When I first told people that I was planning on living in Uganda for three months, I expected, rather naïvely, for this news to be greeted with endless concerns about my safety and how I might catch some deadly tropical disease, get mugged, or, if recent news in Kenya is anything to go by, be involved some form of terrorist attack. However, rather than be concerned about these rather significant dangers, all people seemed to be worried about was how I was going to cope with all the bugs that Africa has to offer. Whilst I fully appreciated that Uganda has its fair share of poisonous snakes and spiders, I was under the rather foolish illusion that all of these deadly creatures were only to be found on safari or in the deepest darkest depths of the African rainforests, and proceeded to reassure everyone that our humble abode in Kagando would free from such unwelcomed guests.
To be fair to this rather misguided (and ultimately incorrect) statement, for our first couple of weeks in Uganda, neither me nor Sophie felt at all threatened by the various forms of wildlife that lived in and around our house. We would often have a family of geckos running across our lounge wall, or a praying-mantis (who, for some unknown reason, we decided to call Rupert) hanging off of the front-door; it was only last week that I spent several hours watching a small lizard running around our house, desperately trying to find somewhere quiet to sleep, whilst, at the same time, hundreds of brightly coloured butterflies fluttered past our lounge window. There has even been the odd occasion where I have been forced to shoo a small frog out of the house (only for it to reappear again a day or two later).
Of course, we have also had our fair share of unwelcomed visitors to our house, including stray worms, a swarm of mosquitos, and even the occasional cockroach that has taken particular fancy to running over my bare feet when I least expect it. However, whilst we don’t partially like these uninvited guests, both me and Sophie recognise that they don’t mean us any harm, and hence, until one rather eventful evening last week, we had managed to falsely reassure ourselves that no harm could come to either of us during our stay in Kagando.
Incy Wincy Spider
This rather false sense of security was quite successfully shattered last week, when, after having spent most of the evening lounging about on our sofas in an attempt to recover from a rather taxing day at work, we heard a loud rustling coming from the direction of Sophie’s bedroom. Fearing that this may have been a mouse, or at worst a rat, we rather cautiously explored every corner of her room. However, try as we might, the only creature that we were able to find was our resident lizard, who, given his rather small size, was very unlikely to be the source of this noise. Convincing ourselves that we must have been hearing things, Sophie decided to go to bed whilst I proceeded to try and finish whatever trashy book I was reading at the time. I was only a couple of pages from the end when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something big and black scuttling across our lounge floor. On closer inspection, rather than being a rat (which I had initially fear), this object turned out to a large, hairy spider that was a great deal bigger than my closed fist. Now, I would like to take this opportunity to point out that rather than being scared of spiders, I am usually the person who is called upon to evict them from whatever house I am staying in at the time. I would often laugh at my housemate Jen and her irrational fear of even the smallest of spiders, and it is perhaps karma that the subsequent events with our African spider unfolded as they did.
Without and real regard for the danger that I may be in, I decided that the house was by no means a suitable environment for a tarantula of this size, and instead proceeded to try the old ‘glass and piece of card’ trick to get it outside. It was as I was trying to fit this glass over its body (which in retrospect would have been nowhere near big enough for a spider of this size), when it reared up on its hind legs and bared its fangs at me. It was only now that it dawned on me that there are spiders in Africa that not only hunt small mammals, but, if threatened, are capable of killing a human with just one bite. After waking Sophie from her sleep, we both decided that the best course of action would be to try and sweep the spider out of the house (although not before Sophie had fetched her camera). Somehow I ended up being the one with the broom (whilst Sophie took photos), and, as I cautiously started to heard it towards the open door, the spider suddenly ran, pounced, and proceeded to sink its fangs into the broom’s bristles. The next few seconds passed in a blur, but I have a vague recollection of frantically running towards the open door and throwing the broom as far away from the house as I could possibly manage, whilst, at the same time, vowing that I would never again laugh at Jen and her rather rational fear of spiders.
Luckily for us, ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ hasn’t return to see us since this somewhat eventful night, and we have instead returned to sharing our house with completely harmless guests, such as geckos, lizards and even the odd slug. However, despite this rather hair-raising experience, we still haven’t been deterred from looking for more African wildlife, and have subsequently been on a safari for Sophie’s birthday, stayed on an island in the middle of Lake Bunyonyi, and trekked wild mountain gorillas in Uganda’s impenetrable rainforest.
