QE National Park Weekend

Busy weekend! We spent Friday night in Bushenyi so we could have a send-off for two departing volunteers – Nikki and Shane. They will be missed! We set off for Kingfisher Lodge in Kichwamba on Saturday morning. Our 8th wedding anniversary was Thursday, April 17th and we decided to spoil ourselves.

Kingfisher Lodge:
http://www.dostudios.de/kingfishersafaris.net/news_en.html

Our room was simply but interestingly decorated with a private balcony overlooking the Rift Valley.

The Lodge is set in spectacular scenery. Our banda, outdoor dining, and the swimming pool overlooked the Rift Valley. Service and meals were wonderful.

Sunday morning we departed for Mweya Lodge which is located in Queen Elizabeth National Park. On the drive to the lodge from the main road we were thrilled to spot a leopard sitting in the high grass—a rare occurrence. After a gorgeous lunch of fish (Tilapia) and chips we arranged the mid-afternoon boat trip through the Kazinga Channel which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. Due to the downpour that morning there weren’t any elephants drinking from the lake. However, we did see hippos, water buffalo, and various birds.
http://www.mweyalodge.com/

On Monday morning we arose at 5.30 to prepare for a 6.30 game drive with a ranger guide in our own vehicle. Spotted were an injured female lion, water buffalo, Ugandan Kobs, warthogs, waterbucks, monkeys, and mongoose. Our guide spotted a large herd of Kob demonstrating the behaviour or animals on alert for a dangerous animal. They were all fixated on a tree surrounded by shrub and their tails wagged furiously. A leopard was in the tree. We only got a quick glimpse of it as it leaped down into the shrub. On the way back from the lodge we saw a herd of elephants—a great photo op!

The scenery in the park is magnificent. Queen Elizabeth National Park is adjacent to the Rwenzori Mountains National Park which creates a stunning backdrop to the savannah, Euphorbia trees and brush.
http://www.uwa.or.ug/queen.html

http://www.game-reserve.com/uganda_queen_elizabeth.html

The lodge attracts European and American tourists and has steep prices. Our double room was US $255 for full board (all 3 meals). Our room was very nice—clean, had a room-sized mosquito net so we didn’t have to struggle with tucking a net under the mattress, and nicely decorated with a view over the lake from our back porch. But I expected a more posh room for the price we paid. The service was 1st class during our stay. From the bar, restaurant, pool, decks, porches and guestrooms one can observe elephants, hippos, and water buffalo as they drink from Lake Edward.

Link to many pics of our trip (still being uploaded):http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/sets/72157604670794975/

Lake Mburo National Park

Danny and I, along with Sofie the other volunteer on our campus, spent the past weekend at Lake Mburo which is quite close to us – about 60 or 70km. There are seven lakes in the park, savannah, and mountains and hills. Lovely.

The park does not get crowds of visitors like other national parks because it doesn’t have the ‘Big 5’, or chimps or gorillas like other parks. It is, however, the only national park in Uganda that has zebra and impala. Between 4-6,000 zebras roam the park.

Accommodation is basic or luxury—nothing in between. Since we took our chances and arrived without reservations we spent Saturday night in basic, tiny, and clean rooms. There were no private toilets or showers but were in buildings close by—however, in the middle of the night it seemed miles away! Sunday night was spent in a banda which was in a good location close to park headquarters and the restaurant.

Warthogs were everywhere. I must say they have a face only a mother could love! They liked to eat the grass near the restaurant and we had to walk past them to visit the ‘long drop’. They paid no attention to us.

Sunday morning we took a boat ride on Lake Mburo to look for hippos and crocodiles. Our boat spotted one baby crocodile on a branch near the water and a large crocodile in the distance. Hippos are easily seen near the lakeside restaurant. We also took a game drive in the evening with a ranger in our own vehicle. This was fantastic as we took back trails (good thing we bought a 4 x 4!) and saw hundreds of animals. Danny stopped the car in front of a water buffalo and baby which displeased the mama. The ranger told him to go forward quickly—it could charge us when it feels threatened.

In the evening after dinner when it was pitch black we took a detour to attempt to spot hippos coming out of the lake. We surprised one crossing the road—a huge, wet, lumbering animal. For a moment we feared it would charge us as it was frightened and looked panicky as it hunted for the familiar trail to the water.

On Monday morning we arose before sunrise for a 6.30 am walk with an armed park ranger. Walks are not allowed in the park without being accompanied by an armed guide—just in case. We were looking for hyenas but didn’t spot any. Zebras, monkeys, impalas and a variety of similar animals were spotted and our group got quite close to many of them. We love how graceful the impalas, etc run and leap.

Great trip…we will return.




Photos are being uploaded to this album: http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/sets/72157604433975130/

Links:

http://www.uwa.or.ug/mburo.html

http://www.traveluganda.co.ug/lakemburo.asp

Danny's Garden

Danny is growing: cabbage, garlic, peppers, onions, various herbs, watermelon, courgettes/zucchini, tomatoes, aubergines/eggplant, doodo (like spinach), pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower.

A cameleon sits on one of our bushes.

6 months ago today......

6 months ago today…..

…we left the UK to come to Uganda. Time flies, eh?

‘Stuff’

Early on another volunteer shared with me her opinion that in order to fully experience life in Uganda as a volunteer that one need not be deprived of all modern conveniences. At the time I disagreed. My impression was that to fully appreciate our spoiled western lifestyles that living simply and doing things the hard way was mandatory.

I no longer believe that 100%. We certainly do not have all the conveniences we have at home, but we do not live nearly as simply as most people. In our home we have slowly gathered more and more ‘stuff’. Modern conveniences we have purchased here: 4WD car(!), toaster, electric kettle, 2 burner gas range/cooker, TV (no satellite or cable), electric iron (as opposed to charcoal iron), refrigerator, mobile internet. These are in addition to the electrical and electronic items we brought with us.

