Uganda: The Dark Horse

We said 'good-bye' to a very clean non-English-speaking Rwanda and 'hello' to a very chaotic English-speaking Uganda. We weren't complaining. We headed to Lake Bunyonyi just a couple of km's from the border and booked ourselves in at Bunyonyi Overlander's Resort, the only place that could accommodate roof-top tent campers. We were very happy to be back in our camping mode, cooking our own food and spreading ourselves out around Michael. The first day there we did a major spring clean; had laundry done, swept out the floors, seats and tent of dust, mud, etc. The rest of our time there was spent chilling and enjoying the views of the Lake and the cultivated hills surrounding us.

On our way out of Lake Bunyonyi, heading towards Queen Elizabeth Park, we met up with Steve D and his travel companions for breakfast. It was so cool to see a familiar face and catch-up on travel-news, life and all things meaningful :-)

After that, we did some much-needed shopping in the market and then hit the road!

Our plan had been to spend the night just outside of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and then drive through the park on the main road the next day (the no-pay option). But when we arrived at the Kingfisher Lodge overlooking expansive African plains we couldn't resist and decided then and there that we would drive into the park and camp there the next night. We are so glad we made that decision- the park itself and the views across picture-perfect Africa were phenomenal and we spent the day soaking up the views and the realisation of where we were. After a night filled with hippo grunts, hyeana cackles and lion roars, we drove towards the Rwenzori Mountains National Park. En route we crossed another imaginary line that holds some sort of appeal. The Equator!

We popped into a quaint little town called Kilembe surrounded by huge cloud-covered mountains and had a cup of coffee at the backpackers. We met another South African couple there and had a good chat before we decided to drive on to our destination a little deeper into the Rwenzori mountains, the Ruboni Community Campsite. What a gem! This spot is divided into the Lower and the Upper camps, the lower for roof-top tent campers and the Upper camp for ground tents and anyone staying in their bandas. We were blown away by this place and it lists as one of our highlights of the trip so far. It was truly community-run and we were treated with such friendliness and hospitality. Here we decided to try our first Rolex, a Ugandan speciality comprising a chapatti and omelette rolled up together- delicious! After lunch Grant worked on the car and managed to get rid of two nasty sounding rattles! We then decided to go up to the Upper camp and have a drink there. The views from up there were amazing! We had an emergency planning meeting and promptly booked ourselves a guided hike up one of the foothills the following day as well as accommodation in one of the Upper Camps bandas for the next night.

This little spot doesn't get much business and we really can't recommend it enough. The food was so delicious and cheap, we got an authentic community feel and left feeling that we had truly experienced the beauty and character of the Rwenzori mountains and it's people.

We left much fattened after many Rolexes and headed across the country to Entebbe: home of the Shoe-bill Stork. (First we had to negotiate a bit of Kampala's peak hour traffic. Johannesberg has nothing on it. It was hectic, three lanes were created that would usually only accomodate one and offensive driving takes on a completely different meaning.)

We set-up camp in the garden of Entebbe Backpackers and made a quick phonecall to a bird guide and arranged to be picked up at 6:30 the following morning to be taken to the Mabamba Swamp, a 90 minute drive from Entebbe. After driving through many dusty villages, we arrived at a narrow piece of shore with a few simple fishing boats, a couple of boda-bodas (motorbikes) and some fishermen. Feeling like we were part of an Entebbe underground secret, we were piled into a fishing boat and glided into a maze of narrow waterways walled by green reeds. After an hour our guide told us to stand-up and look a couple of hundred metres ahead at a purplish blob- the Shoe-bill! We headed deeper into the lily-covered waters and after another hour we were close enough to get a really good sighting of this funny cartoon-like bird! Amazing!

(Grant: "Tracking" a Shoe-Bill Stork was one of the many things I wanted to do during our trip. For a birder it is one of the most sought after species. Gliding through the reeds in search of this pre-historic looking bird was awesome. )

A Rolex in-the-making! Ush500 a pop=R1.50!

We arrived back to Entebbe just after lunch time and decided to stay on another night here in Entebbe and catch-up on blogging, emailing etc. (This evening we spoilt ourselves with a pizza getting to the restuarant on the local means of transport, a Boda-boda (motorbike taxi). So Ang and I squashed onto the seat (3 on a bike is nothing, we have witnessed 4) and paid only USh 3000 (R9) for a rollercoaster ride through Entebbe. Very cool.)

 Tomorrow we head to Jinga to hopefully do some whitewater rafting!

P.S. We have heard that some of you can't see the pictures as they are too big. Let us know if you are having this problem too and we will make a plan.