Again I find it difficult to choose how to start this entry. We have switched modes and travel styles so sharply again, that it seems like a whole other trip altogether. As you read in the entry header, we are currently in Uganda, a place that prior to departing from Canada we never thought we’d be travelling here. In fact, up until a few days ago we had no idea what our African itinerary would include. But getting to Nairobi and having no plan really lights a firecracker under your butt in terms of planning, because it's not the safest, cheapest, or most comfortable place to hang out. Dubbed "Nairobbery" for all the crime, we were eager to get ourselves out of there. So we had a flurry of activity over 36 hours planning our next 4 weeks of activity. So far, I think we've done quite well. We have split our time amongst a few different organized tours, that all fit together like perfect interlocking puzzle pieces in terms of our available time. We have a crowded schedule, and we don't really foresee much rest until after about March 5th, when we finish up a week in Jordan, which follows our 3 weeks in Africa.
3 weeks in Africa is obviously not a lot of time at all to see all that this continent has to offer, but now looking at our increasingly limited time on the road, we have had to make some difficult choices. We chose to officially drop Egypt from this trip, and we've decided to also skip South Africa and everything south of Zanzibar, due to our limited time. We would still like to think though that we'll be getting a lot of the best bits of Africa in our short time here. Tomorrow we will leave Uganda and be off to Rwanda, another place we never imagined we would be, to go trekking with the gorillas for a few days. Following that, we will rendezvous with another group in Nairobi to travel via the Masai Mara and the Serengeti en route to Zanzibar, Tanzania. We have been, and will be continuing to camp for most of our remaining nights in Africa, which has already been interesting. We will not have much access to internet, so we are preparing this entry today as we anticipate being able to post tonight from our accommodations at the Red Chili Hideaway in Kampala. So while we can, we will provide you an update on our adventures.
We obviously arrived safely in Nairobi, and despite hyper vigilance bordering on paranoia, we did arrive safely at our accommodations at the Khweza B&B without being robbed, carjacked, or shot at, or any other danger. We were so relieved when we arrived, and we ended up having a fantastic sleep after our long 18 hours of travel, which started in Goa at 2AM the night before. Here's a few quick photos of our journey and the Nairobi skyline from our place....
Our stopover in Doha, Qatar…..a very deserty place
The Nairobi skyline from Khweza B&B…
We were apparently not in the nicest part of town, according to a few of the tour companies we were talking with, but we felt safe enough, and we were, so all was good. Plus, we had free internet, which as usual is a basic need for us as we travel due to our extreme reliance on the net for our planning and communications. It served us well and we were able to throw together a short itinerary that included all the things we were both excited about, and also came in on budget. Before we knew it, we had it all worked out and we were off on an early morning flight with Air Uganda to Entebbe, Uganda.
How we ended up in Uganda is actually pretty random. Because we had no set itinerary, but had a fixed amount of time due to both really wanting to do the Jordan trip starting on February 26th, and we both had a wish list for our time in Africa. On our wish list were the big game parks, and we were both curious about the beach scene in Zanzibar, but apart from that we were kind of open to suggestions. I had been reading about different places, and Murchison Falls was one that sounded interesting. So we fixated on it and tried to include it in our itinerary. Similarly, while researching, I came across the possibility of doing a gorilla trek in Rwanda. I knew right away that that would join the other destinations at the top of my African to-do wish list. We had been working with a company called Savuka tours, who were going to set a custom trip up for us that included our wish list, but they were not able to come up with anything that we felt was ideal, so we opted to break it up into chunks and hire different companies for different bits of the journey. After a quick search of tour operators to Murchison Falls, we settled on Red Chilli tours, which was done through the place we were staying at in Kampala.
Red Chilli accommodation and tours have worked out amazingly, and we can recommend them if you ever find yourself looking for something to do in Uganda. We were lucky as they had tours leaving every two days to the falls, and that allowed us to fit the trip in before quickly taking off our our next adventure with the gorillas in Rwanda. So we got ourselves out of Nairobi and over to Kampala. We arrived on the 4th, but the 3-day falls trip did not leave again until the 6th, so we thought we would have some time to acclimatize and get laundry done etc., getting organized for 3 weeks of camping. However, after arriving I saw these posters for White Water rafting on the Nile, and I was obviously curious. I called them up at about 4PM and asked if they had one day trips departing from Kampala, and to my satisfaction they did, so even though it was no where in the plans, we went for it! I mean, how often do you have the chance to go rafting at the source of the Nile at Lake Victoria? So we sacrificed the time set aside for rest, and committed to doing a day of wild rafting instead. As it turns out, it was the awesomest rafting either of us have ever done. We also just by chance happened to spot a bus at the Red Chilli from the same company we would be joining up with in Kenya for our safari. So, we introduced ourselves to a few of the people and found out that it was the very same bus and the very same people we would be joining in just under a week. It was great because we got a sneak peek at what was in store for us, getting a look at the bus, tents and to ask questions as to how things go day to day. It looked comfortable enough. We like camping at home, so why not in Africa? Anyway, that adventure still lies ahead, just another interesting note about all the crazy twists of fate that have led us on our current path in Africa.
