Week 7: Murchison Falls Safari

Well week 7 sure was a fun one! Kash and I went on a tour up to Murchison Falls National Park which is up in the northern part of Uganda. We went with a company called Red Chilli Hideaway which was recommended by many people. They offer budget tours so you often get fun young crowds to travel with. The tour itself was 3 days but we took advantage of the complimentary night of accommodation in Kampala the night before leaving to have an extra day of being in tourist mode.  We went to their compound in Kampala on Saturday and enjoyed an afternoon by the pool reading and soaking up some sun. The compound has a wood burning pizza oven, so that night we enjoyed delicious pizza as we watched some world cup. We even managed to meet a bunch more Canadians who were just ending their time in Uganda. It was a lot of fun to hang around with people from back home, truly from back home as there were even a few people from the Victoria and Vancouver area, what a small world! Sunday morning we loaded into the 11 seater pop up top van and began the drive up to Murchison. It was a good crowd on our tour, loaded with health professionals. There were 2 Russian girls who kept to themselves, a young doctor from Scotland, a girl in nursing school from Scotland, a just graduated doctor from Ireland, and 2 first year medical students from the states. Once we reached the national park, we proceeded to the falls where we went for a short walk around the area. The amount of water that was rushing through there was astonishing!

The group from our tour minus 2 people



The rather powerful Murchison Falls

 

Being a rebel at the top of the falls and going out past the spray painted dotted line

The rest camp at Murchison Falls



 

On Monday we were up with the sun to go on a game drive in the park before it got too hot out and the animals went into hiding. We were very fortunate and got to see many different animals in great quantity. There were all sorts of deer/antelope type things, various birds, buffalo, giraffe, elephants, and lions. That afternoon we went on a Nile river cruise up to the bottom of the falls where we then saw more elephants, more birds, more buffalo, crocodiles, and hippos.  It truly was a fantastic experience getting to see all those creature out in their natural habitat and not in a zoo. The animals were so captivating we all would have sat there all day and watched them if it wasn’t for the driver moving us along to see as much as possible. Viewing animals wasn’t limited to those activities, back at the rest camp where we stayed there were lots of warthogs that would come around and scavenge for scraps. In the evening there was even a hippo at the camp site, the hippos leave the water to graze during the night and what better spot that a large grassy clearing full of tourists.

I believe this is called a dik-dik, it was pretty darn cute

 

Buffalo which are kind of snooty, looking at they raise their noses up to you

 

 a female waterbuck

 

A juvenile lion that was eyeing some delicious Kob



Two lions that were surveying the land and scaring all the Kob and Hartebeest away

Hartebeest, which are an awkward looking mix between a horse and an antelope

I loved seeing all the giraffe, they are so mesmerizing and gentle looking creatures



 

One of the resident warthogs at the rest camp

 

On the river cruise to the bottom of the falls

The view of the falls from the water

Tuesday we packed up and were on the road back to Kampala. Along the way we stopped at a rhino sanctuary where they are trying to rebuild the white rhino population in Uganda after all rhinos were poached to extinction some years back. There we walked around in search of rhinos which wasn’t too hard because there are park rangers that hang around the rhinos all day so a simple radio call and you know exactly where they are. Unfortunately since it was the middle of the day the rhinos were hidden under trees and resting. We first saw a group of 3 siblings but they were fairly hidden. The guide then told us that there were more we could see but it would require walking through a swampy area. Most of us didn’t mind getting our shoes all wet so we went for it and it was definitely worth it. We found a mother rhino with its baby that was just born at the beginning of April. Since the mother was protective she awoke when we arrived, this meant we got to see the entire body and take some good pictures. After a few minutes the guide started getting nervous that the rhino would charge as he could tell she was irritated so we slowly left her alone and went on our way. The rhinos were not as interesting to see as some of the other animals but they were cool to see and slightly terrifying. That night we returned to Kampala where we stayed the night at the compound and enjoyed more delicious pizza!  

 



 

 

One last group photo before leaving the rest camp

Baby Luna who is only 3 months old

 

The protective momma rhino eyeing us ready to charge!

