From the Amazing Murchison Falls to the tranquillity Lake Nkuruba

We took advice from the Bushcats on which road to take north to the
Murchison Falls NP, they suggested the road via Hoima and then up from
there. Thankfully we got better advice from the people at the Red Chilli
site in Kampala, no offense! So we took the main road up from Kampala direct
to Masindi avoiding Hoima, saving about 40km and I will get to the Hoima to
Masindi road later!. It was hard work getting out of Kampala at first. We
thought we had managed to skirt around the busy centre only to find one hell
of a mess to negotiate at the start of the road north. We ducked into a
garage to fill Mufasa's tanks and to get out of the scrum for a minute or
two. It was a very busy road and for the first 5 to 10km under construction
so we did wonder on the advice from the people at Red Chilli. But just like
the miracle of the sun pushing through the clouds on a wet and horrible day
the tarmac appeared and it was new and good too. So we whooshed along almost
all the way to Masindi without any problems. There was one stretch around
Nakasongola (N1 18.556 E32 25.653) that was poor for about 40km but after
that it was good again until not far short of Masindi where we caught up
with the road works. The road had almost been finished but for a stretch of
about 5km where it was very new they had laid speed humps every 15m, so it
was a slow 5km and a bit bumpy. We stopped along the way to buy some fruit
and veg and also our first lot of charcoal. The Jiko so far has only been
used with wood and our left over charcoal from SA, so new territory here and
we just hope the stuff burns!
As we had made good time and it was only just after lunch arriving in
Masindi and we decided to pass thru continuing on to the Murchison Falls NP
as we would probably be stopping at Masindi on the way back. Before leaving
town Sue made a dash to the market to try and get some additional supplies
and I kept guard over Mufasa and plotted the route.
The road north was dirt but pretty good and we made the gate to the park in
good time and the opportunity to pay our first UWA (Uganda Wildlife
Authority) fees. By comparison to the parks in Tanzania and Kenya things are
pretty good here. The category A parks are $25/$35/$50 for 1/2/3 nights per
person and $40 for Mufasa. Sounds expensive, but the good thing is that you
only pay the truck fee once no mater how long you stay and if you stay more
than 3 nights it is still only $50 per person. So a week in the Ugandan
parks can be pretty good value. We decided on 2 nights and paid the friendly
lady at the desk our USD and then hit the park. The southern part of the
park below the Nile is mostly animal free due to poaching when things were
bad in Uganda, and the northern part has most of the game. The landscape
also makes a difference as it is mostly thick forest in the south and open
savannah in the north. Our first stop was the Kaniyo Pabidi Eco Tourism site
in the Budongo Forest. Now Sue had wanted stay there for the night and
perhaps do the Chimpanzee tracking in the morning. First problem was they no
longer had camping and second was the $40 per person they wanted for the
Chimps. Yes cheaper than say the Kibale Forest near Fort Portal which is
$70, and yes we will probably pay $500 each to see the Gorillas, but as they
wouldn't let us camp we had no choice but to pass on the Chimps and head up
to the falls instead. It was a shame but hopefully we might see the Chimps
elsewhere.
So back on the track we were stopping now and again to check out any birds
we saw and suddenly before we knew it we were in Tsetse fly country!! They
go mad seeing the moving truck especially a white one and when you stop they
swarm around you. If you are foolish enough to have a window open at the
point of stopping they flood into the car and proceed to chomp on you! Yes I
may have over stated things a bit but it is still no fun. So we proceeded to
the falls with windows shut and blower on full, no aircon, and had to look
at birds thru closed windows. We were dreading getting to the campsite at
the falls and having to get out of Mufasa and face the flies but thankfully
when we stopped and got away from the truck things were not too bad. After a
while most of the buggers got fed up and moved on to find another target
leaving only a few pesky comrades behind. Spraying ourselves with the deet
mosquito repellent seemed to help but they still manage to bite you thru
your socks or shirts. For those in the northern hemisphere they are kind of
the African equivalent of Horseflies.
Anyway, the Top of Falls camp site (N2 16.552 E31 41.386) was fab and we had
it to ourselves. We were parked up above the Nile looking down at the
stretch that ends up at the falls, about 1km to the west of the site. The
water was pretty choppy already at that point, I presume getting all excited
about its great passage over and down the falls! We had a nice camp fire
using up the last of our large wood and cooked rump steak, pumpkin and
jacket potatoes, all washed down with a cold beer or two, bliss! The hippos
down in the river that we could hear in the afternoon made their way thru
camp during the night, saw their huge footprints in the morning, but alas we
did not see them.
The morning came and after breakfast we took a walk over to the falls. Wow!
The mighty White Nile which is over a 100m wide at this point squeezes
itself thru a 7m gorge before plummeting down to the rocks below. As you can
imagine it is quite a sight and noisy too!! We had exclusive viewing of the
falls as the tours only arrive later on in the day. The best viewpoint of
the falls is a great spot but very wet as the vast clouds of spray soak you
and the camera equipment too!
Back in camp the Jiko was lit at lunch time using some wood so that Sue
could cook up dinner early leaving the evening free. Later on we lit it
again using some of the previously acquired charcoal, burned very well, to
heat up the bolognaise sauce Sue made earlier and the pasta to go with it.
