Jan 10/09
I'm woken up in the dark hours of early morning by a terrifying sound. It's very loud and sounds like it's coming from the low cliff above Richie's tent. It sounds like the ghost from The Grudge, if that helps anyone. I've never heard it before and thankfully it only lasts a few minutes. My heart starting racing instantly and I just kept thinking ' It's OK, I'm safe in my tent! Nothing will attack me in here with the super thin screen/nylon walls protecting me! Besides, it sounds closer to Richie and will get him first!' I talked about it with Richie later and he was equally shitting himself. He said he was holding tight to his knife, ready for action. His knife is a formidable weapon too, it's about as long as my forearm! He thought it was a pissed off hippo. We told the staff and they didn't know what it was but a guy later told us it was a hyena. He says they pass through here. I guess that makes sense but I've had a new idea about what it was. I just heard it again this morning in the predawn hours of 5am as I waited for a bus near Semliki national park. I don't think there are many hyenas here but there are many baboons and that's what I think it was. They are big enough to make that kind of call. I can rest now if I hear it again.
I fall back asleep and awoken again at 8 but this time by a more familiar sound. Branches and debris fall on my tent and I hear monkeys crashing through the trees all around - African alarm clock! I get up to see it's a large troupe of red colobus. I get out my tripod and start photographying. I eat the rest of my cereal for breakfast and I'm still hungry so I order an omelette and coffee. The coffee is in the form of instant powder which is kind of funny since Uganda produces some of the highest quality coffee around but most of this is for export. I get powdered milk and sugar to sweeten to my taste and a 1.5L thermos of boiling water. I'm not a huge coffee junkie and 1 or 2 cups is enough for me. I'm not one of those guys who sits around a coffee pot drinking it all day, so the 1.5 litres is a but much for me. In my hotel in Fort Portal, The Continental, when I order coffee with milk I get a small thermos full of boiled milk to which I add sugar and instant coffee. Coffee with milk is called African coffee here.
I'm walking to some nearby crater lakes today. Richie's guts are bothering him so I'll be walking solo but I don't mind. It's a beautifully sunny day and I leave at noon, the hottest time of the day. I walk a rarely used single lane road to the small roadside village of Rwaitera. I eat beans and matooke ( mashed plantains) for lunch and then continue on to try and find a loop back to lake Nkuruba. I pass a lushly green tea plantaition that reminds me of the so many I saw in India. I'm walking down the dusty red road now ringed with crops like maize and cassava on both sides when a large grey mongoose drops down the one side, runs right in front of me and jumps up the other side back into the crops. How cool and unexpected!
I stop at a wooden shack overlooking Lake Nyamirima, a small but picturesque crater lake. No one is around but after a few minutes a guy appears and I buy a warm coke from him. He gets his mother who is the manager of the campsite here and speaks better English. She points me in the right direction to get back to Mkuruba. I'm walking through people's yards now. No one is in sight but 2 dogs are on guard. I get out my tripod for a weapon, though it's more for show. Most dogs here are scardy cats and are all bark and no bite. As soon as I raise the tripod over my head, they back off to a safe distance. This is real rural Uganda, I see a fat black women topless and she makes no effort to cover up when she sees me. Uganda is fairly conservative, topless women aren't something you see everyday. Her whole household watches me as I go by. I ask constantly to make sure I'm going in the right direction and everyone is nice and no one asks me for money here. Before I realized it, I was on the road I had started on. I arrived back at camp 4 hours after leaving. I immediately hit the lake for a swim. It was almost like I never left. The monkeys were still around and Richie was still there photographing them. I left a jerrycan full of water in the sun and it was warm for my bucket shower. I read till dinner. Richie and I both eat cassava with beef. Surprisingly the beef is cut in small tasty chunks and has no fat on it. The cassava is heavy and super filling. I sit in the moonlight for a while before retiring to my tent. I'm listening to the book Devil May Care (a new James Bond adventure) on CD, bought for me for Christmas by my brother, Jeff. It's just starting to get excting. I close my eyes and imagine I'm watching a movie (Thanks Jeff).
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Crater Lakes
South of Fort Portal is an area with a violent past. This can be seen in the 70 or so crater lakes that dot the region. The crater lakes are all that's left of multiple volcanoes and eruptions ages ago. Most are not that big and almost circular in shape with high cliffs or surrounded by forest. Some are irregular shaped which suggests they filled multiple collapsed calderas. I wanted to check out this area to see the crater lakes, do some hiking and just relax in a cheap place. I'm trying to balance the expensive places, like the national parks, with cheap places in between. Richard didn't have much of a plan and he liked what he read about the crater lakes so he decided to join me.
We left Fort Portal at noon. We decided to travel in a bit of comfort and called Gideon to take us there. Gideon was the guy who gave me a ride back from Kibale national park and gave me a good price on a ride to Lake Nkuruba in the crater lakes. It was only 25 minutes away on a dusty road. I choose Lake Nkuruba as a base because it had a good central location, cheap food and accomodation and most importantly was one of the only lakes completely surrounded by forest. Monkeys, butterflies and birds lived in the forest there. When we arrived a troupe of black and white colobus monkeys were eating the bark from a papaya tree right beside the restaurant. There were people about and they didn't care. It was the least skitish I've ever seen them behave. I wanted to set up my tent and do some washing though and thought the monkeys would be around again for photos.
Richie and I choose the best spot for camping. A few minutes walk down a gradually sloping trail to the edge of the lake, far away from what little noise there was. It was a very peaceful spot. I wanted to start washing my sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner so they would be dry to sleep in later. I had been camping so much and haven't had the time or right place to wash them yet. It felt and smelt so good sleeping in them later. They both dried within hours. No electricity was available which ensured quiet. We just hung out our first day. Later in the afternoon, Alexandria, a solo female backpacker from Poland arrived. She was on an ambitiour Cairo to Capetown trip and then up to West Africa.
