UGANDA.
9th July, 2009
Happy birthday, Tom, thought lots about you, especially as we had seen the Gorillas yesterday. Would be really nice to share a bottle of wine and share our Gorilla experiences.
Left for Uganda today. Through the border at Cyanika. Quite relaxed border, except we had to wait for the computer, which was off line, to be able to pay for our toll road fees. We headed for the Mgahinga National Park which is at the base of the Ugandan side of the Virungu Mountains.
The Virungu Mountains are a chain of 8 freestanding volcanic cones strung long a fault line associated with the same geological process that formed the Rift Valley. They straddle the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC and are all more than 3000 mt in height..
The Three peaks on the Ugandan side are, 1. Muhovra 4127mt; 2.Gahinga 3474mts; and 3.Sabinyo 3634mts; the direct translations for these are, 1 “The Guide” Its perfect cone topped by a small crater lake that stilled glowed until the 19th century. 2.”A small pile of stones” – a name that becomes clear when you see local people still today gathering stones and putting them into heaps of rocks to tidy their fields. 3.”Old mans teeth,” which refers to the jagged rim of what is the most ancient of the 8 volcanoes in the Vicuña’s. The views are absolutely stunning dominated by the steep volcanic cones of the mountains.
It was so cold, that Wolf “ wheeled and dealed” with the owner and took a “banda” instead of camping. Quite Good Price, R120.00 per night. Obviously only a room with a “bathroom” at the back. But we did not have to share with anyone. Hot water supplied in the afternoon for your shower, and long drop toilets with a seat.
10th July.
Golden Monkey Tracking.
A golden monkey has a bright orange gold body and cheeks, with black limbs and tail. Years ago, they were common in both Rwanda and Uganda. After the genocide and the Gishwani Forest being chopped down the golden monkey was left with only a small population. Today between Uganda and Rwanda the population is estimated to be about 3000 to 4000. They are mainly found in the cane at the top of the forest. After a good 8 km, very disappointed, we had to give up. But one thing the wild is not, is a zoo and that’s why we are where we are today and being able to track them in the wild is how we want to see them. That’s nature and that’s where we want to be. However we had a super guide, Kenneth (could not forget his name) and while waiting at times for the trackers in front we did quite a bit of bird watching. The best for me was the Rwenzori Turaco. We saw 22 other species of which 5 were endemic to the region and 4 new to me.
On return to the campsite, we arranged a local rice and vegetable dinner in the “restaurant.” We had dinner with an German guy from Aachen who was doing Uganda and Rwanda on a bicycle. He had his bike flown out in a crate and arriving in Kampala headed out for the mountains, the chimps and the Gorilla’s in Rwanda.
We left the next day and travelled via Kisora and Kabale to Mbarara. Both Rwanda and Uganda are built on 1000 hills. This trip makes you realise just how hilly the countryside is. But with all these hills, virtually every steep slope is cultivated by the locals with tea, maize, potatoes, bananas, forestry and vegetables. The hills look like huge patch work quilts. Each crop in huge squares, so meticulously tidy. The tea plantations are magnificent.
Here we stayed at Fort Caleb Rest house, which was originally built for a family retreat for the daughter of the Prime Minister. (It had a real bath and hot water) I had a hot bath both evening and morning. A big smile for me.
The next day, Sunday, the 12th we left for Queen Elizabeth National Park. We chose to camp outside of the main camp area, overlooking the channel, which links Lake Edward and Lake George. From our campsite over the channel, we had beautiful views of dozens of Elephants ad hundreds of Buffalo, all bathing in the channel. The only disadvantage is there is no shower at the camp site, but that wasn’t a problem for me, Wolf heated the Solar Shower and I had a really warm shower. We had the site completely to ourselves and really enjoyed the silence.
On Monday morning, we left at 6am, as the entrance to the tracking of the chimps was about 52km at the other end of the park. We were treated to a lovely sight of 5 hyenas playing just next to the road. We never realised we would see so few hyenas in the wild, after having them at the bungalow for so many years, every night.
We started our track at 8am, all kitted out in long pants, socks pulled up over the pants, long sleeves, all to protect you from Mozzies, Safari Ants, etc.
Within 10 minutes of descending into the Kyambura Gorge, (the gorge is 16km long and about 100mts deep) we heard the chimps calling, unfortunately even moving quite quickly after our guide, by the time we got to where the sound had come from we seemed to have missed them. A further 9km later walking sometimes around in circles, we had to give up. Very disappointed with our second tracking. But again, it is in the wild and we weren’t about to give up.
In the afternoon we had a “boat game drive” on the channel. Again plenty of Elephant, Buffalo, Hippo, Crocodiles and Defassa Waterbuck (does not have the circle on the bum, just a rather large patch of white and has more loose hair on the face, also a lot darker than ours at home) Of coarse, as we motored along the shoreline we saw lots of birds. The last bit before we turned around back to camp, we were treated to a wonderful sight of dozens of both Pelican Species, and too many water birds to mention.
