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Published: November 28th 2006
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We have been quite busy since the last blog, catching up with family and making our way to Kampala, Uganda.
We flew out on Tuesday from Arusha, over Mount Kiliminjaro (obscured by cloud, of course) and in to Nairobi, where we met up with James' mum. Yes, that's right. Janice, James and I hung out at the airport in Nairobi, catching up on gossip and news. Surreal? Yep. Janice flew out for Sydney (via Dubai) at about 5pm and we caught a flight to Entebbe at 9pm. Side note: The airport in Nairobi has 1001 duty free shops and pretty much nothing else.
We arrived in Entebbe at 11.15pm and transferred to Namirembe Guesthouse in Kampala. We checked in, checked out the room then crashed on the bed. Despite having done nothing but sit all day, we were still quite tired. However, we still awoke at 6am. I don't think we have slept any later than 7.30am during the last two months!
We spent the morning catching up on emails (while there was electricity), then decided to head to the bank. Easier said than done. Distance is a subjective thing - when one person says 'it isn't that
far', another may think otherwise. During the hour that it took us to get to Barclays, we wandered about, mouths agape at the traffic. We thought traffic in Dar es Salaam was an eye opener, but Kampala adds a new dimension - boda bodas. In amongst the cars, minibus taxis, bicycles and pedestrians weaves motorcycle taxis. Essentially a 'postie' bike, the riders will carry one or two passengers on the back, usually holding anything from a live chicken to a 52cm television. We have also seen boda bodas without passengers and just carrying cargo...like a metal security door or another motorcycle.
We eventually got into the rhythm of dodging vehicles (although there were a couple of close calls with minivans driving the wrong way up the street) and concentrated on dodging holes instead. The potholes were a sight to behold. Endless chasms that forced drivers to go up onto the footpath or take another street altogether. I will never complain about the NSW RTA or roadworks again.
On Thursday we hired a driver to take us to the source of the Nile and Bucagali Falls. The source of the Nile was anticlimactic but we did amuse ourselves thinking
that we would soon see the Nile in Egypt.
Bujacali Falls was much more interesting. The road was a challenge in itself with the heavy rains turning the dirt into a pit normally reserved for mud wrestling. Already two minivans were in trouble. One had slid completely off the road, and another was being pushed/slid along by its passengers. Luckily, we had a 4WD and we proved to be a great disappointment to the locals all lined up along the road waiting to watch the next slow motion accident.
The Falls were more like a series of rapids (we did see some white water kayakers later in the day), with water churning past our viewpoint and down the river for about 25 km. Our guide introduced us to a man who pointed to a sign for the Bujacali Swimmers (see picture). Apparently people pay money for these guys to swim down the rapids with only a plastic jerry can attached to his arm. Please note that we did not pay for him to do this (I would never condone such dangerous behaviour!) but he did it anyway. When I went white water rafting I hated being churned about in the water so I truly believe that this man was just a bit insane.
He made it out alive, despite my misgivings, and after congratulating him on his feat, we grabbed lunch. At home, hot chips are considered fast food. In Uganda (and other parts of Africa) it takes just a bit longer as there is no McCain's Super Fries. All hot chips are made from scratch after you place your order. This meant that lunch was served around 3pm. No worries. We entertained ourselves by sitting in the 'bar' and watching 'Speed 2'.
Following lunch we went out on a wooden boat to visit various vantage points down the river. At one stage we visited an small island to view the rapids and saw a man working on his vegetable garden - watermelons, tomatoes and a green leafy herb popular with stoners. Great.
We left the Falls at about 4.30pm and headed back to Kampala. One word: traffic. The trip back to Kampala was relatively smooth but as soon as we hit the city limits it got nasty. Imagine Sydney traffic, then take away the rules. We cut in and out of back streets to avoid the snarls and boda boda drivers. By the time we arrived back at the guesthouse, the words 'carbon monoxide poisoning' were going through my mind.
Dinner, then packing our gear, ready for our trip to Rwanda the next day!
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Matt Thorp
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Finally...I've caught up
Heya - I've finally caught up on all your blogging. What an awesome trip - and some amazing photos!! So glad to hear about you're having such an incredible time.