There was a short trail through the forest and after dinner, Richie and I decided to walk it to search for bushbabies. Within minutes I found about half a dozen sets of eyes. Most were to far away to see clearly but it was nice to know the forest was full of them. My mammals book states that in a proper habitat, bushbabies can reach densities of 400 per sq. km.! No wonder there is so many! It seems to me that any forest that is rich in duirnal primates is also rich in nocturnal primates.
Day 2
We get up early at 7am , just as dawn breaks. Richie wants to get up early to beat the heat and get some good photos before the haze sets in. Alexandria joins us and after a bowl of cornflakes that I brought along, we leave at 7.30. We get picked up by a large truck and catch a free lift to the market village of Rwaihamba. From there we walk to Kabata and branch left towards Muhoma falls, our destination. We stop at a local stall for tea, called chai here, but it's not chai like chai in India. It is super cheap though. We get another lift in a truck up to a church on a hill were we have to leave the road and walk paths through huts and cultivated land to the waterfalls. 2 young local boys have been following us and now are acting as our unofficial guides. They help us find the way to the waterfall which we couldn't have done without them. The Muhoma falls are nothing too amazing but a nice place to chill. We eat peanut butter sandwiches and pass the time. The boys just sit on a log and wait for us. We make our way back to the main road and the boys reach their village. They ask for money and none of us mind paying them a little, they did help us a lot and earned their money. A few minutes later, the truck that dropped us off hours ago is coming back in our direction. It's now full of plantains and bananas and we dubbed it the banana bus. We hopped on the bundles in the back with half dozen Ugandans. We diverted from the main road to pick up some more bananas. Our driver stopped for a drink of the local tipple, waragai. It's true that most of the big truck operators are drunk and that's the reason for the high number of crashes on the road. He seemed to still be coherent to me ( maybe he drove better buzzing!) and since the road was rutted and hilly, there weren't any opportunities to really go fast and lose control. He offered me some of his drink but after wincing after just smelling it, I politely declined. It's funny, he seemed to be the only one drinking!
We get off the banana bus at the market and buy green peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onions for our dinner. My guidebook said self catering was possible so we brought a bit of food to help cut costs. We cooked up a huge pasta dinner with all our veggies and was more than enough for Richie, Alexandria and me. It was a tasty, filling and most importantly, very healthy meal. I was feeling tired from the early start and some walking and crashed hard.
Day 3
It takes a long time for 8.30am to roll around and I wake up feeling rested. I head up to the restaurant for a coffee and passionfruit juice and finish the rest of my cereal. Today is going to be a do-nothing-don't- leave-the lake kinda day. I take this opportunity to wash my small pack which has become filthily embedded with dust and dirt. Richie thinks I'm a bit obsessed because I'm always washing something. I just like being clean and it feels good to me knowing I have clean clothes to put on. Also self washing is super cheap, kills time and is rewarding. I wished I liked washing clothes this much at home! I finally left the campsite late afternoon for the restaurant. A troupe of about 20 black and white colobus were everywhere, in the trees and playing on the ground. This was the closest I had ever gotten to them and it was amazing. One thing that really surprised me though was watching them stick their face close to the mud/cement base of the building and eat it. They must be after the minerals in the mud. Didn't look too tasty! In the morning, red colobus were in the same trees but are bit more frightful than these black and white colobus but still provided good photo ops.
On the way to the campsite after dinner, I find 3 sets of bushbaby eyes, they really are everywhere, I love it!
We left Fort Portal at noon. We decided to travel in a bit of comfort and called Gideon to take us there. Gideon was the guy who gave me a ride back from Kibale national park and gave me a good price on a ride to Lake Nkuruba in the crater lakes. It was only 25 minutes away on a dusty road. I choose Lake Nkuruba as a base because it had a good central location, cheap food and accomodation and most importantly was one of the only lakes completely surrounded by forest. Monkeys, butterflies and birds lived in the forest there. When we arrived a troupe of black and white colobus monkeys were eating the bark from a papaya tree right beside the restaurant. There were people about and they didn't care. It was the least skitish I've ever seen them behave. I wanted to set up my tent and do some washing though and thought the monkeys would be around again for photos.
Richie and I choose the best spot for camping. A few minutes walk down a gradually sloping trail to the edge of the lake, far away from what little noise there was. It was a very peaceful spot. I wanted to start washing my sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner so they would be dry to sleep in later. I had been camping so much and haven't had the time or right place to wash them yet. It felt and smelt so good sleeping in them later. They both dried within hours. No electricity was available which ensured quiet. We just hung out our first day. Later in the afternoon, Alexandria, a solo female backpacker from Poland arrived. She was on an ambitiour Cairo to Capetown trip and then up to West Africa.
There was a short trail through the forest and after dinner, Richie and I decided to walk it to search for bushbabies. Within minutes I found about half a dozen sets of eyes. Most were to far away to see clearly but it was nice to know the forest was full of them. My mammals book states that in a proper habitat, bushbabies can reach densities of 400 per sq. km.! No wonder there is so many! It seems to me that any forest that is rich in duirnal primates is also rich in nocturnal primates.
