DEBBIE:
The beginning of our trip involved a few slight setbacks in the form of purse-theft in Kampala followed by tricky bank troubles in Fort Portal. However, after a couple of stressful days we put these inconveniences behind us and started to enjoy our newfound relaxed and stress-free lifestyle!
Fort Portal, in Western Uganda at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains, offered us the chance to stay at the interestingly named ‘Exotic Lodge’ which cost us a grand total of £1 each for accommodation per night! Although far from exotic the rooms were clean and the staff were kind, which made our stay really enjoyable. The weather here was a far cry from the super hot Gulu that we were used to but with our raincoats packed we decided to take a trip out of the town to explore the countryside on mountain bikes. The views from the hills were quite spectacular and as we were cycling we constantly heard the choruses of the local children shouting ‘how are you, how are you, how are you!!!’ Mzungus (white people) on bicycles seemed to cause the locals a lot of amusement as they stared and giggled at us. We were unfortunate to get stuck in an almighty rain shower on the way back to Fort Portal but we warmed up with some good local style food back at the lodge.
KAREN:
Our onward travel took us to the Mweya Peninsula in Queen Elizabeth National Park – 1978 sq km of animal heaven! Staying deep within the park perimeters, the night air was filled with the sound of roaring lions, laughing hyenas, grunting hippos (‘ho ho ho’) and trumpeting elephants. Hearing activity outside our bedroom we were astounded by the sight of two elephants passing by our window! Watching the rangers trying to move them on was like a game of cat-and-mouse as more elephants continued to arrive and tear down trees! During our time in the park we saw hundreds of elephants, often way too close for comfort as they came within metres of our vehicle. An evening game drive proved to be the most exciting but perhaps the most hair-raising and exhilarating of our experiences. Driving back to our accommodation, a sizeable herd of elephants reluctantly took their time to clear from the road. A few minutes later a baby elephant stood alone in the road distressed at being parted from the main herd. Almost immediately a hippo ran across our path followed by 2 savage hyenas. We sadly learned that the elephant calf later became dinner for the hyenas. I can only describe Queen Elizabeth National Park as one of the most magical places on earth!
DEBBIE:
From the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park we travelled south to Ishasha, hoping to see the native tree climbing lions. After 7 hours of game driving in Mweya without spotting any lions, we were hoping to catch some down in Ishasha. As we drove from the park gate I heard a gasp from Karen sitting in the front seat of the car and we stopped to see 2 lionesses sitting by the side of the road!! We were also lucky enough on our game drive the next day to see a male and a female lion on the roadside. We were ecstatic to finally see these amazing creatures.
Our accommodation resembled a local style hut with great views over the savannah. The ranger who guarded the site was not too reassuring when he told us that, the previous night, the campsite had been stalked by 4 lions! The evening was full of animal noises (which was slightly scary) and we had a visit from a bat in the middle of the night which caused us some amusement as we tried to coax it out of our room!
KAREN:
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park became our next stop. With an altitude span of 1160-2607 metres, the steep rolling rain forest mountain scenery and countless tea plantations felt very unlike Africa! The purpose of our visit...to trek the endangered mountain gorillas. The Ugandan jungle-forest is home to half of the 700 surviving gorillas worldwide. The remaining populations live over the borders in Rwanda and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Conservation efforts only allow the Uganda Wildlife Authority to release 24 permits a day to trek 3 different gorilla families within the park and so it is a privilege to view these magnificent animals. Our trek followed the path of the Rushegura gorilla family. Lead by a humungous silver back male we were fortunate to view 16 of the 19 family members, including two babies. Such breath-taking animals! Visitors are restricted to 1 hour viewing and a 7 metre distance rule to prevent the gorillas becoming overly familiar with human contact and to reduce the risk of disease transmission. As we watched on, the unruly group ran down the hill onto community land and wreaked havoc in a banana plantation, causing much damage to the crop, and indeed the livelihood of a local farmer. Pulling down trees and crushing the crops, the animals had a right old feast, swallowing bananas whole before the rangers eventually chased them away. We were relieved to hear from the land owner that gorilla-trespass is only a bi-annual event.
To have viewed so many animals in the wild has felt like a dream come true and the most magnificent reward for all our efforts and hard work over the last 6 months. May the good times continue to roll in our remaining 3 weeks in Uganda!
(Disclaimer: Photos to follow when decent internet connection available, in the mean time we encourage you to use your imagination! Thank you very much for your patience!)
