I never thought that my long-cherished dream would actually come true - especially during this difficult time and after postponing the trip once and later almost cancelling once. That I would actually fly to Uganda in the midst of disputed elections, travel warnings and the Covid crisis. How grateful I am that for once I ignored the doubts and fears of my friends and family and dared to go . It could have gone totally wrong. It didn't. It worked out so perfectly that I am still a bit afraid that something bad will happen now (but after one week at home now I guess I will be ok!). I made a lot of new friends, treasure so many beautiful memories and am full of inspiration. I excuse myself in advance just in case my enthusiasm will be to big. But be sure that in reality it is even much bigger! There would be so much more to share!
I would like to start with the 2nd part of my journey. After an incredibly educational and inspiring week on Ngamba Island, a sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees (post to follow!), I started a week-long discovery tour all over the country.
I had booked the trip with a tour company called "Silverback expeditions" (--> Link) and explored the country in a 4x4 vehicle with my fantastic guide & driver David. I was very happy not to drive myself, sometimes the roads were quite bumpy (the locals affectionately call it "African massage"), there were not too many road signs and not to forget they drive on the left side! But David also showed me so many things, arranged some specials for me (e.g. a visit to the Bwindi Community Hospital") and just was an awesome travel companion. I had designed the tour myself and it was quite busy (with as much apes as possible!), but the guys of "Silverback exp." just did an awesome job and made this trip unforgettable (thanks again!).
Everything started in Entebbe, the capital city. There, I first stayed in the beautiful "Via Via Entebbe" hotel (--> Link), a wonderful place in the middle of green landscape, with very friendly staff and delicious food. I loved to stay there, to sit in the garden, sipping a local beer, listening to the sounds of nature, observing the monkeys in the trees and enjoying the fact that I was wearing flipflops in february.
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| Via Via Entebbe |
Before we left for the tour, I had a day to explore Entebbe. I did this by Boda Boda, a motorcycle taxi and quite a common way to get around. Entebbe seemed to be quite a lovely town, not as chaotic as Kampala.
I visited the Reptile Garden and learnt a lot about different snakes, crocs , chameleons and other reptiles. The vision of that garden is to teach the community about their environment and conservation so that they are able to protect reptiles and fight against the extinction of the reptiles intead of e.g. killing them in fear. A fantastic project!
I immersed myself in the local life...
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| A street kitchen |
... enjoyed a walk in the botanical gardens and met some inhabitants...
... and discovered the local markets.
The night before the tour started I stayed in another beautiful hotel called "2 Friends Beach hotel". It was located directly at Lake Victoria and had a very cozy beach bar. I sat there the whole evening, drinking a "Nile Special", listening to local music and the sounds of nature. Just perfect!
Finally my trip with David started. 8 days to discover as much of Uganda as possible. From Entebbe, we headed towards Kampala and then towards Murchison Falls National Park. This park is divided into two sectors, both divided by the river Nile.
I had the chance to see Murchison Falls from above - did you know that these are the most powerful waterfalls in the world ? Every second 300 cubic meters fall over the falls. As you can imagine, many fish don't survive the fall over the falls which is quite a good thing for the crocodiles down below. According to local insiders, that's why you find there the largest crocodile population in the country.
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| Murchison Falls from above |
We stayed in a dream of accommodation - the TWIGA Safari Lodge (--> Link). There I enjoyed my own very comfortable tent with a fantastic view. After dinner and early in the morning for breakfast I had to give light signals each time so that an employee came to escort me, it was too dangerous to go by myself as hippos were very close. And indeed, during the night I woke up by the sounds of those animals! What an amazing experience!
The next day, another dream came true - I would track the wild (but habituated) chimps in Budongo Forest. Due to the current situation, I was the only tourist there, so after a short briefing at the Budongo Eco Lodge, me and ranger Chris headed off into the Budongo Central Forest. It was a beautiful, but also exhausting hike, my clothes and hair got often stuck in thorns and Chris had to set me free by disentangle my hair (beginner mistake I guess...). A long time we didn't see any chimps, it was only a family of baboons following us. I already started to lose hope when we suddenly heard noises. And then we saw them: some chimpanzees way up in the trees, quietly eating figs. I was so happy to meet them!