Day 2
We get up early at 7am , just as dawn breaks. Richie wants to get up early to beat the heat and get some good photos before the haze sets in. Alexandria joins us and after a bowl of cornflakes that I brought along, we leave at 7.30. We get picked up by a large truck and catch a free lift to the market village of Rwaihamba. From there we walk to Kabata and branch left towards Muhoma falls, our destination. We stop at a local stall for tea, called chai here, but it's not chai like chai in India. It is super cheap though. We get another lift in a truck up to a church on a hill were we have to leave the road and walk paths through huts and cultivated land to the waterfalls. 2 young local boys have been following us and now are acting as our unofficial guides. They help us find the way to the waterfall which we couldn't have done without them. The Muhoma falls are nothing too amazing but a nice place to chill. We eat peanut butter sandwiches and pass the time. The boys just sit on a log and wait for us. We make our way back to the main road and the boys reach their village. They ask for money and none of us mind paying them a little, they did help us a lot and earned their money. A few minutes later, the truck that dropped us off hours ago is coming back in our direction. It's now full of plantains and bananas and we dubbed it the banana bus. We hopped on the bundles in the back with half dozen Ugandans. We diverted from the main road to pick up some more bananas. Our driver stopped for a drink of the local tipple, waragai. It's true that most of the big truck operators are drunk and that's the reason for the high number of crashes on the road. He seemed to still be coherent to me ( maybe he drove better buzzing!) and since the road was rutted and hilly, there weren't any opportunities to really go fast and lose control. He offered me some of his drink but after wincing after just smelling it, I politely declined. It's funny, he seemed to be the only one drinking!
We get off the banana bus at the market and buy green peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onions for our dinner. My guidebook said self catering was possible so we brought a bit of food to help cut costs. We cooked up a huge pasta dinner with all our veggies and was more than enough for Richie, Alexandria and me. It was a tasty, filling and most importantly, very healthy meal. I was feeling tired from the early start and some walking and crashed hard.
Day 3
It takes a long time for 8.30am to roll around and I wake up feeling rested. I head up to the restaurant for a coffee and passionfruit juice and finish the rest of my cereal. Today is going to be a do-nothing-don't- leave-the lake kinda day. I take this opportunity to wash my small pack which has become filthily embedded with dust and dirt. Richie thinks I'm a bit obsessed because I'm always washing something. I just like being clean and it feels good to me knowing I have clean clothes to put on. Also self washing is super cheap, kills time and is rewarding. I wished I liked washing clothes this much at home! I finally left the campsite late afternoon for the restaurant. A troupe of about 20 black and white colobus were everywhere, in the trees and playing on the ground. This was the closest I had ever gotten to them and it was amazing. One thing that really surprised me though was watching them stick their face close to the mud/cement base of the building and eat it. They must be after the minerals in the mud. Didn't look too tasty! In the morning, red colobus were in the same trees but are bit more frightful than these black and white colobus but still provided good photo ops.
On the way to the campsite after dinner, I find 3 sets of bushbaby eyes, they really are everywhere, I love it!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Kibale National Park Day 5,6,7 and Fort Portal
I decided to skip doing a nature walk today and just walk the road. While I ate breakfast I met Nelson, an Aussie who was waiting for his sister and nephew to come back from chimp tracking. They were staying at the Chimps nest. Nelson said (mistakenly) that Gerran, the Dutch owner of Chimp's Nest, who I met yesterday, was coming to pick them up after they finished their chimp tracking. Gerran, overheard me yesterday complain that there was no water left in the shower at the campsite and said I should come stay at his place. They always had water and accomodation and food was half the price it was here at the park. I had stayed the 4 nights of camping I paid for upfront and thought I would move to Chimps nest today. I waited for Richard to come back from chimp tracking and we packed up to move to Chimps Nest. Richard paid $90 for the chimp tracking and only saw a chimps ass from a distance and was understandable pissed. I'm glad I had seen chimps before I came to Kibale. Nelson's sister told us they were not getting picked up by Gerran so we had to find a way to get there. The Chimps Nest was about 3km from the park and then another 40 minute walk on a back road to the middle of nowhere. I was ready to walk but Richard suggested we wait for a vehicle. We didn't wait long before a huge truck with a crane and large square cargo came along. We hopped on the back and got dropped off at Bigodi hotel for some lunch. I offered the driver money but he refused. We ate a huge lunch of beans, rice and beef and started to walk to Chimps Nest. Richard didn't want to walk because he was carrying all his stuff. I was too but I was feeling energetic and really like walking. I thought it would only take an hour or so. Richard suggested hiring a boda boda and I told him to do what he wanted but I was going to walk. He caved, and started walking with me. He kept calling me 'Rambo'. It was really hot and sunny and we took a few breaks before arriving at the Chimps Nest. Our first break was under a tree at the bottom of a hill. As we were getting ready to leave, a bike barreling down the hill with a passenger and almost out of control. Maybe we were a bit in the way but we moved quick and the bike rocked violently from side to side but the driver kept it on the road. The passenger sitting over the back wheel wasn't as lucky and fell off the bike and rolled into some weeds on the side of the dirt road. I thought he was a kid wearing really ratty and dirty clothes. At first the guy didn't move and we thought the worst, but I mountain bike and have taken some bad spills and thought this wipeout wasn't that bad. Richard tried to move the guy and as he rolled over a bit I could see that it wasn't a kid but an older guy and he was piss drunk. After a minute he had not moved but began to snore! He was already sleeping! I figured they were both drunk and probably bound to crash if we were there are not. The driver came back and we left the guy passed out on the grass.
The Chimps Nest has only been open for 10 months. It's situated on a grassy scruby hill with the forest in front of it and a view of the Rwenzori mountains in the distance. The site consisted of the main reception/restaurant/lounge, some spaced out bandas, a self contained treehouse in the forest and a terraced camp site. I would have loved to stay in the treehouse but at $100 a night was a bit too expensive. Even though the dorm rooms were the same price as camping, I choose to camp. I found an excellent spot close to the forest and under a big acacia tree. It was the furthest away I could get from everything. I really liked how everything was so spread out. I set up my tent and just relaxed. I ate a delicious homecooked meal of grilled fish, mixed veggies and boiled potatoes. It was a fun night with Richard and the Aussies. We stayed up drinking and talking.