I would not say we are living in luxury. The laundry is done by hand, the grass is cut by a slasher, we have to boil and filter our drinking water, we have no hot running water, we still have limited electricity and occasionally the water runs out. But compared to many here we are living a luxurious lifestyle. We have made ourselves comfortable and barring unforeseen disasters we will stay put for another year and a half.

Other Volunteers

We are fortunate in that our housing is acceptable, the location is safe and pleasant, the staff are all fantastic and Danny is happy with his job.

However, there are quite a few volunteers who are not happy. A volunteer mentioned to me the other day that my blog is very positive and it may give the impression that all volunteers are content. This is definitely not the case. Several we know personally are leaving their placements early. Some have primitive accommodation which is below the minimum standard for volunteers. Some are unhappy with their jobs and feel unwanted and under-used by their employers. It saddens us that several people we know are leaving early as we will miss their companionship.

Spending time with other volunteers is mandatory for a successful placement. As much as we enjoy the company of Ugandans it is necessary to spend time with those of similar backgrounds who are in the same situation.

New Volunteers

As I mentioned we now have another VSO volunteer on our campus. She is Dutch and teaches maths. Recently a new VSO volunteer arrived in Mbarara from the UK. He is a doctor and is originally from India. Since he lives in town in university/hospital housing we only see him on Saturdays for shopping and lunch.

A new Peace Corps volunteer arrived last week and will spend most of her time in a village outside of Mbarara, but will occasionally teach on our campus.

Next post.....language lessons, our vegetable garden and some pics.

We bought a car!

We have been feeling dependant and a bit trapped when it comes to transport and with expensive or inconvenient choices. The motorbike is only good for short trips and not good at all for weekly shopping. There are also many places in Uganda we want to visit, and renting a car or hiring a private taxi are quite expensive.

Soooo.....we have bought a car.....a re-conditioned SUV which is fantastic on the huge potholes here. Got a good price - many millions (...in UG shillings). The head of the college did the
bargaining because when a dealer knows it is for a mzungu, the price rises dramatically.

We are here for another 1.5 years so after discussing and calculating for months, Danny and I decided to do it--might as well make the most of it. The common opinion is that we will be able to the sell the car when we leave for nearly what we paid for it.

A couple of pics....

Sean the sheep was enjoying a sunny day on the lake, blissfully unaware that he was headed to the market and someone's dinner table later this evening.

(Actually the sheep is an old pal - he graced the dashboard of my wee car in Scotland for about 6 years. The boat is one that I purchased here in Uganda.)

New furniture: yea, I know the design and colour aren't very appealing, but comfort comes first here! Still awaiting the bookcase which is being custom-built for us. It will go where the TV is now.

More about mozzies (skeeters)

Thanks for the tips on my previous post, however, I need to expand on the situation with mozzies here:

Mosquitoes are active between dusk and dawn, although they can be spotted during the day. They don’t bother Danny but are a nuisance to me between 7pm and bedtime.

I generally stay covered in trousers, long sleeves and socks during the evenings, but they usually find a way to bite me—up my sleeves, through my socks, up my trouser legs. I am a mozzie magnet and always have been.

Sometimes I apply Deet – the only effective protection against them. But I really don’t want to use it daily. I am guilty of scratching until I bleed and have many battle scars on my legs, feet and arms. Benadryl antihistamine cream sometimes stops the itching if I apply it as soon as I’m bitten, but it is much less effective against Ugandan mozzies than it is against Scottish midges. Wary of infections from my scratches I keep lots of Dettol or Savlon on hand to wash my injuries.

There are nooks and crannies in the house where they hide during the day and become active at night. They also get into the house through ill-fitting doors and windows.

One reason the mozzies are so bad on our campus is due to its location. It’s out in the countryside where the population is sparse. Most of the people who live in the villages don’t have electricity. So in the midst of darkness, our campus burns like a beacon for mozzies for miles around.

We faithfully take Mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug. We also sleep under a Permethrin-coated mozzie net at night. However, if we do happen to get bitten by an anopheles mosquito which is carrying malaria, we will likely feel like we’ve got the flu for about a week--if we get malaraia at all. It is rare for people taking Mefloquine to get malaria..

When we are going to gone from the house for a few hours we spray with DOOM, an insecticide. The amount of mosquitoes seems to be less for a day or two, but that is all.

Only solution: mosquito electrocutors!

Getting comfortable and other things....

After nearly 5 months we now feel quite comfortable and at home in our house here. Last week we purchased a living room suite – 2 big chairs and a sofa and they are very comfortable. These replace the two horrible chairs which were never really comfortable. A sturdy coffee table was purchased with the suite. We are also having a bookcase built for us. So my long list of items to buy has nearly become cleared.

The vegetables and fruits Danny planted are doing extremely well – they seem to grow before your eyes.

We have resumed language lessons and I love the reaction I get from people when I demonstrate that I know more than a few greetings.

The end of next week we are getting another VSO on our campus! At the present time we are the only ones on campus.

The students have just returned this week after the long holiday. Danny is teaching physics and the students love his teaching style. He lightens up the subject by making jokes and you can hear them roaring with laughter all over campus.

Occasionally it hits me how pleasant the weather is here and how I have taken it for granted. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in one of our new comfortable chairs in a skirt and tank top with my bare feet propped up on the coffee table. As usual all the windows and the front and kitchen doors were open, it was sunny and there was a very nice breeze blowing. Ahhhhh…….

Now if we’d just get the electricity back during the day!!!