That night we went to bed, with the sounds of Lions, Elephants and hippos.
While enjoying a super braai, with an “Andreas & Wolfgang” Fire we even had banded Mongoose darting in and out.. Being so close to the Equator, the sun only goes down after 7pm, so fire and meal is started in the light. Unfortunately, the sun also comes up later in the morning, so getting up early not so wonderful.
Did a quiet but lovely game drive out of the park the next morning, seeing lots of Elephant and Uganda Cob.
Our trip up to Kibale Forest took us through Fort Portal; here we camped at Ambere Caves, which is in a lovely hilly area dotted with crater lakes. After pitching our tent in a lovely garden, green grass and trees, we went on a short hike, with Wilson the owner/manager of the camp. The full name of the caves is Amabere ga Nyinamwiru which means “Breasts of Nyinamwiru. This refers to the live stalactite formation supposedly shaped like a pair of breasts. One set are actually more reminiscent of deformed cow udders, especially that there are 8. The local guides story and the story in the guide book definitely is not the same. The main cave quite small is very pretty, supported by several pillars formed where stalactites and stalagmites have met in the middle. Local tradition says that anybody who touches these formations will get lost in the caves or be visited by misfortune. A lovely, quite powerful waterfall lies next to the main cave. One can stand on the moss covered rocks behind the water fall and see the ice cold water plunge down right in from of you. The forest around is home to mounds of birds and a few Black and White Colobus Monkeys.
The next morning, while we packed up, we had a super sighting of a Ross turaco.
Leaving on the 15th we left for Kimbali Forest to have another go at Chimp Tracking. Stopping at Kanyanchu, (where the tracking of the chimps are done from) we were told that there was only a space for the afternoon tracking and nothing else for another week. (It was like the repeat of the Gorilla’s) Well again, when you have to move you move, within an hour we had found a super, super camp, “Chimps Nest “ dropped off the trailer, changed into the “Chimp Tracking clothes,” again, and got back in time for our briefing.
This time, luck prevailed, we were no more than 1km into to the forest, when we saw one lone Chimp, quite high up in the trees. Spending about five minutes with him, our guide felt we should move on. Again after a 90min walk and no chimps, we were all feeling a little disappointed, but within moments, there our guide was rushing us through the forest and there we were, again awed by these creatures. (they say, Chimps, share more than 98% of their genes with humans) Unlike other primates they don’t live in troops, but in extended communities of up to 100. Most of male chimps spend most of their lives within the community that they were born into, where females are likely to migrate into neighbouring communities after reaching adolescence. A highly ranking male will attempt to monopolise a female in oestrus. A young female in oestrus will generally mate with any male that takes her fancy, while older females tend to form closer bonds with a few specific males but never pairing off exclusively in the long term.(And they say they 98% the same as humans!!!!!!) Men don’t you say anything.
Before 1960 it was always assumed that Chimps were vegetarians but after Jane Goodall witnessed them hunting down red colobus money, it has been discovered to be common behaviour particularly during the dry season where food sources are depleted. Apparently because we are taller than the chimps they perceive us as more powerful and that is why they do not challenge us, note that a big male can pick up 4 times his body weight. A male can weigh up to 55kilos.
This is also the reason why no children under 12 are allowed to track the chimps.
We first had only 4 males, but soon another 10, which included two babies, joined them. Mostly they spent their time quite high up in the trees, feeding off fig fruits, sometimes more fruit being thrown down, than what they ate. A few times you, not only had to dodge the fruits but also the “rain” while they decided to relieve themselves. We were allowed to spend 1 hour with them, watching them play and climb up and down. Chimps having no tails, (only a stump) can’t jump from trees, but they jump down from branch to branch, this makes photographs quite tricky, thank heaven for digital cameras, lots of deleting to follow. Andreas, in the old days, this would have been a very costly exercise for those clicking fingers. Again the hour went by so quickly and like the feeling of exhilaration of seeing the Gorillas, we felt so lucky and privileged to be able once again to be with Africa’s special primates. On our way out of the forest, we managed glimpses of the Black and White Colobus and the red tailed monkey.
Back at our Campsite, one not in our Bradt Book or mentioned on tracks for Africa, we found to be one of the best. A super hot and clean shower owned and run by a Dutch couple whose motto is hygiene, silence, comfort and quality the most important. It is not fenced and on the border of the Forest. They have about 8 different species of monkeys, (none of which visit your campsite) forest elephants and quite a few night mammals like Potto, genet, and serval. While we were there we met Tarsi and Filistea, both South Africans. Tersia is a doctor who lives in Pretoria and practices in Midrand, and her sister who has recently relocated to Kampala with her husband. We soon found we had lots in common, had visited lots of the same places. Both of us had done all the same places in Namibia last year. We found that we had booked the same trip for the next morning to the Bigodi Swamp walk with numerous birds and monkeys. Both very adventurous had left Kampala by bus to Fort Portal, caught boda-bodas, (a motor cycle with seat on the back) and then a taxi to get to the main road of where we camped then a walk of about 2km to the resort. Filistea much younger than us and Tersia not so much, I must say that we were both in awe of what they accomplish together. I know neither Wolf nor I would like to do without each others strengths.