Day 6
I slept in the next morning till 9 and went for breakfast. The Chimps Nest puts on a good spread of eggs, bread, toast, fruit, juice and coffee for $2.50. I hung around the restaurant for the morning and then walked to Bigodi hotel for lunch. The road passes through some swampy areas that are good for monkeys and I was hoping to have some luck with l'hoest. I didn't but I did have great luck with red colobus and got some close up face photos. I arrived back at Chimps Nest for 3 and Richard and I took a mandatory guide to explore some of the Chimps Nest private forest bordering the park. I don't know if Richard is bad luck or what ( remember he didn't see any chimps were almost everyone does), because we didn't see anything. I almost always at least see a few monkeys on any walk I go on. The walk was cheap though and I know it was just bad timing because half hour after we got back I was reading in my tent and a troupe of red tailed monkeys appeared in the trees in front of me.
It was a quiet night in the restaurant. Only Richard and I were staying at Chimps Nest now. I ate the same dinner and went to bed early. There is no electricity at Chimps Nest. They have solar power but its not enough to keep drinks really cold. Maybe I'm a bit of a wimp but I can't drink beer unless its really cold. I mostly just drank water for the whole week I was at Kibale except for the coffee and juice in the morning. An ice cold beer always goes down nice in a warm climate but I would have to wait until I got back to Fort Portal for that. Before retiring to my tent I noticed my towel on the clothesline was covered in moths. They loved it and I was feeding about 2 dozen species.
Day 7
My last full day at Chimps Nest began like all the rest, sleeping in a filling up on a huge breakfast. I was going to concentrate on the road around the swamp looking for monkeys. I set up my tripod and got comfortable. Black and white colobus monkeys were feeding low in the trees and provided some of the best photos I've had of them so far. Richard joined me for a while after he did a tour through the swamp but then went back to Chimps Nest. I hung out on the road for a few hours and then had my last meal at Bigodi hotel. I read and relaxed back at Chimps Nest till dinner. No new guests had arrived, it was still just Richard and I. It was another quiet night with a tasty dinner.
Richard has been on the road for a while arriving from Rwanda and before that Tanzania, Malawi, Madagascar and India. He had no guidebook for Uganda and wasn't sure where to go next. I told him I was going to an area of crater lakes near Fort Portal and he thought that sounded good and is going to join me.
Day 8
I packed up my tent and was in the restaurant for breakfast at 8.30. Richard didn't feel like walking the 40 minutes to the main road so he hired a boda boda. I was again in the walking mood and left 10 minutes after him. I waited on the main road for 30 minutes before getting a free ride in a tour company landrover to the headquarters of the park, where I was camping before. I would have a better chance to get a ride from here. A guy pulled in driving a small Toyota, the typica share taxi car. He said he would give me a ride back to Fort Portal for the same price as the share taxi. He just had to pick up someone and would be right back. He picked up what I thought was his wife who worked at Kibale Primate Lodge. It was just the 3 of us in and I had the whole back seat to myself. It was a rare luxury. About halfway back to Fort Portal, we stopped and the woman turns around to me and says' I have forgotten something. Can we go back?' Well, what was I to do, they were my ride. So, we drove back to the park. What was it that she forgot? Her celllphone.
I finally arrived in Fort Portal after having left Chimps Nest over 3 hours before. I met Richard at the Continental hotel, where he had been already for 2 hours. I went out to find internet, I had a lot of writing to catch up on but was frustrated to find the 3 internet cafes in town were all having connnection problems. So, Richard and I watched Death Race ( awesome movie!) on his laptop in our twin room. The internet was working better in the evening and I was able to write for a while. We watched Bangkok Dangerous ( not so awesome) before crashing. I am a bit of a movie junky and was happy to be able to watch a few movies again.
The driver I had that took me out of the park gave us a good price for the crater lakes and I told him to meet us at our hotel at noon, Jan 7. I will be staying at the crater lakes for about 5 days or so, more about them when I return.
The Chimps Nest has only been open for 10 months. It's situated on a grassy scruby hill with the forest in front of it and a view of the Rwenzori mountains in the distance. The site consisted of the main reception/restaurant/lounge, some spaced out bandas, a self contained treehouse in the forest and a terraced camp site. I would have loved to stay in the treehouse but at $100 a night was a bit too expensive. Even though the dorm rooms were the same price as camping, I choose to camp. I found an excellent spot close to the forest and under a big acacia tree. It was the furthest away I could get from everything. I really liked how everything was so spread out. I set up my tent and just relaxed. I ate a delicious homecooked meal of grilled fish, mixed veggies and boiled potatoes. It was a fun night with Richard and the Aussies. We stayed up drinking and talking.
Day 6
I slept in the next morning till 9 and went for breakfast. The Chimps Nest puts on a good spread of eggs, bread, toast, fruit, juice and coffee for $2.50. I hung around the restaurant for the morning and then walked to Bigodi hotel for lunch. The road passes through some swampy areas that are good for monkeys and I was hoping to have some luck with l'hoest. I didn't but I did have great luck with red colobus and got some close up face photos. I arrived back at Chimps Nest for 3 and Richard and I took a mandatory guide to explore some of the Chimps Nest private forest bordering the park. I don't know if Richard is bad luck or what ( remember he didn't see any chimps were almost everyone does), because we didn't see anything. I almost always at least see a few monkeys on any walk I go on. The walk was cheap though and I know it was just bad timing because half hour after we got back I was reading in my tent and a troupe of red tailed monkeys appeared in the trees in front of me.
