The Blue Nile Revealed : The Story of the Great Abbai Expedition, 1968

The mile-deep gorge made by the Blue Nile as it flows out of the highlands of North West Ethiopia into the broad plains of the Sudan is one of the greatest natural features in the world. It remained virtually unexplored until 1968. That summer an expedition supported by the Army, The Daily Telegraph and the Royal Geographical Society set out to investigate this gorge. It also aimed to navigate 500 miles of the crocodile-infested river--known in Ethiopia as the Great Abbai--200 miles of which had not been visited by Europeans, except at occasional fording places. The climax of the expedition, the penetration of the Northern gorge, was unhappily marked by the death of an expedition member by drowning, and by two attacks by bandits. In these harsh conditions a group of scientists--mainly zoologists--were able to carry out a valuable investigation of the area. In The Blue Nile Revealed Richard Snailham, one of those directly involved, tells the story of Great Abbai expedition. While covering the technical and scientific dimensions of the expedition, he also provides a deeply human account of this exciting adventure. First published in 1970, this book has become a classic of African exploration.