We did the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary guided walk together, about a walk of about 6.5km for the full trip. It is a small sanctuary, which protects the Magombe Swamp. Our guide Alex did us proud, we saw at least 37 different species of birds, of which 13 were endemic or only from East Africa. I will list all birds of Uganda at the end of the trip. The monkeys we saw were the Western Red Colobus (different from the one we saw in Zanzibar), the Black and White Colobus, the Grey Cheeked Mangabey, and the Red Tailed Monkey. The best of the day was the Great Blue Turaco and both Male and Female Black and White Casqued Hornbill.
We were actually sorry to leave such a lovely campsite and beautiful area. But Kampala is calling, we need to get Ethiopian Visa’s, have the car serviced and check on our shipping arrangements for Djibouti. We also need to stay on track as we need to be in Kenya for the beginning of August, so as to plan Heather & Nicks visit. I can’t believe in a month, Heather and Nick you will be with us, we can’t wait.
Saturday, 18th July, We left Kibale Forest, via Fort Portal for Kampala, giving Tersia and Filistea a lift and having company with them who knew Kampala and could help direct us to a campsite.
There is no description of the “traffic” in Kampala, Wolf’s description is, this is not traffic it’s just “Chaos”. Everybody for his own, there is only one way here, you just go. We have been told that the American Embassy did a survey on the worst traffic in the world and Uganda has been rated 2nd worst.
KAMPALA- 18th July – 22nd July
We found a really busy but very good value and facilities at Red Chilli in Kampala. Pitched our tent, they have a very slow internet connection but its there and free of charge.
Just chilled with a beer and had a meal in their restaurant.
Sunday, we found a church, with 6 masses on Sunday, including 3 English ones. Dawn was really happy. Found Shoprite and Game in one centre and another shopping mall with good imported goods and even a “Butchers Grill”. Lots of imported meat, at more than imported prices. We had a drive around Kampala to see where the Ethiopian Consulate was so the next morning we would not get lost in the “chaos” Found an agent for Mitsubishi and Monday we were there at 7.30am when they opened, managed to get the car in for service and then a lift to the Ethiopian Embassy. Surprise and exaltations, arriving at 8.30 when they opened we were out at 10.00am with visa’s all sorted. We messed around the centre and organized with Tersia and Filistea to go to Jinja on Tuesday and White River Raft down the Nile.
Picked up our vehicle, of coarse got a shock at the cost, but all in all I suppose 14000 km from SA our well hard worked vehicle deserved a service. Got the website updated with our photos. I wish our friends at home could be with us to share the wonderful experiences we have had. No words and even photo’s can tell you how much fun and wonderful experiences we have had.
We were collected by “Adrift Adventures” for our trip to Jinja, about 90min drive in the horrific traffic.
Arriving they rush you through a quick briefing, kit you up quick, life-jackets and helmets.
It starts off at Bujagali Falls and finishes about 30km down the Nile. The rapids are graded in 1-6. On our trip we had a 2, a 3, four 4’s and four 5’s. Well the first they call “a face wash” and that it was, it wakes you up and you get ready for the rest. They give you instruction if the raft tips over, or you fall out. The safety kayaks are waiting to collect you if you come adrift. Those guys in the Kayaks are something else, they can come down a rapid, flip over and do a full circle under water coming up with no problem. They name the rapids, like, Big Brother, Overtime, Ribcage, Surf City, Silverback etc.
We were nine in our raft, Tersia, Filistea, Wolf, Dawn and a young couple from America, James and Electra, and a Dutch guy, Patrick. Well soon not knowing anyone, you become quick friends with lots of laughs. The first to fall out the raft was Tersia on a number 5. A few rapids later out went Patrick. Our raft never went over once, we did a total vertical number twice but the raft never flipped. (Probably all my prayers.) But this was the most exhilarating experience one could do. Half way down we stopped at a small island and given a super buffet style lunch, cold meat, salads, fruit, and drinks. The after lunch rapids are more spread out, so lots of paddling, swimming from time to time, laughs are the order of the afternoon. Not too say the last rapids are two 4’s and two 5’s. There was a second raft behind us, they flipped once and also came down the wrong rapid and went over a small waterfall. It was wonderful to watch
At one point we were out watching our safety guys in their “kayaks” going over a “6”. I think our entire group were ready to redo the trip again the next day.
