Trip report from the Dark Continent
Uganda. I went with very low expectations, and a not insignificant degree of trepidation as to what I was likely to encounter. Over population, pollution, poverty to name a few. The Great Lake Victoria a lifeless body of water, festooned with plastic. Decaying infrastructure, and an environmental apocalypse.
Well, I was wrong.
I thought I had ‘been to Africa’ having been born here and travelled / lived in / visited a number of countries here.
Wrong again.
I have been wondering about how to relate it, and decided perhaps the best way is to take excerpts from my diary and do what I don’t particularly like doing, and provide a bit of a blow by blow account… noting that these are just my observations from a 2 week trip. On further research, which I hope to do, I may find that some of my conclusions or information is erroneous or fanciful, but the overall picture I have been left with is that the illusion here, south of the Zambezi, that ‘although we have it bad, it is Far Better then our neighbours to the north’ has been shattered.
Before I begin, a bit of background as to why Uganda. Its a long story - but you can read about it here: https://suziseeds.wixsite.com/suziseeds. The upshot being that Sue, Seans wife and myself, took the opportunity to accompany Matt to visit Luweero, and Franco. And, given we were in Uganda, to press on and see a bit of the country. I had no idea where to begin, so did a bit of research and found an outfit called Follow Alice who specialised in ‘safaris’ to unique places. The agent I dealt with, Michael English, an ex-Zimbabwean and nephew of the late Norman English - a leading light in Zimbabwes National Parks - credentials that gave me confidence and we proceeded to nut out an itinerary. My biggest worry being driving - if the roads and the traffic were anything like Zimbabwe, and given the population is 5 x the size (45 million), filled me with fear. Michael sorted out our itinerary and locked in a driver and vehicle for the duration. All we needed to do was get a large number of vaccines and work out way through the complicated visa application process which needs to be done before arrival.
20/07/2022 Wednesday
Long and thankfully uneventful drive back from the Gonarezhou. Arrived just on sundown, complete with an anxiety attack because it would seem we may need a transit visa for Rwanda, and definitely need a covid test regardless of vaccine status. Fortunately we should have enough time in Harare to sort. Got ourselves packed and ready for early start to airport and next adventure tomorrow.
21/07/2022 Thursday
Early departure from Bulawayo for the 7am flight to Harare. Everything ran on time, and indeed we were early so swung past the RwandAir offices which happen to be near where Ruth lives, so i could figure out about the transit requirements. No need for Visa but a certified RAT test is required which we can apparently get from "any Chemist". very confusing. After settling in with Ruth, Jono and i went to check out this RAT business, but chemist clueless. We decided to to a RAT test anyway, and see lie of land because Matt was suspicious he might have it. Both of us negative, relief. It was Jono and my last day together, he was staying on in Harare for a few more days before his departure to New Zealand so we won’t see each other again till Early September.
22/07/2022 Friday
After leisurely breakfast Matt and I went to do a proper RAT test with Lancet. Jono quite rightly insisted we do it properly. It was actually a fairly formal thing and well controlled. Both of us negative, whew. Rest of day was spent chatting and packing back at Ruths, from where we departed for the airport for our 8pm flight to Kigali.
23/07/2022 Saturday. “Red”
Fascinating trip to Entebbe. Flight departed on time - a small bombardier, relatively full. the best inflight magazine I have read - featuring so many of different African countries - from a perspective that was so ‘normal’ - that i want to now visit all of them! Arriving in Kigale at night - could see the hills and thousands of lights - and lighted roads... here was me thinking i was headed to darkest Africa, apparently that is only south of the Zambezi! the airport was exceptionally well appointed, small but neat and smart - better then Joburg or Dubai. With great coffee! Our flight to Entebbe departed at 2am, on time, another small bombadier which went via Nairobi. we didnt change planes. these routes must be like a bit of a bus service. Felt super excited as we disembarked and lined up for our visa.