It was another blissful evening in the wilds and the minibus with 3 Germans
who appeared late afternoon parked elsewhere in the quite large camp so we
were still alone at our spot.
After our two very pleasant nights at the falls, could have easily stayed
longer, it was time to move on again and we left the park out of the western
gate after stopping off at the Red Chilli camp near the ferry across the
river for a quick soda. The ferry takes you across to the northern side, but
the cost is quite steep and we had decided to keep the money for use at one
of the other parks. I saw on the GPS that there was a road that went past
the Nile Safari Lodge west of the ferry and then down to join the exit road
to the gate. We asked at the Red Chilli if we could go that way but the
barman was a bit vague and I wasn't sure if he really knew what we were
asking. So despite him saying 'no' we ventured that way. In hindsight
perhaps he did understand as the road got very rough and narrow and in the
end we had to about turn, 43 point turn, and backtrack to take the official
route out. However we did see a few great bird spots on our misguided
excursion so it was well worth it in the end.
After leaving the park we headed west and then south along the shore of Lake
Albert. The border between Uganda and DRC runs down the middle of the lake
for its 150km length, so more of a sea than a lake. We stopped off at
Butiaba on the lake shore for a quick stretch of the legs and to gaze across
at the Monts Bleus in the DRC before heading inland towards Biso. At Biso I
again got it wrong! I knew that the road from Biso to Masindi was not on the
GPS and despite a very clear sign telling me which way to go I blindly
followed the GPS and headed off following the road it was showing towards
Hoima instead. My excuse, concentrating on the road! After a brief 2km
diversion we were on the right road and made good time to Masindi. Again Sue
had her hopes dashed as another option she had picked out for staying at and
viewing Chimps were again dashed on the rocks. The Busingiro Eco Tourism
site no longer had Chimp tracking but they did still offer camping but for
the silly price of Ush18000 each, do they think all Mzungus are fools? The
camp was not the greatest and we had hoped for Chimp tracking there but I
think they must have either eaten the Chimps or relocated them to the Kaniyo
Pabidi Eco Tourism site as that now falls inside the Murchison Falls NP and
you pay parks fees to visit it! Cynic, me? Sue's final option along the road
was the 'Royal Mile' in the Budongo Forest that allegedly offers the best
bird watching in Uganda, but we never saw the signs for it. So instead we
ended up at Masindi and the Masindi Hotel (N1 41.524 E31 42.879).
What a nice hotel, very colonial. The grounds around the back that we camped
in were very smart and we decided to treat ourselves to drinks and dinner in
the restaurant as it looked good and not too pricey. We had eventually made
up our minds on what to eat but at the last minute Sue was informed of the
buffet available so for the same money we filled our boots with several
helpings of delicious food from the buffet instead. Suitably stuffed we made
our way back to Mufasa and slept on full bellies!
It rained quite hard during the night, the tent was very wet and we needed
an early start to get off to Fort Portal. However, things went slowly that
morning. I dried the tent off, the sun was still hiding, Sue had a cold
shower but the water ran out. I then managed to have a shower in one of the
hotel rooms after Sue had complained at reception, and we eventually hit the
road at about 09h30. Needless to say that the sun came out just after we had
zipped up the soggy tent!!
We knew that the road from Masindi to Hoima was going to be poor as the Red
Chilli people had warned us, and thus why we had not used it coming up from
Kampala! Yes it was a mud road and it was bumpy and full of holes, so it was
slow going to Hoima. Strangely enough the road in Hoima itself was good tar!
Virtually the whole trip we had experienced good roads which fell apart in
the towns and were then good again the other side, here it was the reverse.
We stopped in Hoima briefly for bread. Sue managed to find some rolls and
also some Mandazi, the local triangular shaped doughnut. The Mandazi didn't
last long when we stopped for coffee later on! As usual we had a few
onlookers but they soon wandered off when they realized we were just crazy
Mzungus having coffee. The lunch stop later on for avocado sandwiches was a
bit more crowded. We found a nice open patch of ground to park on not
realising we were just next a small village. The locals heard our arrival
and all came for a look and see!
The bumpy holed road continued all the way to Kyenjojo on the main Kampala /
Fort Portal road when we were again reunited with smooth tar. Our options
were limited for a camp site. We first checked out the UWA site just off the
main road before Fort Portal. The site was ok but as it kind of fell in the
Kibale Forest NP they wanted us to pay park fees to stay there, easy
decision, bye. Instead we headed off south of Fort Portal to Lake Nkuruba
and the community campsite there (N0 31.102 E30 18.135). What a great
choice. The site is fab and situated just above the lake, a crater lake in
an extinct volcano. It is lush and tree lined with a view down to the lake
and very peaceful here, not to mention fairly cheap. The bird life and
wildlife here is also very good. Many a new bird spot has been made and we
have also been privileged to see both the Red Colobus and Black & White
Colobus Monkeys that live in the forests around the lake.
I think we will hole out here for 2 or 3 nights and then head back up thru
Fort Portal to the Semliki WR and another meeting with Lake Albert. The menu
at the restaurant looks good so we might sample some Ugandan delights one
night.