5/21/19
Drove to the Uganda border at Malaba. The internet server was down at the capital in Kampala, so all of us that had prepared ahead with evisas had to wait nearly 2 hours (compared to 15 minutes for everyone else) for our visas. Once in Uganda, at a roadside spot selling meat and chicken on a stick, we had a confrontation with some sellers. The sellers had thought they had been slighted somehow, so they held onto the truck through the window and refused to let go, even when we started driving. Will was trying to forcibly remove them, but they didn't get pushed off until angry Norbert joined in. We camped at a nice resort area in Jinja. Rained most of the night.
5/22/19
Had a chill morning, we hung out at the resort in the shade by the pool. Elisha and I walked into Jinja town for a lunch of beef stew and fresh tilapia stew. While in town we went to the post office. We then walked to a viewpoint of the source of the Nile River, where it flows out of Lake Victoria. A local student named Isaac joined us on our walk around. We then took a boda boda (motor taxi), all 3 of us and a driver on one! We went over an old bridge over the Nile where we saw 3 river otters playing! We then walked back over to the other side where we hired a fishing boat (paddle powered) to take us along the river and up to the source. We stopped and got out on the land at the point where John Speke, the first European to find the source of the Nile, first spotted it. On the river we saw lots of birds, including 2 cool species of kingfishers and fish eagle. We also saw a large swimming lizard. After the trip we bought a huge tilapia from the fishermen and brought it to Denford to cook for the night. Super delicious fish feast.
It was funny b/c in my book "Dark Star Safari, from Cairo to Cape Town", the author mentions seeing a lot of prostitutes. I told Elisha, "Let me know if you see one because they aren't very obvious to me" We met a woman by the water who was friendly. She said she had lived in China for 7 years, and I asked her what she did there and she said "I was a bitch" (prostitute)
5/23/19
We drove to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and on the way had a much calmer beef on a stick encounter. The camp at Ziwa was very nice. We went on a walking rhino trek through the bush in search of rhinos. We came across three groups: 1. Mom, dad, and baby 2. mom, baby, and young female 3. mom and very young baby. We also saw bushbuck, waterbuck, vervets, and warthogs. Rhinos were extirpated from Uganda during the Idi Amin reign of terror. They introduced 4 rhinos from ranches in Laikipia (Mpala research centre is in Laikipia) and 2 from Disney's Wild Animal Park. The 1st rhino baby born was named Obama because it had an African dad (Laikipian dad) and American mum (from Disney). The rhinos are guarded 24/7 by guards. They now have 27 rhinos and are looking to move some of them to other reserves in Uganda. We had a delicious sweet and sour chicken for dinner and watched the Disney move Tarzan on a projector sheet by a big bonfire while roasting marshmellows. There were lots of fireflies about and some huge beetles.
5/24/19
We saw 2 more rhinos in the morning near our campsite and 1 huge male on the drive out. Also lots of bushbucks, some warthogs, and red duiker. We had bacon and eggs for brekkie.
We drove on to Budongo Forest, a beautiful rainforest. So green! And some pretty big trees. We had lunch in the mist (mzungus in the mist). We went chimpanzee trekking through the forest, which was amazing. At first the chimps where high up in the trees, but then we saw some much closer. They were eating 2 kinds of fruits and dropping the rinds and non-ripe fruits like bombs, from way up high. We had to be careful not to get hit! We also had to avoid being peed on. Eventually some chimps came down to the ground. It was fun to watch them swinging in the trees. At the end of our time hanging out with the chimps, they all came down to the ground and we were walking almost with them, like part of them. They were making so much noise. It was a group of about 30. We also saw a blue duiker, running for its life as the chimps moved through the forest, and a huge millipede. We hung out a bit by the fire at night, then slept in the jungle dormitory.
Drove to the Uganda border at Malaba. The internet server was down at the capital in Kampala, so all of us that had prepared ahead with evisas had to wait nearly 2 hours (compared to 15 minutes for everyone else) for our visas. Once in Uganda, at a roadside spot selling meat and chicken on a stick, we had a confrontation with some sellers. The sellers had thought they had been slighted somehow, so they held onto the truck through the window and refused to let go, even when we started driving. Will was trying to forcibly remove them, but they didn't get pushed off until angry Norbert joined in. We camped at a nice resort area in Jinja. Rained most of the night.
5/22/19
Had a chill morning, we hung out at the resort in the shade by the pool. Elisha and I walked into Jinja town for a lunch of beef stew and fresh tilapia stew. While in town we went to the post office. We then walked to a viewpoint of the source of the Nile River, where it flows out of Lake Victoria. A local student named Isaac joined us on our walk around. We then took a boda boda (motor taxi), all 3 of us and a driver on one! We went over an old bridge over the Nile where we saw 3 river otters playing! We then walked back over to the other side where we hired a fishing boat (paddle powered) to take us along the river and up to the source. We stopped and got out on the land at the point where John Speke, the first European to find the source of the Nile, first spotted it. On the river we saw lots of birds, including 2 cool species of kingfishers and fish eagle. We also saw a large swimming lizard. After the trip we bought a huge tilapia from the fishermen and brought it to Denford to cook for the night. Super delicious fish feast.
It was funny b/c in my book "Dark Star Safari, from Cairo to Cape Town", the author mentions seeing a lot of prostitutes. I told Elisha, "Let me know if you see one because they aren't very obvious to me" We met a woman by the water who was friendly. She said she had lived in China for 7 years, and I asked her what she did there and she said "I was a bitch" (prostitute)
5/23/19
We drove to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and on the way had a much calmer beef on a stick encounter. The camp at Ziwa was very nice. We went on a walking rhino trek through the bush in search of rhinos. We came across three groups: 1. Mom, dad, and baby 2. mom, baby, and young female 3. mom and very young baby. We also saw bushbuck, waterbuck, vervets, and warthogs. Rhinos were extirpated from Uganda during the Idi Amin reign of terror. They introduced 4 rhinos from ranches in Laikipia (Mpala research centre is in Laikipia) and 2 from Disney's Wild Animal Park. The 1st rhino baby born was named Obama because it had an African dad (Laikipian dad) and American mum (from Disney). The rhinos are guarded 24/7 by guards. They now have 27 rhinos and are looking to move some of them to other reserves in Uganda. We had a delicious sweet and sour chicken for dinner and watched the Disney move Tarzan on a projector sheet by a big bonfire while roasting marshmellows. There were lots of fireflies about and some huge beetles.
5/24/19
We saw 2 more rhinos in the morning near our campsite and 1 huge male on the drive out. Also lots of bushbucks, some warthogs, and red duiker. We had bacon and eggs for brekkie.
We drove on to Budongo Forest, a beautiful rainforest. So green! And some pretty big trees. We had lunch in the mist (mzungus in the mist). We went chimpanzee trekking through the forest, which was amazing. At first the chimps where high up in the trees, but then we saw some much closer. They were eating 2 kinds of fruits and dropping the rinds and non-ripe fruits like bombs, from way up high. We had to be careful not to get hit! We also had to avoid being peed on. Eventually some chimps came down to the ground. It was fun to watch them swinging in the trees. At the end of our time hanging out with the chimps, they all came down to the ground and we were walking almost with them, like part of them. They were making so much noise. It was a group of about 30. We also saw a blue duiker, running for its life as the chimps moved through the forest, and a huge millipede. We hung out a bit by the fire at night, then slept in the jungle dormitory.
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