This being the first country so far we had to pay for visas we had to fork out
100USD as they would not accept their own currency.
All went smooth with the entry through Cyanika border post and within 30 minutes we entered the sixth country on our trip. As we paid the road taxes the gentleman helping us was extremely friendly, and we even got cold bottled water for free while he chatted happily away giving advice on where we should go and what we should see. It was in this conversation he handed our change back and we almost got ripped by a big amount if it wasn't that Rui kept on counting the money and he said: "Oh, did I give you 40 000 to little?" The exact amount!! Co incidentally the exact amount of the short change. We left with the correct change and headed towards the small town of Kisoro with only
Guerrilla on our mind.
We booked into the Virungu Hotels campsite and went to get internet access in the new country and find out about the guerrilla trekking.
Although it was the "special price" Month of November with considerably lower prices than normal, 350USD vs the normal 500USD per person
there was space available the very next day.
However we opted for the day after as we first wanted to make sure where the starting point is as we could not afford to be late or lost and stand the chance of loosing our single biggest expense on the trip so far.
Road signs were not to common or obvious in this part of the world. After the daily electricity failure and downpour we settled in and watched a movie, once again thankful for our setup as we did not need to set up tent or anything in the rain and wet lawns. Big was our surprise as we opened the door the next morning to find a nicely set table for two with a colour full tablecloth being set up in front of our door by the caring hotel manager. The language commonly spoken here being English makes all much easier and on your way to the bathroom everybody was greeting and wanted to know if the madam and sir slept well?
We attempted the road to the gorilla base camp and experienced the worst road we had driven up till now, cryptic signing and at last arriving at a grassy patch which seemed to be "the spot". Immediately a man came running to us
ready to take us up the Virungu mountain to the official UWA departure spot, we had a hard time to explain we will only go the following morning as he was more than ready to take us. We tackled the 6 kms back to town and just short of an hour later we booked and paid with the helpful staff of Uganda Wildlife
Ass with permits in hand we were now as close as could be to another of
our dreams.
As the alarm went off the next morning we were like bullets
from a barrel, dressed, teeth brushed , cameras ready and backpacks packed we
tackled the washed away route to the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and this
morning it was even worse after the downpour of the previous evening.
We planned to be there early and have our morning-coffee before setting
off. As we approached Emmanuel, the porter of the previous day came
running, this time sure to take us to base. He couldn't understand that we first
needed a caffeine fix and to top it all Rui still wanted to visit the loo.
Emmanuel, helpfully organised the key to the ablutions and Rui set of with great expectations, after all if it was locked, and after paying such a hefty entrance fee it should be in a reasonable state to use.... He came back immediately, gave the key back and said: "Ill rather shit in the car". This was a priceless moment as Emmanuel's face on that comment showed his surprise and disgust.
He was obviously not aware we have a toilet in the back of the car.
With Emmanuel in front we tagged along up the foot of the mountain battling for breath while he walked up chatting with his hands in his pockets. The altitude was getting to us. We reached the office where all formalities were taken care off and we now knew we were the only two on this trek, we met our guide and scout with his AK 47 in case we find elephant and buffalo(?). The previous nights rain and the 3 000m above sea level made it tough going, but luckily after 45 minutes we reached the nest where they had slept. The trackers and guides carefully guided us to the area where they were.
The Nyakagezi group of 10 gorillas, a baby of 5 months, 4 juveniles, 2 females and 3 silverbacks. The group was at ease with us and we took some awesome photos. The experience is difficult to describe as one aware of the similarities. They are bigger than what I ever expected them to be. They seemed not to
be disturbed by our presence at all and while the mother was feeding with
the baby up in the trees the others would just feed on the dense
vegetation, lie on the ground as if on a sofa and doze off or comfortably move
to a better spot for whatever their need at that moment. A grown
gorilla eats up to 20 kg of leaves and plant material a day. All too soon
our hour was up , as that is all that is allowed per visit and we had
to leave down the now steep, slippery mountain to the base. We slipped and
slided down eager to download our photos and to relive the experience.
After a hot shower and getting into dry clothes we were just to tired to move on
and decided to stay another night.
After another downpour of note we woke up to bright sunny skies and took the winding road to Lake Bunyoni. The lovely new tar road took us winding through the bamboo forest of Echuya Forest Reserve and we spotted king cranes along the mountains, but unfortunately not close enough for good photos. We took the scenic route and travelled along a winding little gravel road with the lake on the steep right hand side and the mountains on the left.
