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Published: June 20th 2009
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Day 4 - Bush camp, Eldoret - Kampala, Uganda
We had such a terrible nights sleep and an early morning to get to Uganda. At the boarder we were swamped by guys in yellow coats trying to sell us Ugandan Shillings, it reminded us of the stock market with 20 guys waving money at us shouting 'buy'. Once in Uganda we made our way to Kampala stopping briefly for lunch at the side of the road where there were hundreds of Butterflys and a Praying Mantis. The traffic in Kampala was so bad that we ended up staying in a different camp to the one we were supposed to be in. We took a shower that was literally one drip of water at a time! After dinner it was time to play some pool and get pissed on Zappa.
Day 5 - Kampala - Bush camp
We went to Mpanga forest for a trek, thats where we were supposed to be staying the night before but couldnt get to. We were going to be doing a night forest walk if we stayed but im so glad we didnt as it was bad enough to get around in the
day and there were the biggest biting ants! We went back throught the equator and stopped off for lunch. We were given a demonstration of water going down in different directions, north of the equator it went clockwise, South it went anti-clockwise and on the equator it went straight down. Michelle had to cook dinner, it was butternut squash and mince, it was so nice and then we all sat around the fire with marshmallows.
Day 6 - Bush camp - Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi was so beautiful, its the deepest in Uganda at 6500ft. It was a long drive to get there so Michelle jumped straight into the lake once the tents were put up and mike had to cook😊 It was the birthday of one of the drivers so after Mikes Mushroom risotto we all had a party overlooking the lake.
Day 7 - Lake Bunyonyi
We had a free day by the lake and so we didnt do anything, we sat in the sun reading for most of it & we had to wash some clothes. The lake is surrounded by green mountains and there are islands you can get a boat to
but we didnt do that. Mike got into the lake today as he missed out the night before and needed a wash. When it got dark all the glowworms came out, they were cool but the mozzy and spider in the tent that night wern't!
Day 8 - Lake Bunyonyi - Ruhengeri, Rwanda
We crossed the Ugandan/Rwandan boarder to get to our next destination, Ruhengeri. The clocks went back one hour and Rwanda is the only country on our Africa trip that drive on the right. The main reason for our visit to Rwanda is to do the Gorilla Treking, but we had no idea how our short stay in this amazing country would effect everyone on the trip. After a rather difficult boarder crossing and a couple of hours drive through the most amazing scenery seen yet (no wonder this country's called the land of 1000 hills) we arrived in Kigali (Rwanda's capital) to visit the genocide musium and learn a little more on the countries tragic history, consult the internet or a library for further info, this stop consiquently gave everyone on board a much better insight into why this country is so renowned and it's
determination to educate themselves and move on. After a pretty sombre few more hour we got to Ruhengeri (a government stronghold during '94) and got our stuff into the dorms, tonight we sleep on a real bed!!!
Day 9 - Ruhengeri (Gorilla Trek)
We were up at 05.30 to be collected from the site at 06.30, after a short minibus ride we got to the National Park Office were we had to wait for a guide to tell us which group of gorillas we were going to be treking to see and go through the rules. We were told it could take anything from 30mins to 5hours to track the gorillas, they are wild in the jungles of the Virunga volcanoes so no one knows where they are until the trackers find them in the morning. Our group were the Umubano family made up of 10 gorillas including one that was 2days old. So we made our way to the volcano that we'd be treking over the bumpiest road, it was just made up of rocks. Once near the bottom we then had to walk half hour to the bottom of the volcano and from there we made
our ascent. It was thick jungle and loads of giant stinging nettles so needless to say we both got stung all over. The guards were making paths for us using his machete, it was so knackering. Luckily after about 45 mins we came to the gorillas. There was a mother lying there with a baby of 2 months and 2 others play fighting in a clearing, there were both young and biting and hitting eachother. To our left we had a black back, an older male but not quite at the age to get the silver back. We moved down the mountain slightly and found the mother to the new born and the silver back (scratching his nuts! what a man). It was possibly the fastest hour in our lives and also very bizarre to literally be 2 metres away from wild gorillas with no cage or perspex to seperate us. These are huge and potencially terrifying animals, but after a couple of minutes we were completaly at ease with them due to their layed back a quite nonchalont attitude. This is definataly the highlight of the trip so far (and gonna take some beating). When we got back the
the campsite there was time for a quick shower and a few beers in the bar, discussing earlier events, before we headed out into town for a meal at a residents home and a chance to hear first hand from a survivor of '94. This was hardly a party but it was interesting how the extreme high of the morning was of such contrast to the evening's tales of harrowing events.
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June
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Whew!!!
You two have packed so much in, you must be exhausted already, but obviously enjoying the experience of a lifetime... just try to dodge the 'eating' insects and giant nettles... take care .. love to you both xx