On completion, they had a “braai” of sosatie sticks of meat or veg and a “roti” bread with beer or coldrinks, before taking us back to Kampala. A trip none of us will forget, hopefully Wolf will be able to capture some of the photos which were taken on the website.
Wednesday, we collected our videos, met Tersia and Filistea to exchange photos and the video and got ready for departure to Murchison Falls.
23rd to 26th July.
Flanking the Victoria Nile some 300km northwest of Kampala, Murchison Falls National Park is the largest protected area in Uganda. The waterfall is one of e most electrifying sights in East Africa.
We spent one night just outside the entrance to the park in a community camp run by the Bomu Women’s group. We stayed in a “banda” the thatch roof is so low that you have to duck to get through the door. But it was clean and different. The shower is an enclosed area and you get a drum of water, which you hitch up onto the “wall” and open the lid when you are ready to rinse. The toilet is a long drop, a bit different from any we have seen. There is two sections to it, one part is like the normal drop (poo) and in front there is a small “pee hole”. The sign on the wall, (hey guys this is genuine) “Don’t Shit in the Pee Hole Please”
On arrival at the falls, we set up camp at the sister camp of Red Chilly, (from Kampala) really quickly and organized out trip down the Nile to the base of the Falls.
The trip was about 3 and half hours. The surprise was a quick view of a leopard on its way for a drink at the river. We also saw the Jackson’s Hartebeest (supposed to be very “doff” his memory is so bad he forgets when the lion is chasing him) We also saw lots of Hippo, and quite a few birds, the unusual, being Red throated Bee Eater; Spur winged Lap Wing, and the Rock Pratnicole.
The Falls are 43mts high and the water is forced through a 7mt cleft in the rocks which makes the sheer power of the water an amazing sight.
We had a super potjie for supper and really enjoyed being in the quiet of a park again. Like our Hyenas in camp at Ingwelala, they have Warthogs, who even can smell food in your tent and have no problem to eat their way in.
The best game drive is in the Nile Delta. For this you need to go over the Nile River on a ferry, which leaves from 7am on the hour. It only takes 8 vehicles, so early in the queue is a definite and even that is not enough, you need to push and shove to get on. Wolf’s push and shove got us on the early ferry, we had a super game drive, lions (trying very hard to catch a buffalo) Bushbuck, lots of “Doff” Jackson’s Hartebeest, hundreds of Oribi, Uganda Kob, herds of Giraffe (Rothschild’s) sometimes 50 in one time, Defassa Waterbuck, Buffalo, a nice herd of Elephant with 3 babies, and some Patas Monkeys.
Birds we had not seen before were, Denham’s Bustard, Western Marsh Harrier, a Blue Headed Coucal, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Vieillots Black Weaver, Northern Red Bishop and a pair of Abyssinian Ground Hornbill.
After our game drive we went back over the ferry, this takes a bit of time, we had to drive about 25km south of the camp and saw the top of the falls. Here only can you really appreciate the staggering power with which the Nile crashes through this narrow gap in the escarpment, not to mention the deafening roar and the voluminous spray.
The route out the next morning we had a quick glimpse of a bush pig and a couple of forest duikersand another pair of Abyssinian Hornbills. All in all about 40 species of birds.
Our trip back to Kampala went a lot quicker and we managed to get to Church (Sunday). Church for me in Africa, especially Uganda is just so intense and moving. Even Wolf who stood outside for some of the mass on Sunday evening remarked how much he enjoyed the singing. You can hear their voices for at least two blocks away. In Rwanda I went to a weekday mass (6.15am) and there were about 150 people in church.
One of Uganda’s staple food, is a Green Banana’s they are called Matoke, and when they are green they are cooked like a potato, any way you want, you can make chips, mash, boil, fried and we even made “potato pancakes” twice. They really taste just like potatoes. You have to buy them in ”BULK”, see the photo on the website. When they started to ripen, we had fried bananas and banana fritters.
We left very early for our trip out of Uganda, going through Jinja to the border at Mbale. I am getting too exited for Kenya, Heather and Nick arrive in 16days time and we have lots to organize. A very easy border to cross and soon we were in Kenya.
Some Stats just for the record, we have been on our trip for 102 days, done just over 16000km set up the tent 36 times, and slept in other accommodation 20times. We can put up camp now in about 15min and if we are organized can pack up in the morning, with the bathroom run and coffee in 40minutes. Rwanda and Uganda blew the budget a bit because we did so much tracking and the parks are expensive but all in all it was worth every penny. Personally I think Uganda was the best since leaving home and we certainly could have spent more time in the country. The Highlights have to have been the Gorillas and the water rafting down the Nile a close second. We actually did not have a lowlight to speak of but the road to and from the parks are really poor, so maybe this would be the worst of the trip.