It was a quiet night in the restaurant. Only Richard and I were staying at Chimps Nest now. I ate the same dinner and went to bed early. There is no electricity at Chimps Nest. They have solar power but its not enough to keep drinks really cold. Maybe I'm a bit of a wimp but I can't drink beer unless its really cold. I mostly just drank water for the whole week I was at Kibale except for the coffee and juice in the morning. An ice cold beer always goes down nice in a warm climate but I would have to wait until I got back to Fort Portal for that. Before retiring to my tent I noticed my towel on the clothesline was covered in moths. They loved it and I was feeding about 2 dozen species.
Day 7
My last full day at Chimps Nest began like all the rest, sleeping in a filling up on a huge breakfast. I was going to concentrate on the road around the swamp looking for monkeys. I set up my tripod and got comfortable. Black and white colobus monkeys were feeding low in the trees and provided some of the best photos I've had of them so far. Richard joined me for a while after he did a tour through the swamp but then went back to Chimps Nest. I hung out on the road for a few hours and then had my last meal at Bigodi hotel. I read and relaxed back at Chimps Nest till dinner. No new guests had arrived, it was still just Richard and I. It was another quiet night with a tasty dinner.
Richard has been on the road for a while arriving from Rwanda and before that Tanzania, Malawi, Madagascar and India. He had no guidebook for Uganda and wasn't sure where to go next. I told him I was going to an area of crater lakes near Fort Portal and he thought that sounded good and is going to join me.
Day 8
I packed up my tent and was in the restaurant for breakfast at 8.30. Richard didn't feel like walking the 40 minutes to the main road so he hired a boda boda. I was again in the walking mood and left 10 minutes after him. I waited on the main road for 30 minutes before getting a free ride in a tour company landrover to the headquarters of the park, where I was camping before. I would have a better chance to get a ride from here. A guy pulled in driving a small Toyota, the typica share taxi car. He said he would give me a ride back to Fort Portal for the same price as the share taxi. He just had to pick up someone and would be right back. He picked up what I thought was his wife who worked at Kibale Primate Lodge. It was just the 3 of us in and I had the whole back seat to myself. It was a rare luxury. About halfway back to Fort Portal, we stopped and the woman turns around to me and says' I have forgotten something. Can we go back?' Well, what was I to do, they were my ride. So, we drove back to the park. What was it that she forgot? Her celllphone.
I finally arrived in Fort Portal after having left Chimps Nest over 3 hours before. I met Richard at the Continental hotel, where he had been already for 2 hours. I went out to find internet, I had a lot of writing to catch up on but was frustrated to find the 3 internet cafes in town were all having connnection problems. So, Richard and I watched Death Race ( awesome movie!) on his laptop in our twin room. The internet was working better in the evening and I was able to write for a while. We watched Bangkok Dangerous ( not so awesome) before crashing. I am a bit of a movie junky and was happy to be able to watch a few movies again.
The driver I had that took me out of the park gave us a good price for the crater lakes and I told him to meet us at our hotel at noon, Jan 7. I will be staying at the crater lakes for about 5 days or so, more about them when I return.
Kibale National Park Day 3 and 4
I woke up early today to eat a few buns and peanut butter before my morning nature walk. Richard is my guide today and I tell him I 'm looking for l'hoest monkey but don't want to walk the same trails as yesterday. He takes me on the same trail for a while but then we divert, cross the road and go deep into the forest. Its more nice primary forest which I always enjoy walking through and I see some monkeys but l'hoest again evades me. I am determined to see this monkey. I am staying a few more days and know I will have more opportunities. I eat lunch and wash clothes and get ready for the 12km roundtrip walk to Bigodi for dinner. I leave the camp around 4 and spook a monkey low in a tree close to the road. He hides behind some bush but I am able to see the white neck and bent tail tip as he flees to correctly identify him as a l'hoest monkey! As this trail walking and here I see it on the road, one minute from camp. I would still like to see more l'hoest and get some photos though. L'hoest is a monkey known as a guenon with a body mostly dark, white neck and bent tail tip.
I eat groundnut sauce over rice with 2 boneless, fatless super tender pieces of stewed beef. I arrive back at camp at 6.45 for a shower and read until 7.30. If you haven't noticed, this is becoming my routine here! When ever I'm in a place for a while I usually develop a bit of a pattern. A tickling in my throat was bothering me as I tried to sleep last night. It was ok all day today but I was concerned it would keep me up again tonight so before I went for my nightwalk, I went to the restaurant to order ginger tea. If I ever feel a tickle, a bit sick or have stomach troubles, I start pounding back ginger tea and I like it really strong. They made me a thermosful, I finished that and they made another which I could take back to my tent. I finished it all during the night and slept better.
The nightwalk turned out to be just a nice stroll along the main road, no animals tonight. Thats ok though, I can't always expect to see something, that's just how rainforests are, they can take a while to reveal themselves.
Day 4
I decide not to do a morning hike and sleep in instead. I get up at 9 for breakfast and hang around the restarant. It rained again and I walk the main road after it stops but no l'hoest monkey. Back at camp, Richard, a backpacker from England has arrived. He sets up his tent and we go for another walk along the main road. I feel like an unofficial guide as I spot black and white colobus and red tailed monkey high in the trees. Since I didn't go on a nature walk today, I don't go to Bigodi for dinner and spend the money on dinner at the restuarant. It was ok but not huge portions and not worth the price. I told the girl at Bigodi hotel I would not be around today because they had got to know me there. I'm the mzungo who walks for 3 hours just to eat rice and beans. They thought I was a little crazy but I explained my reasons to them and I think they understood. They just thought it was far to walk. It was surely keeping me in shape! Work up an appetite as I walked there and then work it off as I walked back. It rained heavy in the evening and Richard and I decided against going on a night walk. I was feeling a slight fever now. It seems I had one of those mobile colds, it moved from my throat to a fever then to my sinuses for a few days. I took an ibuprofen from Richard and my fever was gone but the cold lingered for days.