Formalities were quick and painless, unlike Harare, the biggest delay was Matt sorting out a phone card. Dan from Follow Alice was there to meet us, and shepherded us into a rather well upholstered mini van, and 20min later we were at nice little hotel on shores of Lake Victoria, it was still early, not even 8am. I was too excited to sleep, unlike matt, who crashed. I went for a walk along the shore, delighted with the large number of birds, and fantastic looking trees - huge ones with great big canopies full of the sound of birds. The lush vegetation springing forth from everywhere not unlike Fiji, and the red red earth - the side roads are not tar sealed, instead bright red, with red stain on any structure, contrasting with the green green vegetation. There is a nice feel about the place, people full of willing smiles and greetings - and I didn’t get any feeling of being at risk (though it was very early in the day). Decided I wanted to have a tour of Entebbe, have a look around then after Sue arrived we could go for a walk to the botanic gardens just near by. Matt was keen to join so quick breakfast, and off we went. There is not a town as such. I was expecting some sort of relic of a city center, but not the case - its a jumble of shacks, kiosks, government departments, vegetable patches and houses, and a mansion or two. I queried the plethora of government departments / ministries. The cab driver shrugged, unfazed, he pointed out that the more people the ministries employed, the more people and their extended families would benefit - its almost a social service! Clearly, unlike Zimbabwe, their civil servants actually get paid (though of course corruption is also rife). We drove around looking at various things, then pushed onto the other side of the airport to see a local fishing village, and then a Saturday market - by which time we were thoroughly hot and sweaty and happy to return to hotel.
Sue arrived without a hitch, and as overawed as we were! we took a walk to the botanics, admiring the huge trees, colourful birds (casqued hornbills!) and colobus monkeys. Later, we sat in the bar restaurant area of the hotel, located right on the shore of Lake Vic. the lake is apparently very full, so the water was right up to the foundations. I am slightly more used to the armed guards, police and army presence than Sue, but it is still a little disconcerting when the 'bouncer' is packing an automatic rifle. And indeed, just as we were finishing our drinks and thinking of ordering dinner, an altercation kicked off. I had walked to the bar, and spotted a man, topless, emerging from the lake side of the establishment, looking Rambo-esque. which i thought odd - African men don’t usually go around topless like that, especially in places like restaurants. 1 min later there was lots of shouting and the 'bouncer' brandishing his rifle shrieking "I will shoot you, i will shoot you!”, with the manager desperately intervening to persuade him not to. the chase went on around the tables and chairs, most the patrons just holding their drinks and standing aside, looking on with varying degrees of interest or annoyance. Matt got alarmed and hustled me aside into a doorway which was probably wise. the culprit escaped and there was another flurry of activity, the other guests now starting to look a bit perturbed. The police arrived pretty quick, and a few good blows were administered and he was soon trussed up like a chicken, and carted off with much shouting and protesting. We were told later that he had caused a scene earlier, was now drunk and returned in a very disorderly fashion. We settled down to dinner with no further altercations, and all retired for an early night.
24/07/2022 Sunday. Entebbe to Jinja via Kampala
Sue and I were breakfasted and ready by 7:30, and met Peter our rather lovely guide. Matt was slightly slower to emerge, but Peter used the time to give us a comprehensive briefing for the trip. Kampala is a new experience - I knew it had bad traffic, which it does, but not quite what I imagined. the road is mainly taken up by boda-bodas (motor bikes) - in their hundreds, and they carry everything from large fish, to pineapples to entire family’s (or combinations thereof plus more). The roads are incredibly good, and coming from pothole central aka Zimbabwe I was in awe at the amount of work going on to construct and maintain them - even on a Sunday - with lovey great culverts being constructed which will ensure the longevity of the efforts. The jumble of houses / stalls / kiosks only intensify and get bigger as one gets to the city, and lessen somewhat as you get more rural, but never entirely disappear unless for sugar cane or tea plantations and the odd forest remnant. Animals are few, but well looked after, and neatly tied up where they can graze (even if its on a delicious pile of garbage, though in this instance the animal in question looked very contented as it munched a piece of plastic) out of harms way. what a refreshing contrast to Zim. apparently if you hit an animal on the road, the owner owes you compensation!
We checked into our accomm - Nile Front Cottages - was a bit odd - like they were not entirely happy to have us. The service was painful. the rooms were ok, had a bit of a makeshift air about them, but nothing that would show up on a photo (ie their website certainly sets a higher expectation then what you actually get).
I was keen to explore a bit of Jinja. As a town it was no more dilapidated than your average Zimbabwean town with some fetching examples of Art Deco, and suchlike and a raucous central market that was heaving, even for a Sunday.
Our scheduled activity was a Nile Sunset cruise - any expectation that it would be like Vic Falls were soon dashed, as we were led down a very inauspicious ally way to a well used banana boat, without a refreshing cooler box in sight. The cruise turned out to be lovely - in that there was a surprising amount of birdlife along the edge! kingfishers, storks, herons to name a few. And highlight of all was 2 pairs of otters! My preconceptions about how darstedly polluted Lake Vic was happily challenged. We examined the Source of the Nile - i didn’t really anticipate or expect it to be literally a huge spring welling up at the confluence of the nile and the lake! a quick fly by of Ghandi’s memorial - some of his ash’s were cast into the Nile, to be carried 3000km to the sea. very evocative. then enjoying a sunset behind myriad of clouds, with a long discourse with our hosts on Ugandan prisons and the Death Penalty. I was pleased to hear that the latter is reserved for Murder, Rape and poaching of endangered animals (or being found in possession of any part of such animal). Poaching of non endangered animals will land you with imprisonment (from Life to A Lot of Years) and huge fines.