9th July, 2009
Happy birthday, Tom, thought lots about you, especially as we had seen the Gorillas yesterday. Would be really nice to share a bottle of wine and share our Gorilla experiences.
Left for Uganda today. Through the border at Cyanika. Quite relaxed border, except we had to wait for the computer, which was off line, to be able to pay for our toll road fees. We headed for the Mgahinga National Park which is at the base of the Ugandan side of the Virungu Mountains.
The Virungu Mountains are a chain of 8 freestanding volcanic cones strung long a fault line associated with the same geological process that formed the Rift Valley. They straddle the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC and are all more than 3000 mt in height..
The Three peaks on the Ugandan side are, 1. Muhovra 4127mt; 2.Gahinga 3474mts; and 3.Sabinyo 3634mts; the direct translations for these are, 1 “The Guide” Its perfect cone topped by a small crater lake that stilled glowed until the 19th century. 2.”A small pile of stones” – a name that becomes clear when you see local people still today gathering stones and putting them into heaps of rocks to tidy their fields. 3.”Old mans teeth,” which refers to the jagged rim of what is the most ancient of the 8 volcanoes in the Vicuña’s. The views are absolutely stunning dominated by the steep volcanic cones of the mountains.
It was so cold, that Wolf “ wheeled and dealed” with the owner and took a “banda” instead of camping. Quite Good Price, R120.00 per night. Obviously only a room with a “bathroom” at the back. But we did not have to share with anyone. Hot water supplied in the afternoon for your shower, and long drop toilets with a seat.
10th July.
Golden Monkey Tracking.
A golden monkey has a bright orange gold body and cheeks, with black limbs and tail. Years ago, they were common in both Rwanda and Uganda. After the genocide and the Gishwani Forest being chopped down the golden monkey was left with only a small population. Today between Uganda and Rwanda the population is estimated to be about 3000 to 4000. They are mainly found in the cane at the top of the forest. After a good 8 km, very disappointed, we had to give up. But one thing the wild is not, is a zoo and that’s why we are where we are today and being able to track them in the wild is how we want to see them. That’s nature and that’s where we want to be. However we had a super guide, Kenneth (could not forget his name) and while waiting at times for the trackers in front we did quite a bit of bird watching. The best for me was the Rwenzori Turaco. We saw 22 other species of which 5 were endemic to the region and 4 new to me.
On return to the campsite, we arranged a local rice and vegetable dinner in the “restaurant.” We had dinner with an German guy from Aachen who was doing Uganda and Rwanda on a bicycle. He had his bike flown out in a crate and arriving in Kampala headed out for the mountains, the chimps and the Gorilla’s in Rwanda.
We left the next day and travelled via Kisora and Kabale to Mbarara. Both Rwanda and Uganda are built on 1000 hills. This trip makes you realise just how hilly the countryside is. But with all these hills, virtually every steep slope is cultivated by the locals with tea, maize, potatoes, bananas, forestry and vegetables. The hills look like huge patch work quilts. Each crop in huge squares, so meticulously tidy. The tea plantations are magnificent.
Here we stayed at Fort Caleb Rest house, which was originally built for a family retreat for the daughter of the Prime Minister. (It had a real bath and hot water) I had a hot bath both evening and morning. A big smile for me.
The next day, Sunday, the 12th we left for Queen Elizabeth National Park. We chose to camp outside of the main camp area, overlooking the channel, which links Lake Edward and Lake George. From our campsite over the channel, we had beautiful views of dozens of Elephants ad hundreds of Buffalo, all bathing in the channel. The only disadvantage is there is no shower at the camp site, but that wasn’t a problem for me, Wolf heated the Solar Shower and I had a really warm shower. We had the site completely to ourselves and really enjoyed the silence.
On Monday morning, we left at 6am, as the entrance to the tracking of the chimps was about 52km at the other end of the park. We were treated to a lovely sight of 5 hyenas playing just next to the road. We never realised we would see so few hyenas in the wild, after having them at the bungalow for so many years, every night.
We started our track at 8am, all kitted out in long pants, socks pulled up over the pants, long sleeves, all to protect you from Mozzies, Safari Ants, etc.
Within 10 minutes of descending into the Kyambura Gorge, (the gorge is 16km long and about 100mts deep) we heard the chimps calling, unfortunately even moving quite quickly after our guide, by the time we got to where the sound had come from we seemed to have missed them. A further 9km later walking sometimes around in circles, we had to give up. Very disappointed with our second tracking. But again, it is in the wild and we weren’t about to give up.
In the afternoon we had a “boat game drive” on the channel. Again plenty of Elephant, Buffalo, Hippo, Crocodiles and Defassa Waterbuck (does not have the circle on the bum, just a rather large patch of white and has more loose hair on the face, also a lot darker than ours at home) Of coarse, as we motored along the shoreline we saw lots of birds. The last bit before we turned around back to camp, we were treated to a wonderful sight of dozens of both Pelican Species, and too many water birds to mention.
