For most people The name Ethiopia conjures images of emaciated stick figures on the brink of death. It is however, an extremely fertile land and source of the Blue Nile.

Just prior to leaving for Ethiopia I received this email from Rob Coffey who had just finished a trip on the section we were planning to do, the most significant portion reads as follows:-

"Warning:

The water is not the largest risk. Our Ground support crew had TWO gunfights with AK47 wielding Shifta bandits. One was just above the 2 nd Portuguese bridge.

The next day, hiking out towards Mota, an hour from the 2 nd Portuguese bridge, one of our guards got shot in the leg, our porters beaten, hospitalised and robbed.

Shifta attack is very likely. I don't want to put you off, but if you go, get armed guards, travel light, move quickly, especially around the second Portuguese bridge.

We also got stoned on a few occasions from high up the gorge. We honestly feel we were unbelievably lucky not to have been attacked on the river. Neither Ali nor I would do the mission again for this reason.

Given how lucky we were and our experiences, I would stick to the bit above the falls. Some excellent pool-drop rapids, with lots of lines and filming potential.

If you go into the gorge, the main issue is around 2 nd port bridge and walking out to Mota. I don't know what to say other than honestly, in our opinion you would be taking your life in your hands.

Other than that, have a great trip!"

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The Blue Nile flows from its source, Lake Tana, high in The Ethiopian highlands at an elevation of 6000ft.

For the first twenty five kilometres the river winds and falls over a series of canalised falls (class 4 generally with one class 5). This is a classic African section of White water where you feel happy to be in the 'Safe' zone of the white water after braving another pool potentially full of Hippos and crocodiles. Seth and I tap our boats in the pools to send reverberations through the water so that we don't surprise any Hippos.

While we only encountered one pod of hippos on this upper stretch, we were continuously hearing and seeing Crocodiles sliding into the water, startled and trying to escape us unnoticed. You never really get totally used to it but a nervous equilibrium seems to exist where both sides really try and keep their distance.

Beyond the wildlife and rapids this upper 25 kilometres is where you have the best exposure to Ethiopia before disappearing into the Northern Gorge. Stopping to scout one of the larger drops soon causes people to stop tending their goats or cows and to materialise from the surrounding farm land, a verdant green mix of trees, grazing land and patches of maize all bordered by distant hills.

The Ethiopians are distinctive in their appearance, slightly lighter skinned, with an   elegant angular Nose, rural people are always distinguished by their characteristic shawl and stick.

The rapid we've made it to is a two tiered cascade of about 4 metres.

Added to the technicality of the drop is the nature of the rock on this upper section, a jagged and brutally sharp stone that would literally tear the bottom of a plastic kayak out if you got unlucky. Much to the amazement of the Ethiopians propped up on their sticks we both make it through safely.

We wave to each other as we drift along the pool below, continuously eyeing the banks for reptiles.

Late on the first day we dropped through a small rapid to be presented by a very wide horizon line and rising mist: Tis Issat Falls or "Smoking Water" as the locals call is the 150ft waterfall that forms the junction between the upper and lower section of the river. From here on the river disappears ever deeper into the Ethiopian plateau in the infamous Northern Gorge before emerging into Sudan.

Happy to not have been eaten or shot within the first 24hrs Seth and I decide to camp here, ultimately accompanied by about 12 curious teenagers.

They busy themselves finding us wood to make a camp fire while one enterprising lad offers to get us beer from the nearest town, 5kms away.

I fall asleep under my mosquito net, in the cool air with occasional wafts of spray from the falls drifting onto my face.

We wake early and in a heavy dew.

Its cool and we warm up slowly, aching after a solid days paddling before.

We're apparently a bizarre enough occurrence to merit a growing audience.We decide to push on before we attract too much attention and so after a portage of an hour or so put into the Northern Gorge just below a 400 year old Portuguese Bridge.

In the Northern Gorge you swap the fear of Wildlife for the fear of white water as the river becomes channelled in a deep and narrow Basalt canyon with intermittent class 5 drops. It's a section that has been the location of at least one drowning, something we take very seriously particularly at these high flows. Here the rock changes from the incredibly sharp points of the upper to very fine grained jet black basalt which cause the river to form pool drop rapids in shallow canyons.

The kayaking varies from ugly to easy pool drop. After a long day we camp on a shelf 15 feet above the river grateful to be away from the glare of suspicious eyes and needy hands.

For us Ethiopia was a great experience tinged with the fear that things could go wrong at any minute and although nothing ever went wrong, I felt some serious diplomacy helped ensure we didn't get out of out depth with the locals.

The river however, is a gem and and is worth any and all of the logistical difficulties involved in getting to it.

The diversity of the white water and scenery that this relatively short section passes through means you are either concentrating on lines or admiring scenery, the perfect combo.

All Photos Courtesy Seth Warren: nrpw.com