Sophie’s Birthday Safari (3rd May)
Before I came to Uganda Sophie made me promise that we would do something special for her birthday, and, having travelled through the Queen Elizabeth National Park on our way to Kagando, we both decided that this was a good a place as any to celebrate turning twenty-seven. Whilst there are numerous places to stay in the park, with its location on the peninsular overlooking the Kazinga channel and stunning sunset views over Lake Edward, Mweya is by far the most popular choice. However, there are only two options for accommodation here; the budget hostel (where I stayed when I was a student), or the rather over-indulgent Mweya Safari Lodge (complete with its own infinity pool overlooking the savannah and elephants below). Now, whilst neither of us have a problem with roughing it for a night or two, as this trip was meant to be for Sophie’s birthday we had decided to ‘splash out’ on a bit of luxury (by which I mean hot water, rather than anything else). And so, after convincing ourselves that we were much richer than we actually were, a luxury safari tent at Mweya lodge was booked for the two of us (although with an en-suit bathroom, air conditioning and wooden furniture this was about as far away from a tent as you could get).
We had already been in Uganda for almost four weeks by the time that Sophie’s birthday arrived, and having spent our first weekend travelling to Kagando, our second one working, and our third weekend helping out with ‘Ja Ja Home’ day, we were both ready for a well-deserved break. What we weren’t ready for though was the 6am start, especially as we had decided to start the birthday celebrations the night before with small dinner party at our house (I’m still not sure if Sophie has forgiven me yet for putting candles on the top of her cake and making everyone sing ‘Happy Birthday’). However, when we eventually piled into the car at 6am on Saturday 3rd May, the morning of Sophie’s twenty-seventh birthday, all thoughts and complaints of how early it was were soon forgotten as the sun began to rise up over the Savannah, painting the sky a mixture of red, gold and orange. It was at this point that I remembered how beautiful this place is, and how incredibly lucky I am to be living here for a couple of months. Even without going on safari you have to pass through Queen Elizabeth National Park to go anywhere from Kagando, and I have often seen a variety of animals by the roadside, including baboons, warthogs, and even the occasion elephant. We spent the entire morning driving through the national park, where we saw anything from hippos to waterbucks, or crested-cranes to ant-hills (which, to me, looked a lot like lions from a distance). We even saw a couple of lone buffalos (called losers), who had been kicked out of their heard for being too weak and too old. The entire morning was amazing, and whilst we didn’t managed to see any lions, the highlight of the safari, by far, was the family of elephants who we able to watch feed and play right in front of our car.
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| Kazinga Channel |
Having set-aside Sunday as a day for over-indulgence and relaxation, our remaining time in Mweya was spent sunbathing by the infinity pool, eating fine food and drinking exceptionally good coffee - all whilst watching a family of elephants bathing and playing in the channel below us. Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end, and it was soon time for us to say our goodbyes to the national park and head back to our humble abode in Kagando (although not without stopping to take the ‘compulsory’ tourist photo on the Ugandan equator).
Lake Bunyonyi (9th – 11th May)
Translated as meaning ‘place of many little birds’, Lake Bunyonyi is a collection of twenty-nine small islands in the very southwest corner of Uganda. With its surrounding steep hillsides and numerous small fishing villages, it is often regarded as being one of the most beautiful lakes in Uganda, and, having failed to go there during my last visit to Africa, I was determined to spend at least a couple of days there during my current trip. And so, just one week after returning from Queen Elizabeth National Park, me and Sophie (together with seven British medical students) set off on a six-hour drive to Lake Bunyonyi along a road that was mostly still under-construction (I think it’s fair to say that after spending several bone-jarringly uncomfortable hours driving along this pot-hole filled track, I am never going to moan about English roads again). Finally, after passing through a vast quarry with many small children dotted along its steep edges, we eventually found ourselves at the shoreline of Lake Bunyonyi.
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| View from Our Geodome |
We had decided to stay at Byoona Amagara geo-camp on Itambira Island, where the only way of getting there was by boat. Whilst the idea of having to paddle our own dug-out canoe seemed to be quite exciting at first, after forty-five minutes and two very sore arms, I personally was quite relived when we finally arrived at the island. However, with a vast array of colourful birds and numerous banana trees lining its shoreline, Itambira Island was even more tranquil than we had imagined. Our accommodation for two nights was to be in the forms a geodome, a simple hut with an open front. Whilst the facilities were basic (no running electric, an outside shower which had spectacular views of the lake, and an eco-toilet whose views weren't nearly as nice), being able to wake up in the morning to see the sunrise from the comfort of our own beds more than made up for it.
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| Our Geodome |
Having spent most of Friday in a very uncomfortable minibus, Saturday morning was set aside for a small trek around on the mainland, where, having climbed to the top of a rather steep hill, we were rewarded with a breathtakingly beautiful panoramic view of the Lake Bunyonyi. With the many small islands floating on the surface of perfectly still water, all surrounded by a patchwork of fields that were coloured every shade of green imaginable, I really couldn’t argue with people who described Lake Bunyonyi as one of the most beautiful places in Uganda. However, whilst they may appear idyllic, many of the islands have a rather dark past, and none more so than Punishment Island. Being the smallest Island on the lake, it was here that all women who had fallen pregnant outside of wedlock were sent to die. With just one small tree for shelter, their only chance of surviving was if a man, too poor to pay a bride-price, were to come to the Island and take one of these banished women as his wife.
