First 10 days of Africa..

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Okay, so we reached Nairobi last Saturday 6th November and stayed at a lodge called Wildebeest Camp. We were slightly shocked at how basic some of the conditions are, but once I had my first outside shower and midnight torch-lit walk to the loos, I soon forced myself to brave this. Feels like so much has happened since I arrived, and as I have not adjusted yet to keeping this blog up to date, I shall summarize it all in this entry to catch you up.
So we spend 2 nights at Wildebeest Camp in Nairobi and spend both days and evenings seeing the city. It's a little scary when the locals are telling to be careful and not to take any expensive belongings out with you such as a camera or phone. As soon as you jump in a taxi they make you lock the doors, so you definitely get a vibe of it not being as safe as some places, but the Kenyan people we have spoken to have been extremely nice and friendly. Looking back, Nairobi isn't a place I would choose to go back to, but as you shall see later, we do go back for a bit with the truck.
So Monday 8th came by and we had an early start to meet the truck, driver and passengers. The group for this first part is small, it is 6 others including the driver. So the first day we travelled through the more rural part of Kenya which was lovely, the children are beautiful and as the truck passes through the small villages they run out and shout "Mazungu!" waving frantically.. Mazungu means white person, but here it is not a racist term, it is said as a term of endearment. So the Monday night we reached a farm and camped for the night. We all are split into groups and have roles to play which rotate each day including cooking for the group, cleaning, etc.
Tuesday morning leaving the farm and desperately trying to pack my tent away so I am allowed to have breakfast (this is at about 5.30am btw) made the trip feel a bit like boot camp, although it is funny how you adjust to things :-/
Since then, we arrived in Uganda and firstly stayed at Jinja at a camp called Adrift which does lots of activities and is located overlooking the Nile. The view is absolutely amazing. When you sit at the bar in the evening, it is great to hear the water rushing by next to you.
The next stop was Kampala the capital of Uganda and this is another great place. I instantly feel more safe and at home in Uganda and the people are very easy going here. In Kampala we stayed at the Red Chilli Hideaway which has a real buzzy vibe and is a popular campsite and truck stop so you end up speaking to so many people travelling and listening to their amazing stories. It makes me feel like there are so many places in the world to visit, makes my 7 month trip sound short in comparison!
So from Kampala we have a very long drive to Lake Bunyonyi, meaning "place of little birds" and again is so picturesque and pretty. There me and Kristina decided that as we would be staying for 4 nights that we would upgrade for a tree house room, which was so comfy and it was great to sleep on a bed. We had a great time here, we had an incident involving getting stuck in the middle of the lake in a dug out canoe and had to be rescued by a local, who towed us and the canoe back to shore! Very funny! We also took a motor boat (after the canoe incident) to some local islands off Lake Bunyonyi, such as Punishment Island, which is where unmarried pregnant women were taken to to die until the 1950's, and it was abolished. The island is tiny and just consists of a lonely tree and some eerie birds perched on top.
Sunday 14th was the day of seeing the Mountain Gorillas and was absolutely amazing. The best thing I have done. The trek was a bit of a challenge to and from finding the Gorillas, and in hindsight I should have said no to all the Burger King and Ben & Jerry's I was eating prior to leaving London, but the main thing is I made it! I even got a certificate saying I had tracked the Mountain Gorillas. Unfortunately, Kristina had a bad experience and about 10 mins into watching the Gorillas, one charged at her and glared his teeth. Not so nice, so for the rest of the trek, Kristina was found cuddling and crying at the back of the group with the previously hard man with a machete for comfort.
Monday we set off from the Kampale/ Lake Bunyonyi region to go back the way we came. We go back to Kampala and Jinja before heading in the direction of Nairobi to pick up more people and getting on a larger truck for the rest of the overland.
Keep you posted ... xx

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