Thursday 14 Jan

Monday 12/1/01.
We left yesterday from Kampala @ 5am. Not a huge amount spoken- mostly grunts & groans. Up at 4am for 4.30 breakfast. Most of us fell asleep for the trip out of the city as the road has improved++ since we were here last time. New tar sealed road in place & when we got to start of the newly tar sealed area – instead of rd signs and a thousand orange cones that showed speed limits there were speed humps every 20metres apart for 1.2km – Marge counted at least 125. Those of us in the back of bus became airborne many times as we bounced over them. Very effective way to slow the traffic – Fergusons Construction could try it.
We continued up to the town of Masindi at around 8am. Last time it took to 11am so shows how the road has improved. Then we travelled over a very rough road to the top of the Murchison Falls. Stats are as follows: The Victoria Nile is squeezed through a chasm of about 6m wide & the force of the water being forced down the 40m waterfall is incredible. The river is 400m wide at the bottom of the waterfall.
We then drove to another part of the river to the ferry – which we missed by about 5mins but while the ferry driver suggested while he could certainly take us on the ferry, it was lunchtime & he was feeling a bit hungry but had no money. It was either give him some shillings or wait for 1.5hrs in the hot sun being watched by the baboons. Commonsense prevailed and probably some shilling and we only had to wait 30 minutes before carried on to Paraa safari Lodge a upmarket 1930’s hotel. Bit like Out of Africa setting with a pool with swim up bar overlooking the hippos in the Nile River. 50 rooms and restaurants etc in the middle of a national game park with warning signs that the animals are wild!!! Have a fence to keep the Hippos out of the swimming pool. Bit like Paradise but not good for any weight loss programme. See www.paraalodge.com
Late afternoon saw us on a game drive in the National Park which had many eyes opened wide where we saw baboons, elephants, giraffe and a lone lioness as well as lots of buck’s hartebeest and other antelope. Quite amazing experience with the elephant within 30metres and the lioness walking within 2 metres of the bus (told to shut the windows).
Back to the lodge and another smorgasbord and 5 kilos put on.
Tuesday 13 January
Late start with 7.30 brekkie. Another huge spread for breakfast before heading down to the river for a cruise upstream to the Falls. Saw lots (1000’s) of Hippo as well as lots of crocodile and a few elephants and waterbuck. The view from the bottom of the falls in even more spectacular than from the top. The immense volume of water passing thru this narrow chasm is spectacular. Even more so is the number of crocs sitting at the bottom waiting for any lunch being any poor unfortunate animal person or fish that get washed over the Falls. The biggest croc was probably about 12 ft with a very large mouth with sharp things hanging out.
Before and after lunch is hanging out at the pool and eating. Most of our group spoke to the founders of Watoto that are holidaying here this week with friends from Canada. Pastor Gary and Marilyn Skinner are very approachable and down to earth. It was very humbling to meet these two people with such a huge vision and passion; and having the ability to see these thru to fruition. The latest passion is Gulu where they now have some 50 houses for orphans and are also looking after 300 women with AIDS and getting them working doing crafts for sale etc. As with all Watoto projects the goal here is massive and they intend to have some 3000 women working there.
Time for a quick swim and off on another game drive. Requests include animals that are here such as zebra ands wildebeests and tigers (Kate Hines). We are also looking for Gordy or Bobs 12 spotted kiwis!!
Life is tough here with the temperature n the early mid 30’s Celsius and sitting in a bar overlooking the Victoria Nile typing this
Cheers Heinzey001 3pm
Thursday 14 Jan
Another day gone without finding an internet cafe.
Last night went on another game drive. It is still great to see the animals in their natural habitat and watching the new guys eyes light up and yell giraffe or elephant. We saw a lot of animals much the same as the night before but no lion. Lots of buffalo, giraffe and some elephants. Ended up in another traffic jam but this unlike Kampala where it is cars and trucks we run into a herd of elephants that would not move off the road and we had to back up and take a different road to the Lodge.
Another great meal and to bed except it was really hot and stuffy.
After breakfast this morning we left Murchison Falls National park and headed to Gulu in Northern Uganda. Hussein our bus driver took us on a short cut which in this part of Africa means a 100km of rough bumpy gravel roads. Not wrong!!!
We arrived in Gulu at around lunchtime. Trip was about 250 km and with Hussein’s shortcut there was about 3 km on tar seal roads and the rest rearranging internal organs. First impressions of Gulu were mixed and the place is not what I expected. Up until 2008 it was the centre of the war between the Ugandan army and the Lords Resistance Army run by Joseph Kony one of the world’s most wanted men. (He is now supposedly in the Congo). The war had been going on for twenty years here and in the Southern Sudan. There is about more than 2 million people in displaced camps. However the town is very much the same as any other African towns with no real signs of damage etc as what would be expected for a place at the centre of a war. There are lots of large trees providing shade and most businesses are open and expanding. It has a friendly feel about it. So far it is not what I expected but is for the better.
Checked into a hotel in Gulu called “Hotel Acholi”. It would have been the top place to stay in the 1960’s and 70’s but shows signs of faded grandeur. Idi Amin stayed here when he was President. Pete White attempted to burn the place down after lunch by watching them put another multibox in the multibox and lots of black smoke rising out of the hot water cupboard. When he told one of the female staff members of the smoke she ran out of the building. Not much chance of hot showers tonight but with the temperature in the high 30’s cold showers may be better.
It good to see some of the rooms have been upgraded recently especially the bath rooms with new taps hand basins etc BUT no toilet seats!! The staff that shows you to the rooms (ours was dressed in an immaculate 1950 Presidential Guard uniform) come into the room and turns the air con unit on to cool the room and then opens the window to let fresh air in.
Thursday 14 Jan
Morning started with another big breakfast. So much for the weight loss programme. We then walked about 500 metres to a building that was used by the night commuter for shelter during the war. They came to these building as they could be protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army who kidnapped very large numbers of 6 to 13 year old boys and girls. It was ironically next door to a field that Idi Amin used to execute large numbers of so called “dissidents”.
We then went to the latest Watoto Project called “Living Hope”. It is a training centre with women that are HIV and they train them with life skills such as sewing , bee keeping etc as well as giving counselling for their illness. Many of these women has children and were kidnapped as part of the war.

Cheers Heinzey