 

 

Wednesday we had a relaxing day returning to Mukono and beginning the process of going through the hundreds of photos we had taken, yay for digital cameras! Thursday we were at Mengo hospital, where I was taking blood from patients again. After the hospital we decided to check out the craft market in Kampala where we did a little souvenir shopping. They have the most amazingly comfortable pants there for so cheap which Kash and I have practically been living in the past few days. They are a good substitute for sweatpants which I have been regretting not bringing with me. Friday I was at ACHERU helping out in the classroom as usual and introducing some of the younger kids to peek-a-boo who thought it was just hilarious! Or they may have just been laughing at the funny Mzungu either are quite possible…

That’s all for now, hope you enjoyed all the pictures it was hard to choose from the hundreds!

Jess

Week 6: Soroti and Sipi Falls

Week 6, this marks the halfway point of my time in Uganda I can’t believe how fast time is flying by. This week was spent travelling with Edward as well as a few day of volunteering. Due to important meetings Edward needed to be around Monday and Thursday so we spent one day at ACHERU and one day at Mengo hospital doing the same things as normal. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we travelled to north eastern Uganda to visit a student in Soroti. The hospital there was in fair condition but suffered from similar problem to all the others we have visited, lack of resources! The student was very grateful that Edward had come to see her, so she gave him a live chicken to say thank you. Between the stench of chicken poop and the chicken not wanted to stay in its box, the car ride home was definitely a new experience. On the way back home, Edward kindly offered to take us to Sipi Falls a popular tourist attraction in the mountains very close to the Kenyan border and only a short detour from the route back to Mukono. When we arrived at Sipi Falls, Edward rather happily gave the chicken away to somebody else as it was becoming a nuisance. At Sipi Falls, Kash and I planned to be taken on a hike up to the two upper falls and then after lunch down to the lower main fall. It was a gorgeous hike, walking through some small villages and plantations getting great views of the plains below us. Sipi falls is located at Mt.Elgon which is the 4th highest mountain in East Africa so the views really were something special. Afters the upper falls hike we returned to the lodge, not more than 5 minutes after we returned it started absolutely pouring with rain. The Sipi Falls Lodge was living up to its name as water was streaming off the roof creating many mini falls. This rain meant that the trail for the lower fall would be a muddy mess and unsafe. Not wanting to become completely covering in mud, in the afternoon we only walked down to the viewpoint for the lower falls instead of doing the full hike. We were very glad we got the opportunity to see the falls as a few people had recommended going there but we weren't sure if we were actually going to be able to make it work.

 

Rock formations just outside of Soroti, the region is known for its many large rock formations

A thank you gift from the student we visited, which Edward happily gave away at our next stop

At the caves behind some of the falls where locals dwelled many years ago

The area around Sipi in known for growing lots of coffee, these beans will be ready for picking in a few weeks time

The upper most fall at Sipi Falls which flows from Mt.Elgon one of the larger mountains in Africa



Kash only had flip flops with her so decided to go for a true Ugandan experience and hike barefooted





 

During our lunch break it started pouring with rain, luckily we had arrived back to the lodge just in time not to get soaked

The main falls from the view point, unfortunately we couldn't do the whole lower hike because the rain storm made the path much to muddy and slippery

View of eastern Uganda from up in the mountains at Sipi Falls



One of the guides found a chameleon hiding at the lodge

 

On Friday, we did a day trip to visit two students a bit north of Kampala in Nakasese. One was at a health center and the other at a district hospital. The health center was typical of others we have visited but the district hospital was a whole different story. This hospital was probably the worst we have seen yet. The hospital is quite old and there has not been any maintenance done on it so the ceiling panels were stained and half missing, many of the window were broken or missing, there was no running water, and the paint and was worn and chipping away. It is no wonder they have trouble staffing the place, it is not a very motivating work environment. When leaving, Kash and I decided that if either of us get sick or injured we would rather suffer through the sickness/injury then get treatment in such a setting.

The ceiling, or whats left of it, at the district hospital in Nakaseke

Dental office at the hospital, note the broken window and ripped up chair. This makes a fear of going to the dentist acceptable.

The district hospital we visited reminded us of an abandoned building used for refuge during a zombie apocalypse

Today (Saturday) we are heading to Kampala where we will stay the night before starting a 3 day safari up to Murchison falls on Sunday, we are very excited to be tourists again!

Jess