Unexpectedly we came across a unexpected little gem of Lake View Coffee House, a neat coffee shop with stunning views of lake Bunyoni and we enjoyed the view, had some tasty freshwater crayfish and chatted to some of the local business owners about the area. We headed down to the Overlanders Campsite resort on the banks of Lake Bunyoni and were pleasantly surprised not only by what the resort had to offer, but also the neat ablutions and lovely gardens and setting. We enjoyed the stay and travelled to the town of Kabale by a steep gravel road with all the activities from farming, forestry to stone chopping and harvesting. We spent an enjoyable time in the South western region of Uganda and come to realise that this region offers far more than just the Gorillas.
Those of you interested in visiting the region, have a look at this! www.gorillahighlands.com
After 3 days, time came to move on and early morning we moved towards Kampala. Roadwork's covered long distances and heavy rains made the trip challenging, and after six hours we reached Masaka a mere 230 odd kms, but we were all to glad to reach the campsite and set up camp next to Erich an Alex from Austria who have been on the road for 4 years.
We took a day trip to Lake Nabugabe and although we had the intensions to
stay for the weekend we were not impressed by the small muddy lake or the
accommodation facilities so we returned to Masaka and enjoyed visiting the town and visits to the coffee shops and walking the intriguing streets and alleys
with staircases, shops and alleyways. Nowhere else have we seen so
many cell phone shops side by side, all stocked to the roof. The Maribu
Storks circling ahead and cleaning the streets and markets, like municipal
workers on the cleaning team. Up to 100 in the air at some times
We ate Rolex's here from street vendors. This is a Chapati with a scrambled egg
and some vegetables, so the correct description would be roll and eggs, it
became a Rolex. . A humble but tasty street food.
We also attended a dance performance of the different dances from various
regions of Uganda. The rhythmic music and dances were performed by a special dance group, and we enjoyed it so much that we slept through a narrow escape happening 30cm from our car. The high voltage electricity pole fell
over just missing us while we were in dreamland, only to discover the
pole right at our door as we climbed out the following morning.
We left Masakea and travelled to Lake Victoria through a very bumpy and washed away gravel road to take the ferry to Buggala Island. This is the biggest of the 84 islands making up the Ssese islands, and a favourite holiday destination for Ugandans. Once off the ferry we headed along a gravel road to Lutoboka through the administrative centre of Kalangala.
We had the best facilities so far in Uganda at Ssese resort Beach hotel and although we were the only people in the campsite the facilities were clean and we enjoyed the working hot water showers every day.
We took a drive around the small island of 200 km2 that measures only 43 kms from east to west and watched with sadness the price of electricity as there was deforestation and road building happening, all to supply the little outlaying villages with the comfort of electricity.
The main activity on this island is palm oil, with palm plantations as far as the eye can see.
Driving pass the extracting-factory one can smell the heavy oil smell in the air. This activity is also the biggest source of income to the locals.
Some areas still have lovely strips of virgin forests and the birdlife on the island
is worth mentioning as we saw some birds we had to look for in the bird book.
The island has a very relaxed and laid back atmosphere and we really had to make a serious effort to wake up and be in time to leave sharply at 08h00 with the MV Kalangala back to Entebbe on mainland.
Once in Kampala we decided to stay at the much recommended Red Chilli Hide away, but they have recently moved premises and we struggled for about 3 hours to find the new premises, while looking for this I was surprised
at the mentality of the local people as one would ask them for directions and they would reply with:" How much you give me?" Needless to say we did not give anybody any thing and manage to find it ourselves. A shopkeeper even
wanted to know if I want red chilli paste or powder. This brought a bit of laughter to our “disaster" of not knowing where to stay. Once we found the new premises we soon settled in and enjoyed the luxury of brand new ablutions
and swimming pool.
We drove to Jinja and for the first time ever happened to see "this property is not for sale" signs all over. This made one wonder about the business integrity of these people. We crossed the Nile for the first time and set out to camp on the bank of the Nile at Nile Explorers campsite with its stunning views over the Nile River with beautiful sunsets and a variety of themed showers. We visited the close by town of Jinja and took a walk through the streets of lined art and curios hops and here we were the only two tourists with all these shops fully stocked and no clientele. Although the quality of crafts was the best we have seen so far. We had good coffee at the source of the Nile coffee shop and left the town with the colonial feel.
