LIONS, ELEPHANTS, GIRAFES, HIPPOS & CHIMPS!

(Gorilla Tales Part 4)

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From Mbale (Uganda), we decided to do a circular tour of Uganda, heading north and east, then west, then south. Our first stop was a short distance away in Nyero where there are a number of rock paintings between 500 and 1000 years old. We got there and saw a nice stone building with the word 'office' on it. However, the building had been abandoned for a while. There was no one there. No guard, no tourists, nothing. We walked over the area and checked out a number of paintings in two different caves. Some paintings were simple geometric designs and others were of people and some local variety of trees. We looked and looked but couldn't find the third site. As we were sitting there trying to decide what to do, two Ugandans walked up speaking English (a bit unused out in the country)! The woman was a student, doing research on the site and on developing tourism there. Her companion was a photographer. Fortunately, he spoke the local language and got a couple of kids to escort us to the third cave. The caves were an attraction for us and we were an attraction for the kids. The photographer told us that we were the first white people two of them had seen. They kept staring at us, but didn't want to get too close and would not say a word!

From Kumi, we headed to Soroti to spend the night. Soroti is the capital of its district and is a decent size town with a couple very nice guest houses. They were a bit out of town so we decided to hire boda-bodas to take us there. These were 1-speed bicycles with a padded seat where a luggage rack might go. You hopped on back and they pedaled you to your destination. Lois was wearing a skirt and couldn't sit side-saddle with her backpack so we hired 3 boda-bodas. One for me, one for Lois and one for her pack. The ride cost 15 cents per bike.

Soroti has no real "attractions", just Uganda off the beaten path (which turns out to be much of Uganda). As we experienced time and time again, there was some staring, some yelling of "hello, how are you?" and some shouts of "mzungu" (white man/foreigner in Swahili). Almost all of it was friendly and rarely were we asked for money or hassled. As we were walking from our guesthouse we heard singing and music approaching. It was a large truck with about 30 people crowded on to it singing a cappella as the truck drives slowly down the road. What was it? Where were they going? One of the mysteries of Africa!

From Soroti, we headed to Lira and then toward Pakwach (see if you can find that on a map!). We arrived in Karuma, half way between Pakwach and Lira at about 3:00 PM. The bus was going a different way, so we got out at the crossroad and figured we would wait for transport heading toward Pakwach. There was a military checkpoint there and the soldier approaches us and asked "how are you", "where are you from", "where are you going", etc. Not like it's anything official, he's just curious. He told us it's too late to go to Pakwach and we should stay in Karuma for the night. Lois & I discuss this and decided we should listen to the soldier! We were in an area of the country where the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) had been active in the past. They had a habit of taking people hostage and we're not real interested in that experience.

The soldier stopped the next bus and told them to let us off at the Golden Guest house in Karuma and not to charge us for the ride! Turns out it was probably the best guesthouse in town. We paid $3.50 for a very basic, but comfortable room with friendly staff. The room had a "shower stall" with a five gallon jerry can of water, a wash basin, a towel, a pair of flip-flops and a bar of soap. The toilet was shared between a number of rooms. First a quick haircut and beard trimming and then a dinner of goat stew, beans, posho (from corn, like polenta), matoke (cooked unripe bananas) and beer for around $2.50 for the two of us.

The next morning, we found out that there is a military convoy for all cargo trucks going from Karuma to Pakwach. The bus was unescorted, but about every 10 minutes or so during the 3 hour ride we saw groups of 3 - 4 soldiers camped out. Those 3 hours covered a mere 110 km or 70 miles! A rough ride by Ugandan standards, but a cakewalk compared to Lao or Cambodian back roads.

With a lucky lift from another mzungu (in an air-conditioned land cruiser!), we made it from Pakwach across the Victoria Nile via ferry to Paraa in the center of Murchison Falls National Park. We had a "traditional" banda. A circular, mud walled hut with a thatched roof, 2 beds with mosquito nets, a lantern and not much else. The shared toilet had running water and the shower, while not hot, was not cold. They had ice-cold beer and a beautiful view of the Nile with hippos in the distance. What more could we have asked from life?