That night we went to bed, with the sounds of Lions, Elephants and hippos.
While enjoying a super braai, with an “Andreas & Wolfgang” Fire we even had banded Mongoose darting in and out.. Being so close to the Equator, the sun only goes down after 7pm, so fire and meal is started in the light. Unfortunately, the sun also comes up later in the morning, so getting up early not so wonderful.
Did a quiet but lovely game drive out of the park the next morning, seeing lots of Elephant and Uganda Cob.
Our trip up to Kibale Forest took us through Fort Portal; here we camped at Ambere Caves, which is in a lovely hilly area dotted with crater lakes. After pitching our tent in a lovely garden, green grass and trees, we went on a short hike, with Wilson the owner/manager of the camp. The full name of the caves is Amabere ga Nyinamwiru which means “Breasts of Nyinamwiru. This refers to the live stalactite formation supposedly shaped like a pair of breasts. One set are actually more reminiscent of deformed cow udders, especially that there are 8. The local guides story and the story in the guide book definitely is not the same. The main cave quite small is very pretty, supported by several pillars formed where stalactites and stalagmites have met in the middle. Local tradition says that anybody who touches these formations will get lost in the caves or be visited by misfortune. A lovely, quite powerful waterfall lies next to the main cave. One can stand on the moss covered rocks behind the water fall and see the ice cold water plunge down right in from of you. The forest around is home to mounds of birds and a few Black and White Colobus Monkeys.
The next morning, while we packed up, we had a super sighting of a Ross turaco.
Leaving on the 15th we left for Kimbali Forest to have another go at Chimp Tracking. Stopping at Kanyanchu, (where the tracking of the chimps are done from) we were told that there was only a space for the afternoon tracking and nothing else for another week. (It was like the repeat of the Gorilla’s) Well again, when you have to move you move, within an hour we had found a super, super camp, “Chimps Nest “ dropped off the trailer, changed into the “Chimp Tracking clothes,” again, and got back in time for our briefing.
This time, luck prevailed, we were no more than 1km into to the forest, when we saw one lone Chimp, quite high up in the trees. Spending about five minutes with him, our guide felt we should move on. Again after a 90min walk and no chimps, we were all feeling a little disappointed, but within moments, there our guide was rushing us through the forest and there we were, again awed by these creatures. (they say, Chimps, share more than 98% of their genes with humans) Unlike other primates they don’t live in troops, but in extended communities of up to 100. Most of male chimps spend most of their lives within the community that they were born into, where females are likely to migrate into neighbouring communities after reaching adolescence. A highly ranking male will attempt to monopolise a female in oestrus. A young female in oestrus will generally mate with any male that takes her fancy, while older females tend to form closer bonds with a few specific males but never pairing off exclusively in the long term.(And they say they 98% the same as humans!!!!!!) Men don’t you say anything.
Before 1960 it was always assumed that Chimps were vegetarians but after Jane Goodall witnessed them hunting down red colobus money, it has been discovered to be common behaviour particularly during the dry season where food sources are depleted. Apparently because we are taller than the chimps they perceive us as more powerful and that is why they do not challenge us, note that a big male can pick up 4 times his body weight. A male can weigh up to 55kilos.
This is also the reason why no children under 12 are allowed to track the chimps.
We first had only 4 males, but soon another 10, which included two babies, joined them. Mostly they spent their time quite high up in the trees, feeding off fig fruits, sometimes more fruit being thrown down, than what they ate. A few times you, not only had to dodge the fruits but also the “rain” while they decided to relieve themselves. We were allowed to spend 1 hour with them, watching them play and climb up and down. Chimps having no tails, (only a stump) can’t jump from trees, but they jump down from branch to branch, this makes photographs quite tricky, thank heaven for digital cameras, lots of deleting to follow. Andreas, in the old days, this would have been a very costly exercise for those clicking fingers. Again the hour went by so quickly and like the feeling of exhilaration of seeing the Gorillas, we felt so lucky and privileged to be able once again to be with Africa’s special primates. On our way out of the forest, we managed glimpses of the Black and White Colobus and the red tailed monkey.
Back at our Campsite, one not in our Bradt Book or mentioned on tracks for Africa, we found to be one of the best. A super hot and clean shower owned and run by a Dutch couple whose motto is hygiene, silence, comfort and quality the most important. It is not fenced and on the border of the Forest. They have about 8 different species of monkeys, (none of which visit your campsite) forest elephants and quite a few night mammals like Potto, genet, and serval. While we were there we met Tarsi and Filistea, both South Africans. Tersia is a doctor who lives in Pretoria and practices in Midrand, and her sister who has recently relocated to Kampala with her husband. We soon found we had lots in common, had visited lots of the same places. Both of us had done all the same places in Namibia last year. We found that we had booked the same trip for the next morning to the Bigodi Swamp walk with numerous birds and monkeys. Both very adventurous had left Kampala by bus to Fort Portal, caught boda-bodas, (a motor cycle with seat on the back) and then a taxi to get to the main road of where we camped then a walk of about 2km to the resort. Filistea much younger than us and Tersia not so much, I must say that we were both in awe of what they accomplish together. I know neither Wolf nor I would like to do without each others strengths.
