Even with my eyes closed, the more than palatable peanut sauce could not rescue the charcoal black, rubbery skin and skinny meat that lay lifeless in the bowl – Masterchef it was not. For hundreds of years the tribes of South Sudan have treasured cattle as their primary form of wealth- often being used for trade, barter and as a marriage dowry. It seems pitilessly sad that human beings have to sink to such depths and inflict so much pain for so little gain. 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 pronounced the pain was being caused by ‘Jiggers’ a small burrowing worm that lays an egg beneath your toenail, which in turn starts to grow.

Day 78 to 79 – Masindi Hotel: “Before we venture into the far north of Uganda, where local supplies are short I take the opportunity to stay in the last soft bed for the next two months at the Hotel Masindi.Realising that we hardly posed a threat of any kind, the tension disappeared, happy to leave with the exchange of some ‘dollars’ for food. Landing sites’ such as Kasansero sprung up around the lake, boomtowns for a business that offered great rewards; people flocked to share in the comparative affluence made possible by catching the Nile Perch. I was immediately surrounded by gun toting men in every kind and colour of camouflage uniform, each wearing berets of all colours, shapes and sizes. Finally the welcome destination of Bukoba came into view and the thought of a soft bed for two nights lifted our spirits.

They were clearly refugees from renewed fighting and heading to camps located in the south of the country. With a list that includes a bout of boxing with the Ugandan National Champion, river rafting and a meeting with a King, the next few days will be a whirlwind. This then provides us with plenty of rest time after we reach our set destination or close to 4pm whichever is the sooner. Destroyed tanks littered the side of the road like rusting hulks and the smell of death and decay is everywhere.Michelin star restaurants are not abundant in this part of Africa even though this is the largest town we have stopped in since Kampala. After bidding them farewell, Lev finds himself caught up in the worsening civil war as his path winds through minefields and he witnesses increasing numbers of refugees fleeing in the opposite direction. Robbed twice, hunted by the army and almost no food to be had are just some of the events that have highlighted the second month of former paratrooper Captain Levison Wood’s attempt to become the first recorded person ever to walk the 4250 mile length of the river Nile.

Still the whole incident was made very real when we came across a butchered carcass of an adult male elephant whose tusks had been hacked from its lifeless body lying just metres from the roadside. The passage to the UN compound is inaccessible and for my own sake they advise me to stay put and await the outcome. The former 31-year-old paratrooper from Cheadle Road in Forsbrook was devastated by the events that occurred in northern Uganda and decided to take several days break from his record breaking 4,250 mile walk to consider his own thoughts. We got so fed up pushing them through sand and having bits fall off I’ve traded them in for 2 donkeys which seems a far preferable option. By the roadside we come across two small children playing with a tiny baby Vervet monkey which they had clearly taken from its mother.For Boston, he can take some time out to meet with his wife and children prior to meeting up for his final leg of the venture in Uganda. The people are naturally warm and generous to guests and reluctant to alter their traditional lifestyle.