Adventures In Western Uganda!

We have been rather tardy in updating our blog, since Sarah’s parents, David and Jane, have been visiting, but now we are ready to share the highlights of our time with them....

A Dangerous Wizz in the Heart of Queen Liz...

When we moved to Uganda, we knew that Uganda was a beautiful country, but I don’t think we appreciated just how beautiful until we went on a foray into Western Uganda.  First stop was Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we stayed in a “bush camp”, which basically means posh camping.

We did a driving tour around the National Park, and our tour guide was a little distressed by Tim and David’s flagrant disregard for their own safety, as the need to relieve themselves seemed to far outweigh the dangers of unseen beasts looking for their next meal!  Thankfully they both live to tell the tale, and with all appendages intact!

The particular highlight of the stay was the boat trip along the Mweya peninsula, featuring many water buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, birds of every colour, water bucks, warthogs, Uganda kobs, and elephants, all perilously close to swimming children from the nearby village!  We had spent all day keeping our eyes peeled for the animal everybody wanted to see, and towards the end of the boat trip Tim suddenly shrieked with excitement  when he saw what he says was a lion, through David’s binoculars. Unfortunately this can’t be confirmed as he was the only one to get a peek before it apparently slipped behind a bush. It must be said that pretty much everyone else thinks he was mistaken, but in his mind at least it definitely WAS a lion! (it was - I’m telling you!!)

 A final little treat was a few sharp nips from a tsetse fly for both David and Sarah, so prayers against Sleeping Sickness would be gratefully received!

A Colobus Legion in the Crater Lakes Region...

Next stop was to visit some long-lost relatives Sally and Sue who work at a teaching training college just outside Fort Portal. We were given a fine welcome and that evening we walked to a nearby crater lake just in time to see a fabulous sunset with the Rwenzori mountains as a backdrop before heading back for a few beers and a wonderful beef stew!

The next day we visited a nature reserve overlooking an amazing crater lake surrounded by jungle that made us feel like we were in Swiss Family Robinson! Up in the trees were a whole troop of Colobus monkeys who took very little notice of us, apart from to occasionally urinate from a height in our direction! Needless to say we kept our mouths firmly shut as we peered up at them from that point on!  After a spot of lunch we struck out to walk to a local viewpoint named “The Top of The World.” Perhaps this title is a little grandiose but we did get wonderful views and felt very blessed to be in such beautiful surroundings.    

Our trip ended with a slap up meal at the Mountains of the Moon hotel before heading back to Masaka the next day. Two thumbs up for a really fantastic trip and one we hope to do again in the future (for Tim to go and find his lion, if for no other reason!). 

A Day with the NDA...

When they arrived, David and Jane had 6 large bags, of which only 1 contained their stuff.  The rest was all for us!  Two contained donated drugs (medical of course, we haven't resorted to dealing crack just yet, although if the pound drops much more against the shilling it's always an option!), and these bags were to lead us on one of those infamous Ugandan journeys that make you feel like you’re rowing a boat with one oar!  David was unreasonably worried by the big sign proclaiming that importing drugs without declaring them would lead to a stay in one of Uganda’s delightful prisons, and deciding that this may not be the best place to spend his 2 week trip, therefore dutifully declared them.

 We were told to come back the next day to clear the drugs with the NDA (National Drug Authority), only to discover that we actually needed to go to their office in Kampala (about 40km away through heavy traffic).  Blithely we decided to wait until the day that David and Jane were due to fly, and thus spent the large part of that day sitting in the offices of the NDA, filling forms, paying various fees at the bank, and pacing up and down in frustration (in Sarah’s case).  Good enough, we were given our papers in time to dash to the airport, only to discover that the airport NDA official had gone home early! One more trip to the airport the following day did result in us FINALLY walking away with the drugs with yet another Ugandan lesson in patience & perseverance under our belts!