We bought our plane tickets home for Christmas, but after receiving the sms from our bank that the transaction went through we could only collect after three days as that is how long a transaction takes to reflect according to our
travel agent. We decided to move back to Red Chilli Hideaway and wait the time out for our flight back home. Here we were just in time for the big opening party at the hotel and we enjoyed an evening of free beer, barbeque and music till in the early hours of the morning.
On our way back to Jinja to fetch our tickets we experienced an incident that left a very foul taste for this country and only makes one realise how easy your actions can leave a bad impression with someone else. Alongside throad there was a board marking the site as the grave of 19 unknown people and Rui indicated that we wanted to
pull off to the left to read the sign,when we heard yoyoyo from our left, only to see a boda with its passenger turning white as they were coming through on the wrong side of us and with pulling off we were closing the gap between us and a very deep ditch on the left hand side of the road. We pulled back on the road and drove on only to be pulled off by an unmarked vehicle but we drove on to where there were two policewomen next to the road a bit further on. The unmarked vehicle pulled off as well and 5 men jumped out pointing fingers and accusing us of driving over the Bodaboda. We stood our ground and denied this and eventually after all kinds of threats they drove off and the police took our registration down in case of an accident being reported later. We collected our tickets and with this bad experience fresh in our minds we were ready to leave home for Christmas to surprise the family.
We dropped Tiny off for a full service at Toyota and left for the airport by taxi. On arrival we fell in the queue to be searched and by the dog and only to be told once at the door the Ethiopian airway has closed. "Look the counter is closed they have all been sent home". I could not believe my ears, so close and yet so far! We searched the building for the office of the airline, only to find it all locked! Eventually someone explained to us all ground staff has to assist once a plane lands and that was what was meant. With a sigh of relief and an eye on the board we waited our
boarding announcement for our flight home.
After spending Christmas at home with family and friends and with Ethiopian and Sudan visas in our passports
we returned to Entebbe to collect Tiny and headed for Kenya.
In my mind Uganda will always be the country where the only rule of the road is to make space /allow for the road user that violate the rules. Where the ladies dress in smart shiny clothes with huge sleeves and shimmery headgear, sit so fancy on the back of the Bodas.
Where the property has got big notices to state “Not for sale".
FOR FOTOS OF UGANDA-
CURRENT TRIP
UGANDA PHOTOS
100USD as they would not accept their own currency.
All went smooth with the entry through Cyanika border post and within 30 minutes we entered the sixth country on our trip. As we paid the road taxes the gentleman helping us was extremely friendly, and we even got cold bottled water for free while he chatted happily away giving advice on where we should go and what we should see. It was in this conversation he handed our change back and we almost got ripped by a big amount if it wasn't that Rui kept on counting the money and he said: "Oh, did I give you 40 000 to little?" The exact amount!! Co incidentally the exact amount of the short change. We left with the correct change and headed towards the small town of Kisoro with only
Guerrilla on our mind.
We booked into the Virungu Hotels campsite and went to get internet access in the new country and find out about the guerrilla trekking.
Although it was the "special price" Month of November with considerably lower prices than normal, 350USD vs the normal 500USD per person
there was space available the very next day.
However we opted for the day after as we first wanted to make sure where the starting point is as we could not afford to be late or lost and stand the chance of loosing our single biggest expense on the trip so far.
Road signs were not to common or obvious in this part of the world. After the daily electricity failure and downpour we settled in and watched a movie, once again thankful for our setup as we did not need to set up tent or anything in the rain and wet lawns. Big was our surprise as we opened the door the next morning to find a nicely set table for two with a colour full tablecloth being set up in front of our door by the caring hotel manager. The language commonly spoken here being English makes all much easier and on your way to the bathroom everybody was greeting and wanted to know if the madam and sir slept well?
We attempted the road to the gorilla base camp and experienced the worst road we had driven up till now, cryptic signing and at last arriving at a grassy patch which seemed to be "the spot". Immediately a man came running to us
ready to take us up the Virungu mountain to the official UWA departure spot, we had a hard time to explain we will only go the following morning as he was more than ready to take us. We tackled the 6 kms back to town and just short of an hour later we booked and paid with the helpful staff of Uganda Wildlife
Ass with permits in hand we were now as close as could be to another of
our dreams.
As the alarm went off the next morning we were like bullets
from a barrel, dressed, teeth brushed , cameras ready and backpacks packed we
tackled the washed away route to the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and this
morning it was even worse after the downpour of the previous evening.
