Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Sleeping in a real bed is pretty good, at least we didn't have to put up and take down our tent so there was no attitude from my roomie! As we were all in one room I had 5 roomies last night. Bunk beds are fine but I am a slow learner and whacked my head a couple of times.
As I have said, there is just miles and miles of sugar cane and they still burn off here. My bed was by the open window and the air hung with acrid smoke from these smoulderings. It was so hot in the room I chose to have the window open but still managed a pretty good sleep. Bacon and egg for breakfast and then into Kampala City to change money and buy a pillow. Since the Nairobi Westgate incident, security has been stepped up everywhere. None more so than in Kampala as I believe this was the next target.
We drove into a large shopping mall (large compared to what I have seen elsewhere) and got off the bus so we could be individually searched and scanned and the bus boarded by armed guards and searched also. The individual search was different for sure. A female officer searched the ladies, I really hadn't been taking much notice of the others in font of me so when I stepped forward for searching I expected the normal scan, then maybe a hands on the arms, buttocks (pocket area) and down each leg. Oh no, not this time! Obviously women can hide bombs in their boobs, so straight for the boobs she went, one in each hand with a good old squeeze around. I haven't been groped like that since my last mammogram. All us ladies were highly amused by our own experience. Chris is a character, and he did muse as to why men couldn't hide bombs in their nether regions, hence inviting a search. Suffice to say that no-one went there!
Bought two bottles of Nederberg red wine for around $AU4.50 each. Will be quite nice to have a glass of good wine tonight with dinner.
Next is a long drive of around 7 hours. It is so green here, with the red soil a stark contrast. It is a wildly beautiful place and as we travelled towards the Kibale national park horticulture gave way more and more to vibrant green forest with small villages along the way. One of the really cool things we experience are the kids; waving as a welcome, their big wide smiles showing off beautiful white teeth. As we drive by they wave and shout hello. We stop to buy charcoal from a little settlement on the side of the road. The large sacks are standing up individually like soldiers at attention and all the men are milling around, with about 4 children raggedly dressed in very dirty clothes. I can only think this must be a poor community although they do have some long-horn cattle grazing nearby. It is such a great scene, I get out the GoPro camera and take a video - I really hope it comes out well. A couple of colobus monkeys in the forest across the road from where we stopped tells us we are getting deeper into the forest. We have been through the 2pm rainstorm which seems to take place each day like clockwork, and drive on.
As we climb a bit higher, some of the forest area has been cleared and tea plantations pop up everywhere intermingled by banana plantations. I wasn't quick enough to take a shot of a family aerating tea leaves, which had just been picked, before drying outside on big sheets on the ground outside their house.
Finally we arrived at our camp site, a beautiful garden paradise overlooking the high forest hills and surrounded by a tea plantation on one side and massive maize crop on the other. Apparently this used to belong to some rich Englishman but has now been used as a resort for the past ten years. We pitch our tents on beautiful lush green grass on sites that are level and bordered by hibiscus trees/bushes. The view from the open air showers is fantastic.
- comments
Cheryl Hey Mama, It all sounds just fantastic. I just watched a programme on the Great Apes and thought of you heading that way. The Plantation sounds very calming and relaxing. I picture the lush green lawns you described and imagine you all pitching your tents on the lawn! No Buffalo's here!! (You hope!).Your roomies dont sound as interesting (not much written about them) as the previous bunch! Thanks Cheryl