Uganda – the pearl of Africa!

What a surprise! The country is absolutely amazing! Winston Churchill was right when he described Uganda as the pearl of Africa. And as one Ugandan put it, it God had decided to make his home on earth rather than in Heaven it would be in Uganda!
The country has everything!

We arrived through the Busia border post, expecting the roads to be in pretty poor shape as this is a little used post! The crossing was good, and uneventful except to say that when we placed the Ugandan flag on MR W the folk were delighted! The road was in good condition and they are currently upgrading the whole route.

Source of the Nile Gardens – N00.25.317 E033.11.627 – 3 855 ft amsl – 27/05/02

Our night stop was in Jinja, one of the towns least damaged during the war with Tanzania. We found our way across the Victoria Nile and at a delightful spot called Source of the Nile Gardens. It is the memorial site to John Speke, and there is an obelisk raised on the spot where he stood on the west bank of the Nile. They have lovely lawns and it is a place where one can picnic, hold a party or camp. Although the facilities are very simple the warm welcome from the staff made this a very special place for us. Instead of staying the one night, we ended up staying 4 nights. We soaked up the scenery and thoroughly enjoyed the peace.

A delightful young lady by the name of Laura manages the resort. Laura was incredibly helpful and informative. Laura was very willing to hear about the needs of campers and to make our stay as comfortable as possible. Although the camp does not have running water, there was never a short supply of 20 litre water containers delivered to our rig. The staff were keen to make a fire each evening, for our comfort. Our nighttime security officer was armed with a bow and arrows, the tips of which were covered with poison from plants and snakes.

We told Laura that we would like to fish in the Nile – the big Nile Perch was beckoning! After much negotiating, Laura managed to arrange a ride on a local boat for us at a reasonable rate. Dennis struggled to catch any fish with the stuff we brought up from RSA, our guide gave us some lovely fresh juicy worms to use! They worked! We had 5 guys on the boat and they were all catching fish! Sue was happy to watch the Pied Kingfishers and other water birds in the area. As the evening drew to a close the guys decided that the “Mzungu” women should also fish, so they prepared a handline. Sue is please to announce that she caught her first fish on the Victoria Nile- in fact she caught two fish, and Dennis caught one!

We had coffee under the trees with Gabby, Laura’s boss. Gabby is German and has been in Uganda for the last 30 years, establishing an orphanage and school and creating jobs for young Ugandans. She is doing a brilliant job.

The fix that Dennis and Henri’s managed to do on the awning broke, while we were in Jinja! Having told Gabby our sad “cow” story, she put us in touch with a workshop in Jinja. They were able to take out the broken part and make a new one. It works perfectly – thanks to the guys at the Christian workshop.

While Dennis was busy have the awning fixed, Laura and Sue went to the market for some fresh produce. We went to a café called Source of the Nile, and had a soda while we waited for the part to be repaired. While there we met with Missionaries from Singapore, they are going to be based in Kampala. We wish you much success in your work.

We had not gone to the same camp as Henri and Jenny, but we hope to meet them in Kampala.

Hot Chilli – Kampala – N00.19.200 E032.36.422 – 3 862ft amsl – Ush3 500 pppn
31/05/2002 – 05/06/2002

Reluctantly we headed off to Kampala. Hot Chilli was the campsite recommended to us, so that is where we stayed. We were not disappointed as it is a very well organized site; the facilities and staff were excellent. Debbie and Steve you are doing a brilliant job. We wish you all the best in your future ventures! Steve introduced us to Helmut who had just come back from the Kidepo Valley, and was able to give us up to date advise on the area. It looks like we would be okay as the Ugandan Peoples Defence Force have pushed the Lord’s Army rebels back into the Sudan, and there is a large military presence in the area at the moment.

While at Hot Chilli Dennis decided it was time to take out the broken bolt in the diff. Mom thanks so much for the drill bits, which motivated us to purchase a rechargeable drill. Although progress was slow – drill 40 mins – charge the battery 4 hours, with much patience, prayer and perseverance Dennis managed to get the bolt out! Wow – that saved us a lot of money!

At Hot Chilli we made friends with the ducks and ducklings to the point that the ducklings would come for their morning and evening tickle and allow Dennis to pick them up! Of course, they are going to be a BIG nuisance to the next lot of campers who do not know the routine!