We planned to be there early and have our morning-coffee before setting
off. As we approached Emmanuel, the porter of the previous day came
running, this time sure to take us to base. He couldn't understand that we first
needed a caffeine fix and to top it all Rui still wanted to visit the loo.
Emmanuel, helpfully organised the key to the ablutions and Rui set of with great expectations, after all if it was locked, and after paying such a hefty entrance fee it should be in a reasonable state to use.... He came back immediately, gave the key back and said: "Ill rather shit in the car". This was a priceless moment as Emmanuel's face on that comment showed his surprise and disgust.
He was obviously not aware we have a toilet in the back of the car.
With Emmanuel in front we tagged along up the foot of the mountain battling for breath while he walked up chatting with his hands in his pockets. The altitude was getting to us. We reached the office where all formalities were taken care off and we now knew we were the only two on this trek, we met our guide and scout with his AK 47 in case we find elephant and buffalo(?). The previous nights rain and the 3 000m above sea level made it tough going, but luckily after 45 minutes we reached the nest where they had slept. The trackers and guides carefully guided us to the area where they were.
The Nyakagezi group of 10 gorillas, a baby of 5 months, 4 juveniles, 2 females and 3 silverbacks. The group was at ease with us and we took some awesome photos. The experience is difficult to describe as one aware of the similarities. They are bigger than what I ever expected them to be. They seemed not to
be disturbed by our presence at all and while the mother was feeding with
the baby up in the trees the others would just feed on the dense
vegetation, lie on the ground as if on a sofa and doze off or comfortably move
to a better spot for whatever their need at that moment. A grown
gorilla eats up to 20 kg of leaves and plant material a day. All too soon
our hour was up , as that is all that is allowed per visit and we had
to leave down the now steep, slippery mountain to the base. We slipped and
slided down eager to download our photos and to relive the experience.
After a hot shower and getting into dry clothes we were just to tired to move on
and decided to stay another night.
After another downpour of note we woke up to bright sunny skies and took the winding road to Lake Bunyoni. The lovely new tar road took us winding through the bamboo forest of Echuya Forest Reserve and we spotted king cranes along the mountains, but unfortunately not close enough for good photos. We took the scenic route and travelled along a winding little gravel road with the lake on the steep right hand side and the mountains on the left.
Unexpectedly we came across a unexpected little gem of Lake View Coffee House, a neat coffee shop with stunning views of lake Bunyoni and we enjoyed the view, had some tasty freshwater crayfish and chatted to some of the local business owners about the area. We headed down to the Overlanders Campsite resort on the banks of Lake Bunyoni and were pleasantly surprised not only by what the resort had to offer, but also the neat ablutions and lovely gardens and setting. We enjoyed the stay and travelled to the town of Kabale by a steep gravel road with all the activities from farming, forestry to stone chopping and harvesting. We spent an enjoyable time in the South western region of Uganda and come to realise that this region offers far more than just the Gorillas.
Those of you interested in visiting the region, have a look at this! www.gorillahighlands.com
After 3 days, time came to move on and early morning we moved towards Kampala. Roadwork's covered long distances and heavy rains made the trip challenging, and after six hours we reached Masaka a mere 230 odd kms, but we were all to glad to reach the campsite and set up camp next to Erich an Alex from Austria who have been on the road for 4 years.
We took a day trip to Lake Nabugabe and although we had the intensions to
stay for the weekend we were not impressed by the small muddy lake or the
accommodation facilities so we returned to Masaka and enjoyed visiting the town and visits to the coffee shops and walking the intriguing streets and alleys
with staircases, shops and alleyways. Nowhere else have we seen so
many cell phone shops side by side, all stocked to the roof. The Maribu
Storks circling ahead and cleaning the streets and markets, like municipal
workers on the cleaning team. Up to 100 in the air at some times
We ate Rolex's here from street vendors. This is a Chapati with a scrambled egg
and some vegetables, so the correct description would be roll and eggs, it
became a Rolex. . A humble but tasty street food.
We also attended a dance performance of the different dances from various
regions of Uganda. The rhythmic music and dances were performed by a special dance group, and we enjoyed it so much that we slept through a narrow escape happening 30cm from our car. The high voltage electricity pole fell
over just missing us while we were in dreamland, only to discover the
pole right at our door as we climbed out the following morning.
We left Masakea and travelled to Lake Victoria through a very bumpy and washed away gravel road to take the ferry to Buggala Island. This is the biggest of the 84 islands making up the Ssese islands, and a favourite holiday destination for Ugandans. Once off the ferry we headed along a gravel road to Lutoboka through the administrative centre of Kalangala.
