Unbelievable Uganda
Trip Start
Apr 22, 2007
1
15
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Trip End
Oct 09, 2008
Kampala, Uganda
Monday, July 16, 2007
In Kampala found our way to the Backpackers Hostel and Campsite (GPS 00°18’27"N 32°33’04”E) which is run by an Aussie. The city is hectic - but we were agin sorting out visas for our ongoing trip.
At the Murchison Falls NP we got to Red Chilli Camp, (GPS 2°16’39"N 31°33’53”E) which is located just up the hill from the ferry point across the Victoria Nile. Headed north and then west along the tracks towards Delta Point. The country away from the rivers and lake was pleasant rolling hills thickly covered with grass with a scattering of bush and solitary large palms. It didn’t take long and we saw our first Ugandan Kob – a fairly large and handsome antelope that reminded us on the red lechewe. As well there were oribi. Over the course of the next few hours, although it was already late in the morning, we saw hundreds of both these delightful animals. At one point a large mob of kob were purposely staring in one direction while some big males up the front were stepping forward on a mission. Suddenly a lion walked across the road in front of us and just a few metres away from the leading kob – it’s a trait these animals have when confronting a lion. The lion quickly vanished in the thick grass and while the kob kept staring for a few minutes they lost interest after a while. So did a big old buff that was standing at a wallow and soon he was lying down in the muddy water to cool off. We moved on.
Went to the famous Murchison Falls which mightn’t be as big as Victoria Falls but the whole bloody Nile River is slammed, jammed and crammed into a crack just 20 metres or so wide as the river plunges over these 45 metre high falls. It’s quite a sight! For a few hundred metres upstream of the major plunge the river is churned to white foam by a long continuous rapid and then it is quickly channeled into a funnel where a small percentage of the flow heads north along a rocky channel to another fall about 400 metres north of what is Murchison Falls. The main flow of the river though plunges over the lip and into the maelstrom of foam and pounding roaring water. Then quite quickly the chasm widens a little and the river flattens, flowing between high walls for a few hundred metres before exiting and widening out to a few hundred metres where it regains its composure completely. Once we had checked it out on land took a boat tour up to it as well.
Got to Masindi and went to the Masindi Hotel – 'The oldest and finest hotel in Uganda’, (GPS 1°41’31”N 31°42’53”E) – which is located at the turn-off to the NP opposite the police station. The hotel was built in 1924 and was visited by Ernest Hemmingway after his plane crashes where he was badly hurt – both times a couple of days apart in 1954! They have a Hemmingway Bar! The old hotel has been refurbished and is very good – the best we have seen for ages. The gardens are large and fenced and very pleasant with camping allowed on one large section of lawn.
Headed north out off town along the original road we took when we missed the turn-off to the park. Stopped to yarn to a farmer – a cattle herder of the name of Anthony Asiimine who had about 20 cows (about a half dozen of the big horned cattle which come from a particular district of Uganda –the same area as the president comes from!) and a few fat-tailed sheep and some goats. I admired his animals and complimented him on his cattle. Anthony could speak pretty good English and we talked for about 15 minutes about cattle, farming and droughts, which he had gone through, 'two seasons back’. His father had passed the stock onto him when he had died back in ‘76 (or ’96, not sure which), but I said to him that they were now his and he smiled at that. The fat-tailed sheep are ‘sweet’ he reckons and asked me if I had tried them.
He was impressed my middle name was Anthony and kept saying ‘we will meet again’. I hope we do – he was a nice bloke. We took some pics of him and his cattle and gave him a packet of smokes as well as books and pens for his 4 kids all of which are at school. He was very grateful and kept saying, "I hope … we will I’m sure, meet again – and I will take you to my home.”
A young uni student, Akugizibwe Justus, came along on his bike and stopped to talk to us and again he was a lovely young fellow.
A few days later, just north of Mbale (Uganda’s 3rd largest city) we turned north east and headed thru’ a continuous stream of densely cultivated farmland and villages along the flank of the mountain, the scenery getting better as we went. Once north of the road junction (the map was wrong (again) showing a village before the junction which was actually north of the junction we ended up asking a few locals) the road climbed very steeply to the village of Sipi. Took the turn into Crows Nest Lodge and Camp, (GPS 1°20’07”N 34°22’09”E) which is perched on the edge of a steep ridge having an outlook to the north and east, overlooking the main Sipi Falls and two other lesser falls. It is quite a view.
All to soon it was back into Kenya .... again .......
For more details on camping, etc see: www.africaoverland.com.au.