The beginning of our trip involved a few slight setbacks in the form of purse-theft in Kampala followed by tricky bank troubles in Fort Portal. However, after a couple of stressful days we put these inconveniences behind us and started to enjoy our newfound relaxed and stress-free lifestyle!
Fort Portal, in Western Uganda at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains, offered us the chance to stay at the interestingly named ‘Exotic Lodge’ which cost us a grand total of £1 each for accommodation per night! Although far from exotic the rooms were clean and the staff were kind, which made our stay really enjoyable. The weather here was a far cry from the super hot Gulu that we were used to but with our raincoats packed we decided to take a trip out of the town to explore the countryside on mountain bikes. The views from the hills were quite spectacular and as we were cycling we constantly heard the choruses of the local children shouting ‘how are you, how are you, how are you!!!’ Mzungus (white people) on bicycles seemed to cause the locals a lot of amusement as they stared and giggled at us. We were unfortunate to get stuck in an almighty rain shower on the way back to Fort Portal but we warmed up with some good local style food back at the lodge.
KAREN:
Our onward travel took us to the Mweya Peninsula in Queen Elizabeth National Park – 1978 sq km of animal heaven! Staying deep within the park perimeters, the night air was filled with the sound of roaring lions, laughing hyenas, grunting hippos (‘ho ho ho’) and trumpeting elephants. Hearing activity outside our bedroom we were astounded by the sight of two elephants passing by our window! Watching the rangers trying to move them on was like a game of cat-and-mouse as more elephants continued to arrive and tear down trees! During our time in the park we saw hundreds of elephants, often way too close for comfort as they came within metres of our vehicle. An evening game drive proved to be the most exciting but perhaps the most hair-raising and exhilarating of our experiences. Driving back to our accommodation, a sizeable herd of elephants reluctantly took their time to clear from the road. A few minutes later a baby elephant stood alone in the road distressed at being parted from the main herd. Almost immediately a hippo ran across our path followed by 2 savage hyenas. We sadly learned that the elephant calf later became dinner for the hyenas. I can only describe Queen Elizabeth National Park as one of the most magical places on earth!
DEBBIE:
From the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park we travelled south to Ishasha, hoping to see the native tree climbing lions. After 7 hours of game driving in Mweya without spotting any lions, we were hoping to catch some down in Ishasha. As we drove from the park gate I heard a gasp from Karen sitting in the front seat of the car and we stopped to see 2 lionesses sitting by the side of the road!! We were also lucky enough on our game drive the next day to see a male and a female lion on the roadside. We were ecstatic to finally see these amazing creatures.
Our accommodation resembled a local style hut with great views over the savannah. The ranger who guarded the site was not too reassuring when he told us that, the previous night, the campsite had been stalked by 4 lions! The evening was full of animal noises (which was slightly scary) and we had a visit from a bat in the middle of the night which caused us some amusement as we tried to coax it out of our room!
KAREN:
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park became our next stop. With an altitude span of 1160-2607 metres, the steep rolling rain forest mountain scenery and countless tea plantations felt very unlike Africa! The purpose of our visit...to trek the endangered mountain gorillas. The Ugandan jungle-forest is home to half of the 700 surviving gorillas worldwide. The remaining populations live over the borders in Rwanda and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Conservation efforts only allow the Uganda Wildlife Authority to release 24 permits a day to trek 3 different gorilla families within the park and so it is a privilege to view these magnificent animals. Our trek followed the path of the Rushegura gorilla family. Lead by a humungous silver back male we were fortunate to view 16 of the 19 family members, including two babies. Such breath-taking animals! Visitors are restricted to 1 hour viewing and a 7 metre distance rule to prevent the gorillas becoming overly familiar with human contact and to reduce the risk of disease transmission. As we watched on, the unruly group ran down the hill onto community land and wreaked havoc in a banana plantation, causing much damage to the crop, and indeed the livelihood of a local farmer. Pulling down trees and crushing the crops, the animals had a right old feast, swallowing bananas whole before the rangers eventually chased them away. We were relieved to hear from the land owner that gorilla-trespass is only a bi-annual event.
To have viewed so many animals in the wild has felt like a dream come true and the most magnificent reward for all our efforts and hard work over the last 6 months. May the good times continue to roll in our remaining 3 weeks in Uganda!
(Disclaimer: Photos to follow when decent internet connection available, in the mean time we encourage you to use your imagination! Thank you very much for your patience!)
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