25/07/2022 Monday. Jinja to Murchison NP via Luweero
Not sorry to leave the rather odd Nile Front Hotel. Emanuel did at least try but the other staff were quite hopeless. Made our way though the exotic traffic on outskirts of Kampala and met up with Matt in Bwaise - he had gotten there on a Boda Boda given the taxi fuel price protest (which had done very little to reduce the traffic on the roads which we had hoped). We got to Luweero at midday and a very emotional meeting between Matt, Sue and Franco. We went back to his home and met his lovely wife and very sweet toddler “Sean”. The family prepared the best lunch for us - an honourable feast, which Peter reinforced was a meal reserved for the most special of occasions. Unfortunately Sue and I could not stay for more then a few hours, but at least Matt was going to stay for a few days and would get to meet the extended family over the course of that time. Wishing we could have stayed longer, we departed mid/late afternoon and drove for another 4 hours to get our destination.
Interesting and informative conversation with our guide Peter, an ex-school teacher. We broached the topic of politics, and Museveni. Sue and I fairly confident in our opinion that he was your typical African dictator. Over the course of the trip, we had to rethink our opinion. As Peter points out, Museveni is not a dictator because he does not rule by decree, but he is greedy for power and just wants to stay in charge, and is out of favour with the general population because he has not done enough to curb corruption. Peter clarified that Idi Amin was a dictator, he disregarded the legal system and any instruments of governance and was the sole decider on every matter. Museveni has maintained the legal systems, and other governance bodies, and will allow free and open debate. He does however have final sign off on any legislation. Which does sound a bit dictatorial until we discussed a couple of current examples of things he is refusing to sign off - 1. Minimum Wage. For us that sounds wrong, but given the developing middle class, who are employing people, usually in a domestic capacity, they do not earn enough themselves to manage a minimum wage. And if they had to, they would either have to get rid of any employees they had, or would need to forgo the free accommodation and food that constitutes a significant portion of their employees ‘wage’. Museveni wants the government to focus on how to ensure the middle class are built up enough to be able to mandate a minimum wage. 2. There is a law that both the politicians and religious leaders want and all in agreement of. Appropriate dress for women. He is refusing to sign off on that. Enough Said!!
Furthermore, it would seem people are allowed to criticise Museveni without fear of reprisal - refreshing coming from Zimbabwe where such audacity was a definite prison sentence, and/or death penality / life in exile.
I had started to get quite agoraphobic so was awash with relief as we entered the Budongo forest part of the Murchison Falls conservation area, which when you add on the Bugungu and Karuma wildlife reserves constitutes over 5800 square kilometers, making it the biggest park in Uganda. Our entry into the National Park a little later was memorable - it was just on dusk, i had gone to the loo, on my return there was a pickup with lots of commotions and hysterical laughter going on with Sue looking astonished. On inspection of the pickup, underneath the bananas, sacks of supplies, and at least 6 National Park Wardens, there was an 8ft live croc!! this was indeed problem animal control relocating him to a safer place. Wish i had taken a video as well as pictures. A troop of Olive Baboons met us on the road just past the park entrance and sue was fairly sure she spotted a leopard in the tree but when we returned we couldn’t find it, and it was quite dark.
We approached our new accomm with trepidation, arriving in the dark, it was hard to tell! But the staff were very welcoming and attentive (refreshing after the previous place), and our room nicely appointed, albeit dimly lit with no fan (solar) and it was very hot and humid.
26/07/2022 Tuesday. “Disney”
Early game drive - left at 6am and drove through to the park. It was astonishing. i didnt realise. It was teeming with animals, all over, in vast quantities. Every vista was like something out of the Lion King (which I am always quick to point out to people is “not like the real thing”; wrong again!). I could scarcely believe it and I come from Africa. I also got my first taste of wildlife viewing traffic jam which I couldn’t cope with unfortunately and missed the perfect shot of a leopard. Peter furious with the other guides for not making room / sharing with others. In Zimbabwe’s favour (and a double edged sword) one is unlikely to encounter much traffic in our parks, and when you do, a brief conversation will reveal either 1 or 0 degrees separation (given its only local tourism these days)! The lion was being boring (as they usually are) and I was keen to push on to the river. More birds - in their dozens!