We did the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary guided walk together, about a walk of about 6.5km for the full trip. It is a small sanctuary, which protects the Magombe Swamp. Our guide Alex did us proud, we saw at least 37 different species of birds, of which 13 were endemic or only from East Africa. I will list all birds of Uganda at the end of the trip. The monkeys we saw were the Western Red Colobus (different from the one we saw in Zanzibar), the Black and White Colobus, the Grey Cheeked Mangabey, and the Red Tailed Monkey. The best of the day was the Great Blue Turaco and both Male and Female Black and White Casqued Hornbill.
We were actually sorry to leave such a lovely campsite and beautiful area. But Kampala is calling, we need to get Ethiopian Visa’s, have the car serviced and check on our shipping arrangements for Djibouti. We also need to stay on track as we need to be in Kenya for the beginning of August, so as to plan Heather & Nicks visit. I can’t believe in a month, Heather and Nick you will be with us, we can’t wait.
Saturday, 18th July, We left Kibale Forest, via Fort Portal for Kampala, giving Tersia and Filistea a lift and having company with them who knew Kampala and could help direct us to a campsite.
There is no description of the “traffic” in Kampala, Wolf’s description is, this is not traffic it’s just “Chaos”. Everybody for his own, there is only one way here, you just go. We have been told that the American Embassy did a survey on the worst traffic in the world and Uganda has been rated 2nd worst.
KAMPALA- 18th July – 22nd July
We found a really busy but very good value and facilities at Red Chilli in Kampala. Pitched our tent, they have a very slow internet connection but its there and free of charge.
Just chilled with a beer and had a meal in their restaurant.
Sunday, we found a church, with 6 masses on Sunday, including 3 English ones. Dawn was really happy. Found Shoprite and Game in one centre and another shopping mall with good imported goods and even a “Butchers Grill”. Lots of imported meat, at more than imported prices. We had a drive around Kampala to see where the Ethiopian Consulate was so the next morning we would not get lost in the “chaos” Found an agent for Mitsubishi and Monday we were there at 7.30am when they opened, managed to get the car in for service and then a lift to the Ethiopian Embassy. Surprise and exaltations, arriving at 8.30 when they opened we were out at 10.00am with visa’s all sorted. We messed around the centre and organized with Tersia and Filistea to go to Jinja on Tuesday and White River Raft down the Nile.
Picked up our vehicle, of coarse got a shock at the cost, but all in all I suppose 14000 km from SA our well hard worked vehicle deserved a service. Got the website updated with our photos. I wish our friends at home could be with us to share the wonderful experiences we have had. No words and even photo’s can tell you how much fun and wonderful experiences we have had.
We were collected by “Adrift Adventures” for our trip to Jinja, about 90min drive in the horrific traffic.
Arriving they rush you through a quick briefing, kit you up quick, life-jackets and helmets.
It starts off at Bujagali Falls and finishes about 30km down the Nile. The rapids are graded in 1-6. On our trip we had a 2, a 3, four 4’s and four 5’s. Well the first they call “a face wash” and that it was, it wakes you up and you get ready for the rest. They give you instruction if the raft tips over, or you fall out. The safety kayaks are waiting to collect you if you come adrift. Those guys in the Kayaks are something else, they can come down a rapid, flip over and do a full circle under water coming up with no problem. They name the rapids, like, Big Brother, Overtime, Ribcage, Surf City, Silverback etc.
We were nine in our raft, Tersia, Filistea, Wolf, Dawn and a young couple from America, James and Electra, and a Dutch guy, Patrick. Well soon not knowing anyone, you become quick friends with lots of laughs. The first to fall out the raft was Tersia on a number 5. A few rapids later out went Patrick. Our raft never went over once, we did a total vertical number twice but the raft never flipped. (Probably all my prayers.) But this was the most exhilarating experience one could do. Half way down we stopped at a small island and given a super buffet style lunch, cold meat, salads, fruit, and drinks. The after lunch rapids are more spread out, so lots of paddling, swimming from time to time, laughs are the order of the afternoon. Not too say the last rapids are two 4’s and two 5’s. There was a second raft behind us, they flipped once and also came down the wrong rapid and went over a small waterfall. It was wonderful to watch
At one point we were out watching our safety guys in their “kayaks” going over a “6”. I think our entire group were ready to redo the trip again the next day.