.
I eat groundnut sauce over rice with 2 boneless, fatless super tender pieces of stewed beef. I arrive back at camp at 6.45 for a shower and read until 7.30. If you haven't noticed, this is becoming my routine here! When ever I'm in a place for a while I usually develop a bit of a pattern. A tickling in my throat was bothering me as I tried to sleep last night. It was ok all day today but I was concerned it would keep me up again tonight so before I went for my nightwalk, I went to the restaurant to order ginger tea. If I ever feel a tickle, a bit sick or have stomach troubles, I start pounding back ginger tea and I like it really strong. They made me a thermosful, I finished that and they made another which I could take back to my tent. I finished it all during the night and slept better.
The nightwalk turned out to be just a nice stroll along the main road, no animals tonight. Thats ok though, I can't always expect to see something, that's just how rainforests are, they can take a while to reveal themselves.
Day 4
I decide not to do a morning hike and sleep in instead. I get up at 9 for breakfast and hang around the restarant. It rained again and I walk the main road after it stops but no l'hoest monkey. Back at camp, Richard, a backpacker from England has arrived. He sets up his tent and we go for another walk along the main road. I feel like an unofficial guide as I spot black and white colobus and red tailed monkey high in the trees. Since I didn't go on a nature walk today, I don't go to Bigodi for dinner and spend the money on dinner at the restuarant. It was ok but not huge portions and not worth the price. I told the girl at Bigodi hotel I would not be around today because they had got to know me there. I'm the mzungo who walks for 3 hours just to eat rice and beans. They thought I was a little crazy but I explained my reasons to them and I think they understood. They just thought it was far to walk. It was surely keeping me in shape! Work up an appetite as I walked there and then work it off as I walked back. It rained heavy in the evening and Richard and I decided against going on a night walk. I was feeling a slight fever now. It seems I had one of those mobile colds, it moved from my throat to a fever then to my sinuses for a few days. I took an ibuprofen from Richard and my fever was gone but the cold lingered for days.
.
Kibale National Park Day 2
New Years Eve
I woke up at 8am after a restful sleep with the sounds of the forest. I didn't know then that they nature walks began at 8. I walked up to reception and promptly got a guide and was on my way. No time for breakfast. Harriet was my guide. She had medium length mini braided hair and had worked at the park for 10 years. She really liked it but like many Africans, the rest of her family was afraid of the forest.
Kibale forest is at an elevation of 1200m and thought to have the highest density of primates in Africa. In the 560sq km park, there were red colobus, black and white colobus, blue monkey, red tailed monkey, grey cheeked mangabey, l'hoest monkey, chimpanzee and at night, pottos and bushbabies. Primates are my favourite type of animal and I'm always looking for some I haven't seen yet. At Kibale there was l'hoest monkey and red colobus that I was after. I told Harriet this and 10 minutes after entering the forest we found a troupe of red colobus high in the trees. I could photograph them ok and I could see them through my binoculars clearly. Curiously, the red colobus is mostly greyish light brown on the stomach and a little darker on its backside with only the top of its head red. Colobus monkeys are unique among primates in that they have no thumbs. Not sure why, my mammals book doesn't elaborate any more details.
We also saw red tailed monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys and black and white colobus but I even already saw these just around camp! The l'hoest monkey eluded me for our whole 4 hour walk. Harriet said that they like to forage on the ground and are often seen on the road. She told me to keep keep checking the road. I appreciate her honest advice. I really liked the forest here, deeper in away from the road the undergrowth thinned and it was proper primary forest, really nice with good visibility.
I was starving and ate chips and an omelette. It rained heavy again after lunch but stopped about 3pm. I waked again to Bigodi for lunch. Even though it was almost a 3 hour roundtrip, it was saving me a ton of money and I usually saw monkeys along the way. I walked through a few very small and poor villages where kids would say 'Hi, how are you?' Unfortunately this was usually followed with 'Give me money!' or "Give me pen!' I don't like this and ignore any requests. I arrived back in camp just before dark and was horrified to see an overland truck and 10 tents taken over the peaceful camp. I said hi to a few but kept my mostly to myself. I just didn't feel like meeting 20 new people at the time. After my shower, I read till 8 and then went out on a night hike. I took the road to my right this time, leading north. I walked for almost an hour altogether. I saw 2 sets of eyeshine high up in the trees and judging by their fluent movements through the canopy, I assumed the eyes belonged to bushbabies. I went to my tent to read more before crashing. It being New Years eve, the people from the overland truck had to stay up until midnight and that meant I stayed up till midnight. Some of them apologized the next day for keeping me up. I kind of understood because it was New Years, for me just another night in the forest, but for them a reason to stay up and party. They said I could have joined them but I didn't feel like it.
I woke up at 8am after a restful sleep with the sounds of the forest. I didn't know then that they nature walks began at 8. I walked up to reception and promptly got a guide and was on my way. No time for breakfast. Harriet was my guide. She had medium length mini braided hair and had worked at the park for 10 years. She really liked it but like many Africans, the rest of her family was afraid of the forest.
Kibale forest is at an elevation of 1200m and thought to have the highest density of primates in Africa. In the 560sq km park, there were red colobus, black and white colobus, blue monkey, red tailed monkey, grey cheeked mangabey, l'hoest monkey, chimpanzee and at night, pottos and bushbabies. Primates are my favourite type of animal and I'm always looking for some I haven't seen yet. At Kibale there was l'hoest monkey and red colobus that I was after. I told Harriet this and 10 minutes after entering the forest we found a troupe of red colobus high in the trees. I could photograph them ok and I could see them through my binoculars clearly. Curiously, the red colobus is mostly greyish light brown on the stomach and a little darker on its backside with only the top of its head red. Colobus monkeys are unique among primates in that they have no thumbs. Not sure why, my mammals book doesn't elaborate any more details.