Return to Kabalega lodge for quick lunch and opportunity to admire it in the daytime - right on the banks of the Nile - then off on boat cruise to foot of Murchison falls. again, spectacular game viewing. in one photo frame could be 5 different species of mammal - elephant, buffalo, hartebeest, waterbuck, hippo’s, plus goliath heron, jacana, crocodile and kingfishers. As the shore rolled past, so did hundreds of animals. The falls were great, not a visual spectacular, but you could feel the power of the water - 43meters high, 7.5m wide and 400 cubic litres per second. the most powerful in the world.
No rest for the wicked, Peter hustled us off to go the climb to the top of the falls. Again, could feel the visceral power of the water, so intense. Got back to the lodge just ahead of an unseasonal thunderstorm - made great dinnertime viewing, and we were escorted back to our chalet under umbrellas.
27/07/2022 Wednesday. Murchison to Fort Portal.
6:30 start - veritable sleep in :D. Checked out of the lovely Kabalega lodge for the long drive down the east side of Lake Albert to Crater Lakes Safari lodge at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains. Skirting up and down the Great Rift escarpment - splendid views. And started to see more and more of the iconic Ankole Cattle. My love/hate relationship with cattle. Interesting factoid: Uganda is refreshingly devoid of fences, except for one down the one side of Queen Elizabeth national park. I saw one farm, much further south that was sporting a flash new fence - that was it, everywhere else is fence free. It is sooooo liberating compared to Southern Africa where fences scar the landscape in every direction, curbing the movement of wild animals and highlighting the legacy of westernisation, and bitter battles for land ownership. I was curious about how they kept the animals out of the National Parks. Easy answer: the army, who are not as gainfully employed as they used to be (civil wars - their own and everyone else’s) spend a lot of time on useful exercise patrolling the parks, and will impound any found on the wrong side of the tracks so to speak, along with arresting any poachers. There is apparently little enthusiasm for poaching in Uganda. And indeed as we trundled south we encountered 2 herds with their dejected herdboys. We stopped to take some pics, and the soldiers did indeed corroborate that this was the case. And the conversation with these soldiers highlighted another difference between here and Zimbabwe - the conversation was civil, cheerful and professional.
Alarming altercation with an Olive Baboon (a real mahambayedwa) at the one look out as we ascended the Rift Valley - he spotted his moment when Peters concentration was out for a split second - 2 other cars pulling in etc, lunged for the banana, growling, it was a bit scary. Peter was quick, threw his hot coffee on him. Narrow escape. New accomm is lovely. edge of a serene crater lake, with a small remnant of forest on its other edge. turacos and others abound. To be honest, when I had seen this scheduled on our itinerary I was a bit ‘ho hum’ about it, my real intent was to get a good look at the Rwenzori mountains. Little did I really understand about what was meant by ‘crater lakes’! This is one of over 50 in the area - with water in them, though there are even more (without lakes). sue and i went for a walk, escorted by a precocious young lady. Black volcanic soil supporting an amazing array of agriculture. Its subsistence farming but with real surplus. On one acre a family can grow enough food for themselves, and left over for market. And we not just talking a pile of maize or potatoes - its truly mixed agriculture - bananas side by side with coffee trees, pineapples, pawpaws, mangoes, jack fruit, cassava, millet, groundnuts and more, complete with some splendid chickens all carefully doing their bit to cultivate in between! staff at hotel are Next Level - really lovely. Weather overcast and heavy, but occasional glimpses of sunshine, but no sign of the towering Rwenzori, also known as the Mountains of the Moon.
28/07/2022 Thursday. “The Pearl of Africa”
Slept really well! refreshed for todays exciting activity of hiking the Amabere crater lakes. Our early departure scuppered by a U-Turn as we realised it was now raining and we had not brought any rain gear. As it turned out we didn’t need it - though it remained cloudy all day and the Rwenzori mountains stubbornly hid behind a thick blanket of cloud, and smoke from the relentless burning of fields for cultivation - being the end of the ‘dry’ season this appears to be a National Hobby. It was good to do some exercise! Some of the gradients decidedly steep! Along with the craters is the Ambere waterfall and cave with lots of local legends about a princesses breasts which were cut off and stored there (there seem to be many variations of why this was the case). The reference is of course to the stalactite’s at the back of a not very auspicious cave, more of a grotto. However, Sue and I did feel some kinship with the place given our history - I refrained from embarrassing people by whipping out the prosthetic for a selfie. We were meant to go for the swamp tour, but Sue and I knackered and opted to just hang out at the hotel. I did some yoga, with frequent interruptions to admire the Large Blue Turacos, long crested eagles and others! A very pleasant afternoon that finished with dinner for all the guests very creatively laid out on the lawn amongst 'bamboo curtains'.