On completion, they had a “braai” of sosatie sticks of meat or veg and a “roti” bread with beer or coldrinks, before taking us back to Kampala. A trip none of us will forget, hopefully Wolf will be able to capture some of the photos which were taken on the website.
Wednesday, we collected our videos, met Tersia and Filistea to exchange photos and the video and got ready for departure to Murchison Falls.
23rd to 26th July.
Flanking the Victoria Nile some 300km northwest of Kampala, Murchison Falls National Park is the largest protected area in Uganda. The waterfall is one of e most electrifying sights in East Africa.
We spent one night just outside the entrance to the park in a community camp run by the Bomu Women’s group. We stayed in a “banda” the thatch roof is so low that you have to duck to get through the door. But it was clean and different. The shower is an enclosed area and you get a drum of water, which you hitch up onto the “wall” and open the lid when you are ready to rinse. The toilet is a long drop, a bit different from any we have seen. There is two sections to it, one part is like the normal drop (poo) and in front there is a small “pee hole”. The sign on the wall, (hey guys this is genuine) “Don’t Shit in the Pee Hole Please”
On arrival at the falls, we set up camp at the sister camp of Red Chilly, (from Kampala) really quickly and organized out trip down the Nile to the base of the Falls.
The trip was about 3 and half hours. The surprise was a quick view of a leopard on its way for a drink at the river. We also saw the Jackson’s Hartebeest (supposed to be very “doff” his memory is so bad he forgets when the lion is chasing him) We also saw lots of Hippo, and quite a few birds, the unusual, being Red throated Bee Eater; Spur winged Lap Wing, and the Rock Pratnicole.
The Falls are 43mts high and the water is forced through a 7mt cleft in the rocks which makes the sheer power of the water an amazing sight.
We had a super potjie for supper and really enjoyed being in the quiet of a park again. Like our Hyenas in camp at Ingwelala, they have Warthogs, who even can smell food in your tent and have no problem to eat their way in.
The best game drive is in the Nile Delta. For this you need to go over the Nile River on a ferry, which leaves from 7am on the hour. It only takes 8 vehicles, so early in the queue is a definite and even that is not enough, you need to push and shove to get on. Wolf’s push and shove got us on the early ferry, we had a super game drive, lions (trying very hard to catch a buffalo) Bushbuck, lots of “Doff” Jackson’s Hartebeest, hundreds of Oribi, Uganda Kob, herds of Giraffe (Rothschild’s) sometimes 50 in one time, Defassa Waterbuck, Buffalo, a nice herd of Elephant with 3 babies, and some Patas Monkeys.
Birds we had not seen before were, Denham’s Bustard, Western Marsh Harrier, a Blue Headed Coucal, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Vieillots Black Weaver, Northern Red Bishop and a pair of Abyssinian Ground Hornbill.
After our game drive we went back over the ferry, this takes a bit of time, we had to drive about 25km south of the camp and saw the top of the falls. Here only can you really appreciate the staggering power with which the Nile crashes through this narrow gap in the escarpment, not to mention the deafening roar and the voluminous spray.
The route out the next morning we had a quick glimpse of a bush pig and a couple of forest duikersand another pair of Abyssinian Hornbills. All in all about 40 species of birds.
Our trip back to Kampala went a lot quicker and we managed to get to Church (Sunday). Church for me in Africa, especially Uganda is just so intense and moving. Even Wolf who stood outside for some of the mass on Sunday evening remarked how much he enjoyed the singing. You can hear their voices for at least two blocks away. In Rwanda I went to a weekday mass (6.15am) and there were about 150 people in church.
One of Uganda’s staple food, is a Green Banana’s they are called Matoke, and when they are green they are cooked like a potato, any way you want, you can make chips, mash, boil, fried and we even made “potato pancakes” twice. They really taste just like potatoes. You have to buy them in ”BULK”, see the photo on the website. When they started to ripen, we had fried bananas and banana fritters.
We left very early for our trip out of Uganda, going through Jinja to the border at Mbale. I am getting too exited for Kenya, Heather and Nick arrive in 16days time and we have lots to organize. A very easy border to cross and soon we were in Kenya.
Some Stats just for the record, we have been on our trip for 102 days, done just over 16000km set up the tent 36 times, and slept in other accommodation 20times. We can put up camp now in about 15min and if we are organized can pack up in the morning, with the bathroom run and coffee in 40minutes. Rwanda and Uganda blew the budget a bit because we did so much tracking and the parks are expensive but all in all it was worth every penny. Personally I think Uganda was the best since leaving home and we certainly could have spent more time in the country. The Highlights have to have been the Gorillas and the water rafting down the Nile a close second. We actually did not have a lowlight to speak of but the road to and from the parks are really poor, so maybe this would be the worst of the trip.
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