We had the best facilities so far in Uganda at Ssese resort Beach hotel and although we were the only people in the campsite the facilities were clean and we enjoyed the working hot water showers every day.
We took a drive around the small island of 200 km2 that measures only 43 kms from east to west and watched with sadness the price of electricity as there was deforestation and road building happening, all to supply the little outlaying villages with the comfort of electricity.
The main activity on this island is palm oil, with palm plantations as far as the eye can see.
Driving pass the extracting-factory one can smell the heavy oil smell in the air. This activity is also the biggest source of income to the locals.
Some areas still have lovely strips of virgin forests and the birdlife on the island
is worth mentioning as we saw some birds we had to look for in the bird book.
The island has a very relaxed and laid back atmosphere and we really had to make a serious effort to wake up and be in time to leave sharply at 08h00 with the MV Kalangala back to Entebbe on mainland.
Once in Kampala we decided to stay at the much recommended Red Chilli Hide away, but they have recently moved premises and we struggled for about 3 hours to find the new premises, while looking for this I was surprised
at the mentality of the local people as one would ask them for directions and they would reply with:" How much you give me?" Needless to say we did not give anybody any thing and manage to find it ourselves. A shopkeeper even
wanted to know if I want red chilli paste or powder. This brought a bit of laughter to our “disaster" of not knowing where to stay. Once we found the new premises we soon settled in and enjoyed the luxury of brand new ablutions
and swimming pool.
We drove to Jinja and for the first time ever happened to see "this property is not for sale" signs all over. This made one wonder about the business integrity of these people. We crossed the Nile for the first time and set out to camp on the bank of the Nile at Nile Explorers campsite with its stunning views over the Nile River with beautiful sunsets and a variety of themed showers. We visited the close by town of Jinja and took a walk through the streets of lined art and curios hops and here we were the only two tourists with all these shops fully stocked and no clientele. Although the quality of crafts was the best we have seen so far. We had good coffee at the source of the Nile coffee shop and left the town with the colonial feel.
We bought our plane tickets home for Christmas, but after receiving the sms from our bank that the transaction went through we could only collect after three days as that is how long a transaction takes to reflect according to our
travel agent. We decided to move back to Red Chilli Hideaway and wait the time out for our flight back home. Here we were just in time for the big opening party at the hotel and we enjoyed an evening of free beer, barbeque and music till in the early hours of the morning.
On our way back to Jinja to fetch our tickets we experienced an incident that left a very foul taste for this country and only makes one realise how easy your actions can leave a bad impression with someone else. Alongside throad there was a board marking the site as the grave of 19 unknown people and Rui indicated that we wanted to
pull off to the left to read the sign,when we heard yoyoyo from our left, only to see a boda with its passenger turning white as they were coming through on the wrong side of us and with pulling off we were closing the gap between us and a very deep ditch on the left hand side of the road. We pulled back on the road and drove on only to be pulled off by an unmarked vehicle but we drove on to where there were two policewomen next to the road a bit further on. The unmarked vehicle pulled off as well and 5 men jumped out pointing fingers and accusing us of driving over the Bodaboda. We stood our ground and denied this and eventually after all kinds of threats they drove off and the police took our registration down in case of an accident being reported later. We collected our tickets and with this bad experience fresh in our minds we were ready to leave home for Christmas to surprise the family.
We dropped Tiny off for a full service at Toyota and left for the airport by taxi. On arrival we fell in the queue to be searched and by the dog and only to be told once at the door the Ethiopian airway has closed. "Look the counter is closed they have all been sent home". I could not believe my ears, so close and yet so far! We searched the building for the office of the airline, only to find it all locked! Eventually someone explained to us all ground staff has to assist once a plane lands and that was what was meant. With a sigh of relief and an eye on the board we waited our
boarding announcement for our flight home.
After spending Christmas at home with family and friends and with Ethiopian and Sudan visas in our passports
we returned to Entebbe to collect Tiny and headed for Kenya.
In my mind Uganda will always be the country where the only rule of the road is to make space /allow for the road user that violate the rules. Where the ladies dress in smart shiny clothes with huge sleeves and shimmery headgear, sit so fancy on the back of the Bodas.
Where the property has got big notices to state “Not for sale".
FOR FOTOS OF UGANDA-
CURRENT TRIP
UGANDA PHOTOS
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