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| A chimpanzee nest |
Later that day, another highlight awaited me: a boat cruise on the majestic Nile river. This was totally worth it, we saw so many animals from very near - hippos, crocodiles, warthogs (everyone calls them Pumba here), colorful birds,... It was amazing! We also visited the Murchison falls again, this time from the bottom side. Getting closer to the Falls, I could really feel the power that came when the river Nile is forced through a 7 meter-gap before dropping 40 m. Impressive!
We started the next day with a game drive in Murchison Falls NP. We saw so many animal and I let the photos talk here.
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| A black mamba crossing in front of our car |
Our journey continued towards the Rwenzori mountains, which means "mountains of the moon". I didn't expect snow covered mountains in Uganda!
Even if the drives were long and bumpy, I was never bored. There was so much to see!
We reached Queen Elizabeth Nationalpark and had a lunch stop at the amazing Mweya Safari Lodge (which would be an amazing place to stay! --> Link) . The view during lunch was breathtaking! On the opposite side of the Kazinga Channel, I could already spot elephants, hippos and buffalos!
Later, I enjoyed a 3h-boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, a 32 km long channel that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The channel has one of the world's largest concentration of hippos, crocodiles, buffalos, elephants and several bird species.
After the boat ride, some of the toughest hours of "African massage" began as we headed from the North Eastern sector of Queen Elizaeth NP to the Southern sector.
The lodge for the night (called Enjojo Lodge --> Link) made me forget the bumpy hours very quickly and I enjoyed my bungalow, the outdoor shower and a yummy dinner.
When in Queen Elizabeth Nationalpark, you cannot leave without having looked for the tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector of the park, very close to the border to the Congo. This time I wasn't lucky for once and didn't see any lions, so let me just post here a photo of a hippo just crossing the natural border between Uganda and the Congo.
Our journey continued to the last destination - Bwindi and its mountain gorillas!
In Bwindi, I stayed in a wonderful place called "Ride 4 a woman" (--> Link). Founder Evelyn is a very inspiring person who set up this project with the aim to support women struggling with poverty, HIV and domestic violence. Women can use or work at the Ride 4 a Woman community centre, where they can learn to pedal sew, weave baskets and other new skills, making a living and making it possible for their children to gain an education. The organisation also offers microfinance, helping women to help themselves and support their families. The products those women create can be bought in the shop. Off course I did a lot of shopping there!
I was very lucky that at the day of my arrival, there was a wedding party going on - or at least the gift ceremony before the wedding. I was allowed to join the party - and I was impressed! Everything was so cheerful, colorful, with a lot of music and singing! Much more lively than the wedding parties that I know from home! I felt quite pale and "flashy" as I was the only "muzungu" (white person) in the crowd, but everyone was so friendly and offered me big plates of food. It was a wonderful experience!
In the afternoon, I had the chance to join an activity called "The Batwa Pygmies experience". Guide Matthew showed me around Bwindi community and we visited several very interesting projects and people. It was an amazing experience!
The Batra Pygmies used to live in the forests of Bwindi and Mgahinga when the forests were gazetted as National Parks and the Batwa people were evicted from the park.
We first visited a 81-year old farmer who started a small coffee business and showed me how his production works. He also produced banana beer and gin (locally called "Champagne of Uganda"). I was glad Matthew translated as the man didn't speak English. I was impressed by the simple, but thoughtful tools he used!
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| The machine to grind coffee beans |
Bwindi itself is a very beautiful town. Very green, very rural.
We also visited a local school and were welcomed very warmly by the class and the teachers. The school suffers from the effects of Covid, nowadays only one class is able to be in class while the others are not allowed. Not only here but everywhere in the country I could feel the effects of covid affecting everyone. Business who don't run anymore, the lack of tourism, of income - and no help in sight. It was terrible to learn, and I often felt bad for being so privileged.
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| The local school |
Later, we visited another great and inspiring project, the CIBIC (Community Initiatives for biodiversity conservation --> Link), a not-for-profit community-based organisation working to bring harmony between man and nature in communities. They have several fantastic projects, e.g. to create work for the Batwa people or reformed poachers by teaching them how to rear goats, breed fish or do all kinds of farming. They sell the food to local restaurants and hospitals. I was very impressed by this initiative!
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| Mushroom production |
I had the chance to visit some Batwa men who showed me how they lived in the nature - how they produced fire, hunted or used all kinds of plants for all kinds of medical treatments.
Once again, I was very impressed! This "crash course" in Ugandan culture was truly amazing, I learnt so much and came back very inspired by all those fantastic projects and devoted people!
