Picture Gallery 10 - UGANDA - Bujagali Falls River Nile, Kampala, Murchison Falls NP, Mt Elgon, Lake Baringo - July 07
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UGANDA & back into KENYA
Uganda (pics from left to right) – The countryside in Uganda is well and truly cultivated, with lots of subsidence farmers – here rice is growing; the roads in Uganda weren't much better than Kenya, with lots of broken down trucks, and the occasional one on its side; Viv buying some tomatoes from a little local roadside stall; Ron enjoying a Nile Beer, on the banks of the Nile River at Bujagali Falls.
Uganda (pics from left to right - top to bottom) – Our camp site at Speke Camp right above Bujagali Falls, on the mighty Victoria Nile River; the falls drew bus loads of schools kids each day – these kids and their teachers, including Moses Muwonge, from the Sir Apollo Kaggwa Boarding Primary School, in Kampala, were very friendly and wanted their photo taken in front of our vehicle – we hope they get a chance to see themselves on our web site – it was a pleasure meeting them; the local acrobatics group perform for us on the banks of the river; Helen with the main man who did a great pole climb and had to be double jointed.
The river attracted well over a hundred rafters/canoeists in the morning, when the river is at its heighest (the flow is regulated by a dam upstream on Lake Victoria); Lake Victoria (upstream from Bujagali Falls) and the Speke Memorial & Gardens – this is where the explorer Speke discovered the ‘Source of the Nile'.
Uganda (pics from left to right - top to bottom) – The bustling and hectic city of Kampala, the capital of Uganda – what a rat race – we'll never complain about Melbourne traffic again – this road is QUIET!!; Viv and Ron with John (another Australian), who owns and runs the Backpackers Hostel & Campsite in Kampala – a great spot to stop just on the outskirts of the city; on our way to Murchison Falls we passed quite a few of these very large horned cattle – very impressive (they are hollow horns – otherwise they'd never be able to lift their heads).
Uganda (pics from left to right - top to bottom) – Murchison Falls, in northwest Uganda, are pretty spectacular (maybe not in the league of Victoria Falls, but still impressive); 1st view looking downstream from the top of the falls, 2nd & 3rd view looking upstream near the base of the falls; 4th & 5th views show how the torrent of water is channeled through a narrow chasm in the rock, while the final view shows the churning expanse of water just before it drops over the falls; just some of the wildlife found along the river banks on the boat ride upstream to the falls – a battle scared hippo, a yellow-billed stork and a very large Nile Crocodile.
Uganda (pics from left to right - top to bottom) – We crossed over the Victoria Nile River on the vehicle ferry to the Murchison Falls National Park – it had great scenery with some animals we hadn't seen before – Jacksons Hartebeest; Kob (like a Leechwe antelope) and the smaller Oribi antelope, along with buffalo & lots of giraffe; the view of one of the tracks through the park which takes you down to the Albert Nile River. Before leaving the area, we went on a chimp tracking walk through the Budongo Forest (which abuts the NP) hoping to spot some of the local chimpanzees – we did our walk a bit late in the morning (the only time we could make it) and as such the chimps had settled down for the day and we only had a fleeting glimpse of a couple; still the forest was beautiful.
Uganda (pics from left to right - top to bottom) – We left Murchison Falls and stayed the night at the town of Masindi, camped in the delightful grounds of the Masindi Hotel – ‘The oldest and finest hotel in Uganda” where Ernest Hemingway stayed back in 1954 after a plane crash – they have a bar named after him and of course Ron had to have a beer in the bar; on the road from Masindi to Mt Elgon we passed Anthony Asiimine herding his very nice looking herd of big horned cattle – he was a really nice bloke and we had a great chat; while talking to Anthony, another very friendly local, a university student, Akugizibwe Justus, stopped and wished us well – they opitimized most of the people we met in Uganda – warm and friendly; The steep climb around the base of Mt Elgon to Sipi Falls and the view of the valley floor below.
Uganda (pics from left to right - top to bottom) – Our final destination in Uganda was Sipi Falls on Mt Elgon – the view of the cultivated countryside around the falls area; looking across to the falls (there are 4 in all) and a closer look. We have to thank our Israel friend ‘ Guy' who we met at the Crows Nest camp site where we stayed and who gave us the pics of the falls, in sunshine. We missed the opportunity, arriving in sunlight in late morning, but opting to wait for the afternoon light to be on the falls, instead we got an afternoon of three inches of rain – no sunshine – no pics!! Thanks Guy. You'd think we'd learn!! – take a pic when you can!!!
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