A few days in on our adventure, and I reflect on this, the 'Pearl of Africa'. And how appropriate - the grain of sand that irritates - the years of conflict and civil war - slowly healing and each year, since 2000, coating the scars with layer upon layer of incremental change, until it glows with a whole new beauty.
There is no one just lying around here, as is the case in zim - listless people just sitting, doing nothing, going nowhere. People are busy and move with purpose. They also seem compassionate, to eachother and their animals. very few neglected or abused animals and absolutely no stray animals! and the litter - yes, there is garbage and waste lying around in unsightly and toxic piles, but no more then in Zim, even though there are 5x as many people. go figure.
29/07/2022 Friday. the Wild Goose Chase
Sitting at Turaco Treetops, on verandah of our lovely chalet. We are still in the Crater lakes area, and but further south on the edge of Kibale (pronounced Chi-ba-le) Forest. Grateful that we decided to focus the trip on just Uganda, and not Rwanda as well. There is just so much to see and do, and we leave every place wishing we had at least another week to explore it properly!
Today was a bit of a debacle. I had decided we go to Semuliki Wildlife Reserve, to see the shoebills. I realise now that the reply "maybe we see them" that met my frequent queries, resided at the "never in this lifetime" end of the “Just Now” scale. On arrival, the assurance that once the downpour had passed, the rain would go away was also in a similar realm. Our flimsy waterproof jackets were really no contest against the relentless drizzle. And after studying the plastic bottles and other debris nestled in the 100th bed of reeds i request we go back.
Let me back up. We traipsed all the way down the Semuliki Valley Game Reserve to the southernmost end of Lake Albert. We picked up a Parks Officer on the way - and quickly worked out why he was posted to this remote outpost. When we got to the dirty and bedraggled little port/town/fishing village, we were allocated a couple of armed marines, another bare banana boat and a captain, and disappeared into the mist and increasing drizzle of Lake Albert in the general direction of the Congo.
What I learnt: Shoebills are bad omens for fishermen. So they kill them (its hard to patrol every reedbed and fishing boat, and of course the perpetrators do not keep the evidence of their crime). The 'swamp' of Semuliki no longer exists as far as I can tell - all the lakes have flooded and the water levels are incredibly high - reed beds gone. The Game Reserve does not reach the shores of Lake Albert (or perhaps only parts thereof), and this southern coast appears to be a continuous rind of dejected damp fishing villages and 'border posts', populated with indifferent people and marabou storks - the ugliest birds ever. All in all not a good combination for the shy and retiring shoebill. It was amusing however when i asked which direction the Congo was, our Parks Ranger pointed to where we had come from, and ignored the repeated corrections from the Army Marines that were escorting us (much to their mild amusement). Lesson to self - our time would have been better spent going to Semuliki National Park (separate to the Wild Life reserve) and spot the Fanged Deer instead! Oh well.
Sue was very stoic through all this! Thankfully it was not cold, and we eyeballed by some lovely pink backed pelicans.
An interesting observation as we drove down the valley, and back. We passed many soldiers on exercise / patrol. About 10 neat units, marching or resting. After a while I commented to Peter that they were incredibly well equipped - their uniforms were smart and in good shape, the boots looked good, the rain gear as well - same for the group of Marines we met at the Lake. Coming from Zim where this is only reserved for the ‘elite’ units I was curious. Especially given how many there were which even by Zim standards was A Lot of soldiers. Peter advised that no, these are just your normal run of mill soldiers and yes they are well equipped - and every item of their equipment (except the rifles) is made in Uganda right down to the water bottles that are made from recycled plastic. The other uplifting thing was as we passed each unit, a quick wave/acknowledgement from us elicited great big smiles and cheerful waves in return - no sullen surly eyeballing that would meet a similar scenario further south.
No sign of the Rwenzori mountains in the thick cloud and rain, though it was a spectacular road through to the valley - steep hills, with lots of mixed farming on some surprisingly steep gradients. Exhausted by the effort of simultaneously admiring the tenacity, production and neatness of the cultivation, with the knowledge that more or less than 50 years ago this was endless virgin forest populated with exotic and varied creatures.
Will pause there, and complete the update in due course given its a bit of a biggie!
*Note: Muzungu definition: Bantu word that means “wanderer” originally pertaining to spirits. The term is currently used in predominantly Swahili speaking nations to refer to white people. Fairly accurate really…