowds once again as they entered the suburbs. Sadly like my former colleague Boston, Moez is suffering from the effects of walking in the sand and has some amazing blisters on his feet so we will need to consider limiting the miles we do each day, at least to begin with. WITH almost 1,000 miles completed during the first three months of Captain Levison Wood’s, epic journey to become the first recorded person ever to walk the entire 4,250 miles from source to sea the time has come to assess the story so far.