We also saw red tailed monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys and black and white colobus but I even already saw these just around camp! The l'hoest monkey eluded me for our whole 4 hour walk. Harriet said that they like to forage on the ground and are often seen on the road. She told me to keep keep checking the road. I appreciate her honest advice. I really liked the forest here, deeper in away from the road the undergrowth thinned and it was proper primary forest, really nice with good visibility.
I was starving and ate chips and an omelette. It rained heavy again after lunch but stopped about 3pm. I waked again to Bigodi for lunch. Even though it was almost a 3 hour roundtrip, it was saving me a ton of money and I usually saw monkeys along the way. I walked through a few very small and poor villages where kids would say 'Hi, how are you?' Unfortunately this was usually followed with 'Give me money!' or "Give me pen!' I don't like this and ignore any requests. I arrived back in camp just before dark and was horrified to see an overland truck and 10 tents taken over the peaceful camp. I said hi to a few but kept my mostly to myself. I just didn't feel like meeting 20 new people at the time. After my shower, I read till 8 and then went out on a night hike. I took the road to my right this time, leading north. I walked for almost an hour altogether. I saw 2 sets of eyeshine high up in the trees and judging by their fluent movements through the canopy, I assumed the eyes belonged to bushbabies. I went to my tent to read more before crashing. It being New Years eve, the people from the overland truck had to stay up until midnight and that meant I stayed up till midnight. Some of them apologized the next day for keeping me up. I kind of understood because it was New Years, for me just another night in the forest, but for them a reason to stay up and party. They said I could have joined them but I didn't feel like it.
Kibale National Park
I was in no rush to get to Kibale N.P. early. I ate the breakfast that came with my room price, tea, banana, eggs and toast. I watched the news last night in the courtyard of the hotel on Aljareeza TV. The same network that shows the Al Queda/Taliban videos, that we sometimes get a glimpse of when they film something really nasty that the west considers newsworthy. I just thought it was interesting I was actually watching it, but it just seemed like any other channel, I left after the sports news came on. I walked 5 minutes from my hotel to the share taxi stand. There was a car leaving but after seeing them put 9 people into a sedan built for 4, I decided to take a boda boda. I just didn't feel like being all cramped in today, even though it was only for 35km. The boda boda was only twice the price and much more comfortable. After 25km, the dirt road entered the forest and I already felt at home.
Unfortunately the restaurant and accomodation have been privatized and are now operated by Kibale Primate Lodge, an upmarket posh resort. For me this meant camping was 15,000Ush ($7.50), the most I've ever paid and food was twice the price it should be. There wasn't much I could do to cut costs except eat the least expensive items on the menu. I ate a lot of omelettes and french fries. I should have brought some food from Fort Portal with me. I asked one of the rangers, Paul, about getting some bread from Fort Portal. I brought some local peanut butter with me and bread would be perfect. The bread never materialized but Paul did give me about 10 small buns for free, so they helped me skip buying some food. I set up my tent in the treeless camp ground and got ready for a 'nature walk' at 2pm. The camping ground is surrounded by trees but they didn't leave any in the site itself. The mandatory guided walks leave at 8am and 2pm. Kibale is famous for its chimp tracking but since I just saw them for less than half the price here, I was only here to do 'nature walks'. About 1.30 it started to rain and it rained heavy. 2pm came and went and it was still raining. Some people left on their walks but I was staying for a while and didn't feel the need to pay $10 to walk in the rain for a few hours. It finally stopped raining at 3.30. I had heard there was a small village called Bigodi about 6km south of the park. I thought they would have cheap local food because I didn't want to spend $10 for a skimpy main meal at the park. It took me an hour to reach Bigodi but I'm glad I went. I found rice and beans at the Bigodi hotel for $1 including a soda. I walked back to the park and arrived with enough time to shower before it got dark. I was the only one camping until some people in a landcrusier pulled up as it was getting dark.
Guided night walks were available but I thought I would try the main road before I spent the money on a walk through the forest. There is very little traffic on the road and it goes right through the park. A road with little traffic in a rainforest is basically just a wide trail that vehicles can drive on and has plenty of potential for animals. I've discovered this many times and don't think of a road as something animals avoid. I walked out of the campsite and took a left. The night was misty and I could see my breath. I was scanning the road, the low brush and the treetops for anything I could. After 15 minutes, eyeshine low on the ground caught my eye. The eyes were behind some very dense bush but appeared to be something quite large and not moving much. I thought I would stick with this until I knew for sure what I was looking at. As I was trying to get a better view, I looked down the road in the direction I was heading and was surprised to see eyes coming right towards me! They were very low on the ground and kind of moving at a brisk pace. I stood still and got my camera ready. Even though I knew there was no danger from whatevery was coming my way, my heart starting racing as I realized this animal isn't changing course. In a minute the animal was right in front of me about 2m away. I could see then that it was a South African large genet. I took a photo of it and this caused it to stop its movement. It stood still and looked around, not really knowing or caring I was right there. I took a bunch more photos and a few of them are really good. I saw a large spotted genet twice before on the same nightdrive in Kruger national park in South Africa. Except then I was holding the spotlight because I found them and couldn't take a photo.