Henri and Jenny arrived after spending some time a Bujugali Falls in Jinja. Together we went to the Ethiopian Embassy to get our visas rather than getting them in Nairobi. It certainly was a pain free exercise. The Ethiopian’s were fantastic! We even got a two month visa from them!

We took ourselves for a treat and visited Shoprite in Kampala – Wow! What a brilliant shop, but very expensive! It was great to be able to buy borewors!! We did enjoy the experience – we were like kids at a circus!

We also found a brilliant bakery, which made excellent pies! What a treat! This really was a “treat yourself” place. We found the city of Kampala to be well organized and it was much easier driving in town than Nairobi. All in all our experience of Kampala was very good. There are many South Africans working in Uganda, most of them based in Kampala – we even heard Afrikaans spoken in the shops!

Once again the road calls – the South Eastern part of Uganda is big on tourism due to the Gorilla excursions and wild life reserves. We decided that we needed a break from the routine and that we should try some of the less visited places. Henri and Jenny decided to first try the Sesse Islands and then they were going to travel to the North East area. This way we would be able to get a good idea about the whole of Uganda.

Nile River Safari Camp – N02.15.034 E031.31.215 - 2 087ft amsl - 10 000 Ush pppn – 06/06/2002

We took a good murum (red dirt) road out of Kampala and headed to Hoima, with the view of getting to a spot on Lake Albert that the mzungu’s use for camping and fishing. We got to the area only to find that the locals had no idea what we were talking about. We continued up the Lake until we got to the other end of the Victoria Nile – we have now been to both ends! The ferry was not running, so we asked the locals where we could camp – they directed us along a 20 km track to a place called Nile Safari Camp. It was a good thing that they told us how many kms it was, as the track just kept getting smaller and smaller. We arrived pretty dusty and tired, and were met by a fabulous young lady by the name of Natalie, who hails from New Zealand! She and Geordie a Briton have been managing the resort for three months, and are thoroughly enjoying it. They were on the overlander circuit, but have decided to have a break.

The campsite at the resort is about 200m away from the lodge itself and is up on the riverbank overlooking the Nile and the Nature Reserve on the other side. During the night the hippo visited the site – it was great – so great in fact that we decided to stay longer, a lot longer in fact. Would you believe it the even had a swimming pool!

We met a delightful couple – Korkie and Lena who were there from Kampala for the weekend. They are from South Africa, but are working in Kampala and loving it, they just must their families. Don’t we all!

The company was brilliant and we had a fabulous time, doing crossword puzzles, chatting and generally relaxing. This is the life! There are plenty of business opportunities in Uganda and the authorities are pleading for investment. We were invited to “THE” annual event in Kampala – the goat races! They have a similar “hype” as the Durban July! It is a real dress up affair – hats included! Plenty of prizes to be had as well, from what we can gather pretty good prizes! Sadly we decided rather to go to Kidepo than drive back to Kampala. We trust you guys had a great time, and made lots of money! We really enjoyed our stay with you – take care!

We managed to drag ourselves away for Nile Safari Camp and headed through Murchison Falls National Park to the falls themselves. The falls are magnificent and they leave you with a sense of awe at God’s might! There were some very interesting comments made in the visitor’s book. They go like this:

Awesome
Isn’t God awesome!
And God saw that it was good
And what can your God do?

We have a GREAT BIG GOD!

The campsite at Murchison Falls is in right on the riverbank – beautiful! Only problem is the place is infested with tsetse fly – nasty things! The picnic site was a little better but not all that good either. Both are very basic. We decided to take a drive through the park to an area marked as forest. The road looked like it was last travelled on a year ago, and we did not hold out much hope! When we did arrive a couple of rather shady looking characters came out to greet us. They were leaping around because of the tsetse fly; we did not even bother getting out of the car. We back tracked to the Sambiya River Lodge and asked them if we could camp there for the night. They were extremely helpful and we spend a very pleasant night at the lodge, even decided to have a good supper with them. It definitely was worthwhile.

Sambiya River Lodge – N02.10.893 E031.41.871 - 2 438 ft amsl – 3 500 Ush pppn - 09/06/02

Having driven through the National Park we exited via the Masindi gate and were back on the main roads.

The drive to Gulu was pretty uneventful except the odo cable took its last breath! Gulu did not have any spares, so we will rely on GPS. We took a wrong turn (believe me this is easy to do) and that lead to a 200 km detour! Although we have the GPS many of the roads are not indicated on the GPS map. But one should compare the trace from the GPS to the roadmap for an idea of how you are progressing – we didn’t (another lesson learnt! Howard, the GPS works well and has got us out of a few tight spots when we have used it properly! Thank you!