As I said, we did the rafting just by chance really, but we were told that it was pretty world class, so we were quite lucky to have stumbled on to it. And, now officially a survivor of our day on the Nice, I can say that the river certainly lived up to its world class billing, and we got more than we bargained for in terms of thrills, excitement and adrenaline. It's hard to describe really how 'extreme' the rafting was, as it will likely sound like one of those tall tales that gets more and more exaggerated each time its told, so perhaps the best way to describe it is as extreme as either of us would ever want to get. It was the limit of our tolerance for extreme. We are glad we did it, and we had an amazing time, but we don't feel the urge or the need to do it again. The rapids we did were some of the most difficult commercially rafted in the world, at class 5 . We were surprised that there were companies taking people out on these trips who had zero rafting experience, some of whom could not even swim. We were told they could do this because the river is so deep, and therefore less dangerous. The size of the rapids are huge!!! But you are further away from dangerous rocks, so you're able to tackle the bigger rapids more safely than you would be similar sized rapids in shallow water, or so we were told. We chose the biggest company with the longest history – Adrift - to minimize any safety fears. We were quite happy with our choice, as we heard some nasty stories from other travellers about some other companies. And trust us, with the level of extreme that we were taken to, neither of us would have wanted to have anything but the utmost faith in both the company and our guide.
On the day of our rafting adventure we got up early and had a nice drive from Kampala to the village of Jinja, our put-in point on the Nile. The scenery was beautiful, but unfortunately due to the strong cautions against bringing any valuables or fragile items, we left our camera at the hostel, so we didn't get even one photo of all the cool stuff we saw that day.
There is not much I can say about the rafting, except that it was awesome fun, very scary at points, and we had a great group. We rafted approximately 7 rapids and officially we rafted a total of three class 5 rapids. We also had a total of 2 complete flips and a tip that included getting tossed out of the raft and into the raging rapids three times. We also went over a small water fall and managed to surf one of the rapids (get stuck in it). It was all pretty intense. Both Kim and I have rafted a few times before on the Ottawa river, and just outside Jasper in Alberta, and myself up in northern Canada on the Alsek. However, had Kim known what I was signing her up for such an extreme rafting experience, I’m not sure she would have agreed to it so quickly and so enthusiastically. I think now that she’s done it, she’s proud of herself, so there’s something to be said for that. We of course didn’t get any of our own photos, but here are some from the guys who were selling them....
The group…(for those of you who watch Young and The Restless, we were joined by a former cast member, who played Zack about 15 years ago….he is 3rd from the right in the back….
And now the rapids, where flipping was common….but fun! And scary too.
In this one we are descending a small waterfall. You can see me in front looking like I’m giving birth, while Kim is behind looking amused and excited, while mister Y&R (real name Simon Clark), was looking perfectly posed for the camera beside her….
Another flip….
So that was the rafting. We were both really glad to have stumbled our way into it. Upon returning to Kampala, we then had to gather all our stuff an pack for our 2-night 3-day camping trip to Murchison Falls the next morning. I had seen Murchison Falls in a book given to me by my friend Mike, and did not know much about it, apart from that it sounded like a beautiful place somewhat off the typical African tourist track. The Red Chilli ran a few different types of tours, and we ended up on one called the Murchison Falls Big 5 Tour, which included a game drive and Nile River cruise, as well as a visit to a rhino sanctuary. We had envisioned the wildlife part of our trip to be our safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, but this was a good add-on because it included some water animals we wont get to see later, such as the hippos and crocodiles- and possibly the rhinos, which are becoming extinct and we're not sure if we see again. On this trip we also saw a bunch of different birds, giraffes, a leopard, elephants, warthogs, jackals, baboons and a few different monkeys, buffaloes, hartebeest, and a few species of deer.
So again, we had booked the trip so that we could see the falls, but it was a total bonus to us! The falls, I must admit, were a bit of a letdown. They were great, but I do feel we are spoiled for waterfalls living so close to Niagara and having visited them so many times. We met some Dutch people who told us that Victoria Falls are the main attraction in terms of waterfalls in Africa, and although we had known that, we were not able to find a way to squeeze that into the itinerary-- so something for next time. The trip was great, and its probably good that there was more than just the falls to get excited about. Instead of continuing to ramble, here are some photos from our trip.......
Some kids we met while stopped to help another van with a flat tire….they loved getting their picture taken!
The bottom of the falls….
All flowing out down the Nile….
Some bozos you may know….
There was a lot of water moving though a narrow space….made for quite the mist, which was awesome, because it was like 40 degrees out…
The top of the falls, which looks very similar to some of the white water we had conquered the day before…
Our fantastic group (Right to left: Curtis & Roxanne from Red Deer Alberta, Eileen from Victoria Australia, Dave from Sydney Australia, Cora from Washington USA, Julie from Victoria British Colombia, Thing 1, Thing 2)
Morning on the savannah, starting our game drive…
Our vehicles and our fellow tourists….