The large spotted genet is a small and sleek animal distantly related to mongooses and civets. Its coat was spotted like a cheetah and its tail was ringed black and brown, very attractive. It finally left me and continued down the road. Super happy with my experience, I shifted my attention back to the unknown eyes in the bush. They had moved little but I was able to find them again. The animal finally revealed a little more of himself and I could tell from his white snout and stripy body that it was an African civet. I stayed with him for an hour hoping he would come out of the bushes but he never did but I was happy enough to identify him 100%. African civets wiegh about 15Kg and are the size of medium dog with a long white pointed snout, stripy gray and black body and pattered tail. This was the first African civet I had seen. They are well distributed throughout the tropics and I have seen other civets in India and Borneo. It was almost 9.30pm when I got back to my tent and I went to bed. I planned on doing a morning nature walk.
Unfortunately the restaurant and accomodation have been privatized and are now operated by Kibale Primate Lodge, an upmarket posh resort. For me this meant camping was 15,000Ush ($7.50), the most I've ever paid and food was twice the price it should be. There wasn't much I could do to cut costs except eat the least expensive items on the menu. I ate a lot of omelettes and french fries. I should have brought some food from Fort Portal with me. I asked one of the rangers, Paul, about getting some bread from Fort Portal. I brought some local peanut butter with me and bread would be perfect. The bread never materialized but Paul did give me about 10 small buns for free, so they helped me skip buying some food. I set up my tent in the treeless camp ground and got ready for a 'nature walk' at 2pm. The camping ground is surrounded by trees but they didn't leave any in the site itself. The mandatory guided walks leave at 8am and 2pm. Kibale is famous for its chimp tracking but since I just saw them for less than half the price here, I was only here to do 'nature walks'. About 1.30 it started to rain and it rained heavy. 2pm came and went and it was still raining. Some people left on their walks but I was staying for a while and didn't feel the need to pay $10 to walk in the rain for a few hours. It finally stopped raining at 3.30. I had heard there was a small village called Bigodi about 6km south of the park. I thought they would have cheap local food because I didn't want to spend $10 for a skimpy main meal at the park. It took me an hour to reach Bigodi but I'm glad I went. I found rice and beans at the Bigodi hotel for $1 including a soda. I walked back to the park and arrived with enough time to shower before it got dark. I was the only one camping until some people in a landcrusier pulled up as it was getting dark.
Guided night walks were available but I thought I would try the main road before I spent the money on a walk through the forest. There is very little traffic on the road and it goes right through the park. A road with little traffic in a rainforest is basically just a wide trail that vehicles can drive on and has plenty of potential for animals. I've discovered this many times and don't think of a road as something animals avoid. I walked out of the campsite and took a left. The night was misty and I could see my breath. I was scanning the road, the low brush and the treetops for anything I could. After 15 minutes, eyeshine low on the ground caught my eye. The eyes were behind some very dense bush but appeared to be something quite large and not moving much. I thought I would stick with this until I knew for sure what I was looking at. As I was trying to get a better view, I looked down the road in the direction I was heading and was surprised to see eyes coming right towards me! They were very low on the ground and kind of moving at a brisk pace. I stood still and got my camera ready. Even though I knew there was no danger from whatevery was coming my way, my heart starting racing as I realized this animal isn't changing course. In a minute the animal was right in front of me about 2m away. I could see then that it was a South African large genet. I took a photo of it and this caused it to stop its movement. It stood still and looked around, not really knowing or caring I was right there. I took a bunch more photos and a few of them are really good. I saw a large spotted genet twice before on the same nightdrive in Kruger national park in South Africa. Except then I was holding the spotlight because I found them and couldn't take a photo.
The large spotted genet is a small and sleek animal distantly related to mongooses and civets. Its coat was spotted like a cheetah and its tail was ringed black and brown, very attractive. It finally left me and continued down the road. Super happy with my experience, I shifted my attention back to the unknown eyes in the bush. They had moved little but I was able to find them again. The animal finally revealed a little more of himself and I could tell from his white snout and stripy body that it was an African civet. I stayed with him for an hour hoping he would come out of the bushes but he never did but I was happy enough to identify him 100%. African civets wiegh about 15Kg and are the size of medium dog with a long white pointed snout, stripy gray and black body and pattered tail. This was the first African civet I had seen. They are well distributed throughout the tropics and I have seen other civets in India and Borneo. It was almost 9.30pm when I got back to my tent and I went to bed. I planned on doing a morning nature walk.
Masindi to Fort Portal
I was very happy with my Chimpanzee experience and getting sick of Masindi so I decided to leave for Fort Portal. I wanted to avoid backtracking to Kampala by taking a back route to Hoima and then another dirt road to Fort Portal. I told John from the Softie Guesthouse ( even though I checked out of that place 2 days ago, I went there for a beer in the evening) my plan and he advised me against taking the back way. Really shitty vehicles and a terrible road meant it could take me all day to get there. I took his advice and at 5.40am I was up to catch the first bus to Kampala. It was the first real size bus I've taken on this trip. We started taking a road but not towards Kampala. Where were we headed? It turns out we took the dirt road to Hoima, the very one I wanted to avoid, but then we took a paved road to Kampala from there. I did not want to go back to Kampala but as soon as I got off the one bus I got on another going to Fort Portal right away and it wasn't a hassle. The road to Fort Portal was ok and the scenery was fairly lush with some forest along the way. I arrived in Fort Portal about 3pm. It had been a long day travelling with a very early start and I just relaxed upon arrival. I got a room at the Continental hotel and went out to eat at a nice restaurant called The Gardens. A beer and veggie curry really hit the spot.
Fort Portal is a small town but with more happening that Masindi, there is actually some cars on the road here! The town is lush and the imposing Rwenzori mountains loom behind the town. The name of the town is a bit misleading as there is no fort. I was only here for one night before going to Kibale National Park.
Fort Portal is a small town but with more happening that Masindi, there is actually some cars on the road here! The town is lush and the imposing Rwenzori mountains loom behind the town. The name of the town is a bit misleading as there is no fort. I was only here for one night before going to Kibale National Park.
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