We took a game drive with another mzungu couple, a driver and a Uganda Wildlife guide in a van. Just as the guide was giving his intro and saying he'll do his best to find as many animals as possible, but nothing is guaranteed, we spotted a group of 6 or 7 giraffes. We all sat on the roof of the van for better views. Further along, we found a giraffe munching on trees right by the roadside.

We went off the road into grass 4-5 feet high. The guide found a lion about 15 feet from us resting under a tree. Later on we saw a lion with a pride of about 7. The grand finale was a group of about 10-15 elephants crossing the road. We were still on the roof of the van and one of the elephants started to charge. (That woke me up!). The driver revved the engine and this backed the elephant off. So we had a little face off with the elephant trumpeting - ears flared, trunk up and the driver revving the car engine.

While in Murchison, we took a boat ride up the Albert Nile to see Murchison falls and the wildlife along the river - hundreds of hippos, elephants, water buffalo, crocodiles, and various types of antelope.

The next plan was "Chimp tracking" at Kaniyo Pabidi. This area of the park was dense jungle/forest. You could only see about 10 feet in front of you because of all the undergrowth. They created a grid pattern of trails to walk on. The best chance to see chimps was as they cross these paths since the undergrowth has been cleared. We started walking and we stopped, the guide listened, we walked some more, the guide stopped and we listened etc. At one point, we heard hooting, hollering, screeching and a general commotion. This was the chimps and we started heading towards them. We spotted a few in the distance crossing the path. Spent a lot of time standing still listening at one spot or another hoping to see them. After about 1 ½ hours, I was ready to hang up the towel, but the guide persisted and we reached a spot where the chimps were feeding in some fig trees. We had a clear view of them climbing up and down the trees, jumping from tree to tree etc. Mission accomplished!

To get from Kaniyo Pabidi to the next town, we spent 3 hours at the side of the road hoping for a lift. No luck. So, the staff called two motorcycles for us. (small 100 cc scooters). We hopped on the back and off we went for 37 km over a dirt road to Masindi. It was not a particularly uncomfortable ride, but it was dusty. By the end of the 45 minute ride, we had dust in our eyes, ears, nose and all over our faces. We looked a little scary! We pushed on from Masindi to Hoima where we found the best hotel in town - $14 with hot water, electricity, mosquito net, restaurant attached and a free continental breakfast. Life is good!

On Sunday, January 14 we wanted to get from Hoima to Fort Portal via Kagadi. We knew that many less people travel on Sundays and there are far fewer buses traveling the roads, but we decided to push on, rather than staying in luxury in Hoima. If you're thinking - probably not the brightest decision, we'll tell you right now that you are right! We left at 9:00 am and the ride to Kagadi went without a hitch. However, Kagadi was god-awful. Dusty, deserted, dirty and in the middle of nowhere. We waited 3 hours for the minibus to fill up with enough passengers. Once we departed, we stopped every 5 minutes to drop off or pick up more people. At one time, we counted 25 people in the minibus which was supposed to seat 15! We got to know our seatmates very well! So, we arrived in Fort Portal at 6:00 PM, Sunday turning what should be a 5 hour trip into a 9 hour trip. I'm hot & sweaty just thinking about it! We found a nice hotel and spent a day or two getting a little R&R.

The right combination of travel and R&R is what makes a trip a good one or a bad one. It's a balance you always struggle with, not knowing if you spend a lot of time in one place, will you regret it later when you find somewhere else you would rather spend the time. By and large, we have found the right balance, but sometimes it tips one way (too much rough travel) and sometimes the other (let's blow this joint).

 

Gorilla Tales Part 3

        

        

Gorilla Tales Part 5

 

all content is copyright © Paul Schneider, 2003.