Cheeky chimps

---

We leave Kenya and head north into Uganda. We pass straight through the capital, Kampala, and head to Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest body of water. Heading out onto the lake is just like being at sea - there’s no chance of seeing the distant shore, and it takes us over an hour to reach Ngamba Island, just a short distance from Entebbe, where we visit the chimpanzee sanctuary.

As everyone is building up to the gorilla trek in a few days time, the chimps are seen as a practice run, but they’re obviously entirely different creatures and the experience turns out to be very different. We view the chimps from a high platform behind a wire fence, as the keepers lure them out of the untamed forest to feed. Comedy noises and poses abound as the chimps jostle for food and do their best to catch the tomatoes and avocados thrown at them.

On the way back across the lake, we all dive in for a swim on (or at least near... our driver didn’t seem to be that exact) the equator, then head back to camp. After leaving Entebbe, we drive across the equator to Kabale at the northwestern edge of Uganda, stopping off for the ubiquitous water down a plug-hole demonstration, and playing plenty of cards on the long, bumpy drive.

---

Photos

023
A toilet break with a view

082
Lake Victoria

021
A cheeky chimp

022
An even cheekier chimp

020
Clouds over Lake Victoria