Murchison Falls National Park

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Another long drive ahead of us. Today's drive would take about seven hours under ideal conditions, but with the rains, dirt roads and other factors, it took about ten. If there's one thing I've learned about traveling in Africa, it is that if you don't have either a 4WD, a mule, or two good feet, you aren't going to get very far. One road had been washed out due to the heavy rains. The water was deep and swift as we drove thru it; you could literally feel the water push the car to the side as we drove thru it. 4WD's are amazing.



About 15 minutes later, another stretch of the road was completely gone. We had to sit and wait for over one hour while they remade the road by bringing in dirt to cover the mud. After that was accomplished, do you think the steam roller drove over the dirt to flatten it out and pack it? No. You just had to drive thru it. It wasn't uncommon to see buses that slid off the roads due to the mud, and overturned -- the passengers stranded. Cars that were not 4WD were stuck in the mud, and the trailers of many semi-trucks were overturned -- likely from speeding while going down the hills, the region is very hilly. Even in dry season, these dirt roads wouldn't be easy to traverse. It was fascinating to watch how life goes on, and how some of these towns can be shut off from the rest of the world during rainy season.



My driver's plan was to stop off for lunch somewhere, then a quick visit to Masindi before getting to the ferry to cross the river. However, when we arrived in Masindi, he was told the roads to the ferry were so bad that even the 4WD cars couldn't cross, the water level of the river was too high for the ferry to cross, and the lodge I was to stay at was inaccessible due to the mud -- the guests from the night before were stuck there for at least another night. Luckily, I had made a reservation at a camp in Murchison Falls while I was still in Kampala, which I had relayed to my travel agent, but he didn't listen. And that's where I spent the next two nights.



Murchison Falls is where much of the movie "The African Queen" with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn was filmed. The hotel in Masindi is where the cast and crew of the film stayed. Another famous visitor to the region, and also a guest at the hotel at a different time was Ernest Hemingway. While passing the area in a small plane, the plane crashed, and Hemingway was badly injured. Rather than stay in bed to recover, he spent all his time in the bar, which was named after him. Things didn't go so well for him. When he was well enough to be moved, he was to be flown to Kenya for surgery. But, while making the journey, that plane crashed, too. His stay in the region is very interesting, and is worth Googling to find out more.

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Photos

The Masindi Hotel
Famous for hosting Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, John Huston, and Ernest Hemingway. I can't even imagine what it was like to be there almost 70 years ago when the area was filled with even more animals than today.