Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud (and a little bit of history)

I knew that the British had built most of the brick buildings in Wau, but was curious as to our involvement with Sudan. The British have been here on and off since 1869 when the opening of the Suez canal made control of the Nile of strategic importance as a route to the Indian ocean. The Nile flows right through Sudan, which is currently the largest country in Africa.

Brick buildings in High Street Wau

 General Gordon was killed in Khartoum in 1884 and it wasn't until 1899 that the British and Egyptians signed an agreement declaring joint sovereignty over Sudan.

The Jur river in Wau

In 1924 the British effectively divided Sudan into two territories - the muslim arabic speaking north and the christian south, where English was encouraged. When Egypt abandoned it's claims to sovereignty in 1954, the British also withdrew and Sudan officially gained independence in 1956.

Our Verandah!

Wau is the capital of Western Bahr-el-Ghazal state about 640 km from the capital Juba further south. It was an outpost for the British who built most of the brick buildings down the main street as well as the Riverlodge, which was originally built in the 1950's as a field hospital.

Some of the original brick buildings in the Riverlodg

They also built a grand 'palace' next door for the High Commissioner of Bahr-el-Ghazal which is now used as the Governor's office.

The lodge stands right on the banks of the Jur river which flows across Western Bahr-el-Ghazal into the swampy Sudd region formed by the White Nile.

Last year there was great excitement when a pair of hippos returned to the river and took up residence near the Riverlodge. The locals saw this as a sign of peace returning to the region as most of the wildlife was killed or fled during the civil war(s).
They tend to emerge from the water early in the morning to graze, which is when this picture was taken.

The Hippos at breakfast

The locals seem to be as enchanted with them as we are, and the hippos are totally unfazed by the admiring crowds of people standing on the bridge and the river banks, ooing and ahing over them. Everyone is hoping that there may be a baby hippo sometime this year although with a gestation period of 8 months there may be a while longer to wait!