Despite the risk of Schistosomiasis (i.e. Bilharzia), the lake itself was just too tempting, and the remainder of our weekend was spent swimming in its pristine water. By the time Sunday morning came, it was more than just the prospect of another six-hour drive along the bone-jarringly uncomfortable road that mad us sad to be leaving. Byoona Amagara really had been one of the most tranquil places that I have stayed in, and our only consolation to having to leave after just two nights there was that we were able to get a motorboat to the mainland (rather than having to paddle ourselves back in the dug-out canoes).
Apart from visiting Lake Bunyonyi, the one thing that I regretted not doing during my last visit to Uganda was trekking the mountain gorillas in southwest corner of the country. Having already decided that this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I simply couldn’t miss out on again, we promptly organised a trip to Bwinidi Impenetrable Forest where we hoped to catch a rare glimpse of this fascinating animal. However, whilst we were fully prepared to spend ten hours of more trekking up the mountains and through the impenetrable rainforest, what we hadn’t bargained on was Sophie catching malaria the weekend before we were due to go. Luckily it was diagnosed very quickly and she was started on treatment within just a few hours of developing symptoms; she never required a hospital admission and was soon on the road to recovery. However, whilst the malaria was successfully treated with just three days’ worth of medication, it had left Sophie very weak and unable to walk for more than a few minutes before having to stop. Although we wouldn’t openly admit it, neither of us were entirely sure if she would be well enough to make it through the forest in order to find the gorillas. Having set off from Kagando early on the 24th May, there was a definite air of apprehension in the car as we drove along the dusty mountain roads towards Nkuringo Gorilla Camp, our home for the next two days.
Situated on the mountain ridge that overlooked both Bwinidi National Park and The Congo, the camp consisted of simple terrace rooms and an outdoor restaurant that severe wholesome, locally sourced food. Although being at such a high altitude had the advantage of there being no mosquitos (and hence we didn’t need to sleep under a rather awkward mosquito net), it did mean that it got incredibly cold during the evenings. However, with a hot water bottle placed in our bed each night and blankets given to us during dinner, the whole place really did have a very welcoming and homely feel to it. Finally, after a rather cosy night’s sleep, me and Sophie awoke on the morning of Sunday 25th May, ready to try and find the gorillas. With a packed lunch each and a set of walking sticks between us, we set of in search of the national park, hoping that by some miracle the gorillas would be close by and that we wouldn’t have to trek for hours in order to see them.
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| Our Path to The Gorillas |
Standing at the top of a steep descent that served as the only way into the national park, neither of us were entirely sure if we would be able to make it back up again. However, determined to at least catch a small gimp at the gorillas, we set of down the rather steep (and in places unstable) path. Our guide was in constant radio contact with other rangers in the park, and by the time that our group had reached the bottom of the valley, we had learnt that the gorillas were, by some small miracle, close by. However, they were on the move and we had to trek, rather quickly, through the impenetrable rainforest, across rivers, up muddy banks in order to reach where they were meant to be. Just when we had convinced ourselves that we would never be able to catch up with them, we came across a section of rainforest that had recently been flattened by gorillas. And then suddenly, when were least expecting it, we turned a corner to find the dominant silverback of the group sat right in front of us. None of us, least of all Sophie, could believe that we had actually found them. We were allowed to stand as close as three meters from the gorillas, and whilst we were all fascinated with them, they on the other hand really didn’t seem to care at all about us. As we stood in the middle of the rainforest, watching the two silverbacks eat whilst a couple of the younger gorillas were play-fighting with each other, I really couldn’t believe how similar to humans they actually were. Whether it be the inquisitive nature of the baby who suddenly ran up to tree to be within half a meter of us, or the alpha male, who, after eating, stretched out on his back and proceeded to instantly fall asleep, it was suddenly very easy to understand how we can share up to ninety-seven percent of our DNA with these majestic creatures.
After spending an incredibly enchanting hour with the gorillas, it was sadly time for us to leave and start our dreaded return back to the top of the valley. Whilst Sophie, having had malaria just one week before, made a valiant effort in climbing up the steep hillside, I on the other hand had no excuse for my generally poor level of fitness. However, just four hours after first setting off, we found ourselves back at the top valley, not quite believing that that we had somehow managed to find the gorillas in a forest that very much lives up to its name of being impenetrable.
Lovely to read your stories and see the photos. Thanks for taking care of my sister and giving her such a great birthday!
ReplyDeleteAww..thank you. And she doesn't need much looking after!
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