We ran out of daylight and decided that due to the security issue in the area – a bush camp would not be wise. We found a Catholic Mission Hospital and Station at Kalango and asked the father if we could stay with them. They were most accommodating and welcoming. The hospital was established by Dr Ambroseli and is supplying vital medical assistance to the local community. Their facility also includes a school and other mission stations in the surrounding areas.

Dr Ambroseli Memorial Mission – Kalanga – N03:02:528 E33:22:339 – 3 662 ft amsl - No Charge – 10/06/02

We left with their blessing and good wishes – Thank you!

As we continued with our ‘detour’ we came across a truck that had overturned a short while before we arrived. Four people had been killed, and one gent needed to get to the hospital at Kotido. It was a tight squeeze, but we took him with us. Further on we came across a truck that had broken down, but it had offered to take some of the injured from the accident and now their need was greater than they guy we had with us. Sue got into the back and Dennis continued along the very corrugated road with his ‘patients’. We came across another broken down truck with more injured, so we took them with as well – MR W was filled to the hilt with patients, and now an armed escort on the roof as well! Africa is not a boring place!

Opoka Camp – Kidepo National Park – N03:44:345 E033:43:508 – 3 863 ft amsl - US$30 + 5 000Ush + 5 000 Ush pppn – 11/06/02

Having dropped all our patients off at the local clinic, we backtracked to the road that would take us to Kidepo National Park. Finally we arrived at the park, late evening and headed to what we thought was the campsite, actually it was the ‘lodge’ the campsite was on the plains somewhere! We were not interested in bundu bashing at that point, and the Park Ranger allowed us to camp at the lodge – much better! As it turned out the campsite is infested with tsetse so it was definitely a no go for us!

At the lodge area the waterbuck come to rest on the lawns, and from the lodge we saw elephant, Rothschild giraffe (only 11 in the park), jackals, buffalo, and zebras etc. The scenery is unique and spectacular. We wanted to travel further a field but because of the location of the Sudan border it was not advisable. We were also fascinated with the mansion that was built, and not finished for Idi Amin. We took a guide, and went to have a look at it. The site is magnificent – overlooking the plains. Unpaid soldiers looted the mansion, and finally it was converted into a lodge – Khartoum Lodge. A natural bush fire destroyed the roofing and the place now lies in ruin! The cost to knock down the rest of the building is too expensive and the cost to rebuild is would run into millions – so at present it is a no win situation.

We left Kidepo and headed out for Moroto which on our map of Uganda designates it to be a good murum road, which it was, in fact we never saw a single vehicle on it, in fact, it was a very long time since the road had vehicles on it as the bush was encroaching it. But we could push the speed up a bit and make good progress, which all came to a rather abrupt halt when we came across a human skeleton! As it turns out this is a serious war zone, and nobody goes there – in war you do not bury the dead! Moving on, we did finally come across a large contingent of Uganda Peoples Defence Force members, who were very surprised to see us! Talk about protection!

A word on security – we have never seen so many armed folk around, military and otherwise. There were some very suspicious folk with weapons as well. We even saw guys carrying rocket launches. Also it is a good idea to get advise from the locals (which we did), but also to follow the advice! Helmut had told us to link up with the convoy at Gulu for Kitgum – to be honest we had completely forgotten about it, and had not even seen the convoy! Not clever!

That was enough excitement for one day; we drove into Moroto looking for a quiet place to stay. They have a brilliant hotel in town, except it does not have a facility to park a big vehicle like ours; they suggested we try the Mt Moroto Hotel.

Mt Moroto Hotel – Moroto – N02:31:372 E034:40:231 – 4 662 ft amsl – Free of Charge – 13/06/02

Because of our detour we were running rather low on Ush and needed to change US$ which is a very difficult task to do outside of Kampala. We walked into town and found the bank, which was not allowed to change money. Dennis asked that they phone the MD of the Bank of Uganda in Kampala and get his permission! The mzungu has more cheek they expected! Eventually they got hold of the Public Relations Officer in Kampala and he gave permission for the money to be changed!

