THE ORIGINAL AFRICAN QUEEN

So, what happened to the boat African Queen from the film of the same name, which starred Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn? Well, in actual fact there were two boats built for the filming. One is well known and is still plying Her trade around the Florida Keys with tourist trips; this was the studio version and hardly even got her keel wet during filming. The other which was built for location work, was transported to Africa and launched on the River Nile where the film was partially made. She was abandoned after filming was completed in 1951. There she stayed untill the boat was found in 1985 by Alistair Evans, an employee of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, rotting away with a tree growing through her, she had lain forgotten on the banks of the river Nile at Murchison Falls in Uganda for 34 years. He restored her and used her for cruising on Lake Victoria from his home in Entebbe. In 2003 Alistair returned to his farm in Nairobi. The Queen was transported by road and is stored there today, undergoing further restoration work. The intention is, after the work is finished, the Queen will be re launched on Lake Naivasha, which I believe is in Kenya.

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