We started early in the morning and after a briefing, we had to choose the gorilla family that we would like to visit. I decided to track the family Mubare with a silverback called Malaia ("womanizer") and 8 other family members. It went uphill and sometimes through dense bushes, but after about 2h our guide Cosmas received the message of the 2 rangers that they spotted the family Mubare and that we are very close. And suddenly we saw some movements in the bushes - and there they were! Family Mubare with 4 little gorillas, eating quietly, chewing on leaves, not seeming to care about their visitors. It was a very touching moment to see them in the wild. Our very close relatives. We had one hour to spend with the family (the visits are strictly limited, only 8 people per day and family are allowed for only one hour), but then they headed off into the shade and we had to start our way back. This was an unforgettable experience!
A last stop at the equator, soon after the chaotic traffic of the outskirts of Kampala awaited us (if the outskirts are like this, I wouldn't want to know how it is in the city center!).
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| Meeting family Mubare |
Unfortunately, the next day I had to say goodbye to Bwindi and the wonderful women of "Ride 4 a woman", as we had to drive back to Entebbe. It was a 12h-drive, but it was also like a "best of Uganda". Once again, I saw so many things that make Uganda special, and I tried to record these impressions as best as possible in order to preserve them in my memory forever. I guess I had fallen in love with this country and its people.
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| Ankole cattle |
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| Best of Uganda cuisine - peanut sauce, rice, matoke, posho, cassava |
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| Kampala chaos |
I arrived safely back in Entebbe and had two very friendly doctors coming to the hotel for my covid test in the evening. Everything worked out so perfectly! 8 hours later, I received my test results: Gladly, they were negative (even if I wouldn't have minded to stay a bit longer!!) and the next day, I could take the plane home. It felt somehow wrong to go back, even if I was looking forward to my family and friends and to tell them about my memories. These 2 weeks in Uganda were so intense that I had the feeling that I was there for 2 months. I learnt so many things, made many new friends, collected unforgettable memories.
It is not for nothing that Uganda is called "the pearl of Africa". I really hope that people will soon think less of Idi Amin or "Operation Entebbe" when thinking of Uganda but that they will soon think of it as a country that is incredibly green, that is home to the longest river in the world (the Nile), home for the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees - and off course home for enormously loving and open people with great ideas to make the world a bit better. All those things make Uganda the wonderful destination it is. I have rarely felt so at home so quickly. I felt much safer here than in other countries where I should have felt safe - and this in the midst of several crises.
Unfortunately, I also had to experience that the Corona crisis affects people here much more than it affects us in Europe. Here the people are left to their own devices. They are hoping for the crisis to end soon. How grateful they were to see a tourist again. And how bad I felt afterwards not to have come with a whole plane full of other tourists to support the economy and these people.
But maybe I can make a small contribution here and maybe inspire a few people to travel this country themselves. It is worth it. Word of honor! And in case a travel companion is needed: I gladly volunteer!
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Some projects in a nuthell
In case you are as inspired as me and would like to support one of the fantastic projects that I described above, here is a list with some of the projects I visited and that deserve any support they can get:
- Ngamba Island (Chimpanzee Trust). --> Link. Where I left my heart! An island that offers a home for 50 orphaned chimps. Their mission is to sustainably conserve chimpanzees in their natural habitats and provide optimum care to those who cannot survive in the wild. Read about this in my next post! The staff there does an incredible and very dedicated job. They deserve every support we can offer!
- Uganda Reptile Village. The goal is to educate the people in ordner to enable them to protect repiles and conserve the environment.
- CIBIC - Community Initiatives for biodiversity conservation. --> Link. a not-for-profit community-based organisation working to bring harmony between man and nature in communities. They have several fantastic projects, e.g. to create work for the Batwa people or reformed poachers by teaching them how to rear goats or do all kinds of farming. They sell the food to local restaurants and hospitals. I was very impressed by this initiative!
- Ride 4 a woman. --> Link. A great place to stay and a fantastic and inspiring organization with the aim to support women struggling with poverty, HIV and domestic violence. Women can use or work at the Ride 4 a Woman community centre, where they can learn to pedal sew, weave baskets, dance, sing and drum; learning new skills, making a living and making it possible for their children to gain an education. The organisation also offers microfinance, helping women to help themselves and support their families. The founder Evelyn is a very inspiring woman, the staff is lovely, their products are beautiful - it is worth to support them!