The Acacia Tree…..
Stopped at a little town called Masindi near the park, where we had lunch and got supplies.
We found Bambi….she’s in Africa…
Some baboons we ran into on the drive into the park….we were told to keep ourselves contained in the vehicle, as they can be quite aggressive…
The red bum means they’re in heat…she must just be starting because some of them were really bad..
The falls again…
Us again at the top of the falls….
Here’s a buffalo….a lone Buffalo, which means that this guy is a ‘loser’ as we were told. He has been cast out by more dominant males, and must now forever roam alone. These guys are apparently what cause most of the trouble for tourists while on safari, as they just basically mean.
Being a geography teacher, Kim was very proud of herself for being able to find herself on the map….
Sunrise over the Nile before we crossed the ferry at Paraa…
The baboons again, this time searching fro scraps at the ferry crossing. This guy stole one of the tourists packed lunch and looked so guilty…it was very human-like…
Giraffes spotted on our morning game drive…
These guys I think are called hartebeest…
Another type of monkey…
What a lion may see as he stalks his prey and sneaks through the tall grass…
This little guy I think was the result of cross breeding Bambi and Satan….
Kim with the Hippos in the background…
Hippos…
Another giraffe, with buffaloes in the background….
These guys are tall…
Hungry hungry hippos….
Nile crocodile…
Elephants looking for water at the side of the river…
At the bottom of the falls now on our river cruise…
This guy had balls, whipping these giant cattle that had mean-ass horns….
Next in our adventure came the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, where I felt we were a little too close for comfort. Rhinos are endangered and heavily poached for their tusks, so they have set up a sanctuary for them here in Uganda. Essentially its a huge area of land that is fenced and the rhinos live and roam freely, but with armed guards stationed all around the area to prevent poachers from accessing the rhinos. We were able to walk up right close to them and hope they are in a good mood. It was neat, but scary. We were told afterwards that they do charge the guards and they have also charged groups of tourists. We asked what the signs of aggressiveness were, and as it turns out, that in this heat it is simply them bothering to stand up. One very large male and decided he did not want his picture taken any more, and let us know he was ready for us to move on by standing up. Austin and I quickly retreated. Some of our braver tour-bus crew stuck around to take more shots.
These next photos are not mine, as I was looking for cover at this point due tot he fact that this rhino who had been making some weird noises and breathing increasingly aggressively suddenly stood up and looked at the rest of the group. So thanks to Julie from Victoria, Canada for these next photographs.
We can also now say that we have survived camping in Africa. It was really neat. It was an unfenced camp, and were in a permanent tent. The unfenced part means that animals are part of the adventure, and we had warthogs and birds joining us for meals. There were also some incidents with Hippos during the night, but luckily we managed to avoid any trouble. The camp suffered some casualties as a result of one late night fight between two hippos on site. The casualties being two tents knocked down with people inside, thankfully nobody was hurt.
I’ve decided that hippos are weird creatures. They are huge for one, weighing up to 3400 kilos apparently. They are vegetarians, but, they will be aggressive towards other animals, each other, and with humans nonetheless. They spend their days in schools in the water trying to stay cool, as it gets awfully hot (almost 40 degrees for us), and at night, the school disperses and they roam independently on land grazing for vegetation, of which they can eat up to 40 kilos a night. They are most dangerous at night, but there is no apparent reason for their aggression....just a badass attitude I suppose. Having avoided any of their aggression, we thought they were quite neat. Here are a few pics of our Red Chilli rest camp, which I can whole-heartedly recommend.
The camp disclaimer…
Hmm, think I hear something, better check outside the tent….
Yup, that’s warthogs… Isn’t it interesting that as they graze, they go down on what I can only refer to as knees? They crawl around like that. It’s really quite something to see for the first time.
Pretty little things eh?
Some old buffalo bones lying around near the kitchen…….guess we figured out what the mystery meat was….(just kidding---food was delicious)
A nice sunset from camp, where African storks were constantly gathered up in this tree…
This one is actually still at the Red Chilli in Kampala, where they have a giant pet pigosauraus….it was big…
So, that's it! We are now back in Kampala and are gearing up again for our next adventure in Rwanda. We are off to the Entebbe airport in he morning where we will fly to Kigali to meet our group for the Gorilla adventure. Again, we are slightly anxious about our safety, as Rwanda has had some recent problems, and we have also been told of some terrorist threats, but having been reassured by others who have friends there, we are crossing our fingers and hoping that we can avoid trouble… yet again. Unfortunately we will not have internet while there, and will likely not be able to communicate until we are back in Nairobi on the 12th. So all the best to everyone reading, love to family and friends, and we will keep you posted again whenever we next can.
Cheers,
The Knotty Travellers
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