JUBA, South Sudan - Levison Wood plans to walk the entire length of the Nile in Africa. That's no easy task: The Nile is the world's longest river.

Crocodiles and wars haven't stopped him. Even the death of a fellow traveler wasn't enough to make him quit.

The 4,250-mile journey will take a year to complete. Along the way, the onetime British army captain will pass through six countries. The White Nile starts in Rwanda and goes through Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan. At Khartoum in Sudan, the White Nile joins the Blue Nile, which starts in Ethiopia. The Nile then flows through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

Wood's trip started in Rwanda. He's walking north and ending in Egypt. The 31-year-old said it took three years to plan the trip.

Close Calls With Animals

During the first four months, Wood made it through Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. He is now in South Sudan. That country has little in the way of roads or electricity. Even worse, there is a civil war going on in the country. The government is fighting against a group of South Sudanese people who left the army.

Wood has been fascinated by Africa since he was young. "The River Nile has always interested me and I thought, what's the biggest expedition I could ever think of? And walking the Nile it was."

Wood faces many dangers on the walk. Still, he says past explorers had it even worse. Unlike him, they didn't have a satellite phone or Google maps.

"We've had some close calls with buffalo, elephants," he said. There was a "very close call with a crocodile.""

The toughest challenge is just to keep on going. Wood says delays can be frustrating.

On average, Wood walks 20 miles a day. He is seldom alone, though. His guide from Congo has been a long-time companion. In South Sudan, three soldiers with machine guns provide protection. Another South Sudanese man on a bike carries supplies.

"South Sudan has been a challenge to say the least," Wood said. He started walking in November. He didn't expect the civil war to start there in December.

Filming Their Journey

A camera crew is following Wood. They are there to shoot a four-part TV show on Wood's trip. In the U.S. it will be shown on Animal Planet. The camera crew makes things more complicated.

Wood and his crew were arrested once during filming. They were standing near the only bridge that goes across the Nile in South Sudan.

Wood and the others have reached Juba, South Sudan's busy capital. They are moving through the city quickly.

Occasionally, their South Sudanese guide barks orders to stop filming. This happens whenever they are near something the government doesn't want filmed: for example, a military building.

There are serious safety concerns for this part of the trip: The Nile passes through Jonglei state. That region has seen heavy fighting recently.

"I'll have to make a decision when I get there," Wood said. If the fighting is bad, he said, he may "have to move away from the river."

Just then, a man without any clothes walked past. That's not an uncommon sight in Juba.

The team laughs. "No comment," Wood says to his cameraman.

A Reporter Dies

Wood expected South Sudan to be the toughest part of his trip. It was in Uganda, however, that something really terrible happened.

On March 10, American journalist Matt Power died from the heat. Power had been walking with Wood, to report on the journey.

Wood said the death forced him to reconsider his plans.

"We took a week off" after Power died, Wood said. The death made him ask, "Is this something we really want to be doing?"

Wood spoke with Power's wife and family after the reporter's death. They encouraged him to keep going. So, he is continuing.

Power's death made Wood realize just how risky his trip is. "This is not an easy thing to do. It's incredibly difficult and dangerous," he said. "All I can do is be as prepared as I can be and hope the same doesn't happen to me." ]]>