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Published: February 17th 2009
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Day 259 - Christmas Day (25/12/08)
Carly woke up thinking she had forgotten something and not that it was Christmas day, but her camera. After a frantic look amongst last nights clothes, we both came up empty handed but confident that I'd left it at the pub the night before. Certain our luck was to run out soon Jez jumped on a moto back down to the Pub arriving back fifteen minutes later with the camera in hand. Phew!!
After some delicious pancakes for breaky, things were looking up and we jumped on the truck set for Lake Buoyoni. With some Christmas carols pumping from Carly’s IPOD we missed a call from home and then ran out of reception as we continued through the mountains, disappointed not to wish everyone at home a Merry Christmas. With a quick stop at Kibali for lunch and speed cook group shopping as ominous black clouds were going to make it very difficult to get the truck to our camp.
Fortunately the rain held out and we arrived at Lake Buoyoni Camp, a beautiful site overlooking the lake and surrounded by lush mountains. After putting up the tent we cracked our first beer on Christmas
Day after 4pm much to Jez’s disgust. It wasn’t long before big bowl of punch and a drinking game got going whilst waiting for our buffet dinner of lobster masala, chicken, grilled fish rice and vegies. A few more drinks later and we found ourselves at the bar with our rival overland truck members, fighting for the next song selection and the dance floor.
Day 260 - Boxing Day
Feeling typically under the weather for boxing day but without the pavlova we made do with some eggs for breaky before heading to the orphanage. With arms full of cakes, soft drink and games we boarded a small boat and headed five minutes across the lake. On arrival we were treated to three songs and dance by all the children and their carers. Then it was cake time.... a huge sticky mess! With just a little extra it was the carers and elders that kept coming back for more stale cake covered in condensed milk. Watching the children's eye's light up as they crammed the cake in with two hands was worth every bit of sticky mass (covering Carly literally from head to toe). The children were beautiful and soon
clasped onto us, Promise quickly becoming a fixture of Carly’s hand. We were both given a private tour of the empty school classrooms and watched the footy fly out the window and into the scrub below never to be found again. Back in the chapel we sat with the kids as they sung and danced and stole our sunglasses and hats and paraded around the room.
We had long before decided that we would sponsor a child this was our first opportunity. Being a small fund meant the money goes directly to the child’s education, food and accommodation. In Uganda primary schooling is free but secondary schooling must be paid so we sponsored thirteen year old Doreen who was very shy but had aspirations to be a school teacher. After bidding our final goodbyes and back in the boat we discovered that after two of the other couples decided to sponsor children also that there was only one child now not able to go to secondary school, which just didn’t seem quite fair, so we agreed to sponsor her also and made arrangements to met her the following day.
Back at camp ordered lunch and waited a long hour later
before then heading down to the lake for a quick dip with the local otter. Carly on cook group headed back up to the truck to prepare Thai fish cakes and chips.
Day 261
Keen to catch sunrise from top of mountain we woke at 5am, we lost one member between the tent and the gate, forgot our head torch and left with too few directions and with two Ed and Sean. We scrambled up the mountain of “so called path” only more often then not our certain paths ran out, not wanting to back track when in doubt we went up... hands and knees, through banana plantations, mint fields until we finally stumbled across a Acadia Camp. Certain we weren’t quite at the summit we continued on, grateful that despite our driver Franko’s recommendation the sun rose at 5.45am and we had given ourselves plenty of time, the sun was still yet to show at it was just after 6am. We finally made it to the beautiful view point only to decide to move for an even better photographic point, big mistake! Within the five minutes it took to move the fog rolled in destroying our sunrise and
view. Disappointed we packed up our gear to head back only for the fog to mystically clear. Creating a mad rush to set the camera’s back up and the fog to magically roll back in this time permanently. We headed back to the camp’s restaurant which strangely remained closed. Confused but desperate for a coffee, we finally got some attention when joker Jez loudly asks “What do you mean you can’t break in!” Within seconds we are surrounded by fours locals who explain the restaurant opened at 7:30am, approximately five minutes ago. We were quickly seated and coffees ordered. We were treated to some complimentary fruit platters and further directions on how to get down, proving invaluable as the climb down which took us less then thirty minute along a real path the entire way back to camp. Tired but still laughing about our adventure Sean and I step in to help Nita with breaky given we are a good half an hour late. After a quick shower we wait for our pickup back to the orphanage to met Oliva our second sponsor child, thirty minutes late Mel decides to call them only to find out she was coming to
met us. Oliva arrived and we attack her with questions and photo’s like the paparazzi. Shortly after they leave the light shower turns into a full rain storm and we rush down the fifty steps to the tents to ensure they're not flooding.. dry just. We spend the rest of the afternoon on the balcony playing scrabble, Yahtzee and drinking beer.
Fed up with games we head to the bar for a game of pool and catch the miserable end of the Australian v’s Sth Africa cricket score. After camp style pizza’s we return to the bar for another quite drink before calling it quits for the evening.
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