Now we are now flush we can pay our debt at the hotel. The owner of the Hotel, Mr Kodet is the most delightful gentleman. He would have none of it, and insisted we stay a while longer. Mr Kodet is a very interesting gent. He kept emphasising the urgent need for foreign investment in Uganda. He offered us vast tracks of land in exchange for ideas and expertise. He offered to set up a meeting for us with the President of Uganda (right!) etc. He was passionate about investment for Uganda!
As it turns out, he is the special advisor to the President and is the Chairman of Uganda’s Chamber of Commerce! We are on the look out for some bright ideas and investment for him – please email us if you have some! Mr Kodet was waiting to find out if his bid for the Kidepo National Park had been successful and if it was he wanted us to go and manage it! This is about the 3rd business prospect that we had been offered since being in Uganda! We met with some very influential members of the Uganda People’s Defence Force, who gave us their views of the past and current situation in Uganda and what they see the future holds for this precious country.

Without a doubt Uganda is a very special country. It is doing everything possible to improve its stature in Africa and to stabilize the country. They have a plan and a future and they are laying hold of what they have fought so hard for. From an outsider’s perspective Uganda has such a lot of potential, there is a great wealth just waiting for investment. Uganda government is doing something and not just talking about doing something, they are making giant positive steps forward. They are investing in their children and are teaching them sound business principals, we met a young lad of about 10 on the Mt Eglon road, who told us in great detail the urgent need for foreign investment and tourism! He was amazing!

While at Moroto Mr Kodet suggested we visit a Karamoja tribe traditional village! The visit was very interesting, and to the layman the villages look like they have no order, but in fact there is a place for everything! We were very honoured to tour the village.
The children showed us their ‘toys’ – tiny live mice with a piece of string tied to their tails! Poor things are dragged everywhere! The Karamoja people are meat eaters only and rarely have any form of agriculture. They have vast herds of cattle and goats. Their life as with many in Africa is a harsh one, especially for the women.

There is a Catholic Order of Mother Theresa who are currently ministering to the women in the area. Praise God for their love and dedication to this needy tribe. World Vision and World Food Programme both have aid stations in this harsh area.

There is a little bit of South African history in this area – they have a hill called ‘signal hill’ on which they lit fire to guide the South African troops during World War II.

We took our leave of these delightful people and headed for Sipi Falls, and then the border. We decided to rather go via Mt Elgon border post (Suam) than join the queues at the main border post.

Moses Camp – Sipi Falls – N01:20:133 E034:22:526 5 820 ft amsl – 3 500 Ush pppn

Sipi Falls is a lovely place, Moses Camp is well situated and the staff were once again fantastic. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we stayed an extra night – which may have been a mistake as it rained. The road to Sipi Falls is a beautiful tar double lane road, we were told that from Sipi Falls the road went to dirt, but was okay. We decided to take our chances after all we do have a Landcruiser, and we are not faint hearted! Ha!

BIG MISTAKE!

The road quickly turned to black cotton soil, which is covered with a layer of murum, which was then covered with a layer of rainwater, making for a wonderful concoction of muddy mess! We only had 50 kms to do so how long could it take? I hear a chuckle coming from those who know! It took us 14 hours of gruelling hard work in the mud – we nearly lost MR W over a 40 ft precipice first the one wheel went over and while we were deciding what to do, Mr W just kept on moving over the cliff! (Thank heavens for the winch and a nearby rock) We were seriously bogged down 6 times and the winch got us out of 4 of them.

We met locals who were prepared to help – for a price. We met locals who were prepared to help in the name of tourism, we met locals who were prepared to pray for us! We met locals who stole from us, some who just laughed and walked away and others who could not believe that two white people could be so stupid!

Suam Border Post – N01:12:948 E034:44:063 – 6 788ft amsl – Free of Charge

We arrived at the Suam border post well after dark, the post was closed and we were quite prepared to climb into our bed on the road and wait till morning. The Officer in charge of the post would have none of that, and invited us to camp at his house! He was most hospitable but all we wanted was to sleep. So muddy and all we climbed wearily to bed! Next morning saw two muddy old fools going through the border post and into Kenya. All we saw of Mt Elgon was mud!

Uganda, we enjoyed our stay and look forward to returning to spend some more time with you!

Back in Kenya we decided it would be nice to reach Nairobi the same day, but we did not hold out much hope – we would just see. We saw a strange sight, at a major intersection where there are a lot of cattle and much cross traffic we say a herd of giraffe making there way across the plains – they look so strange in such a setting.

Nairobi – here we come mud and all!