Well I guess when you are someone important then you get things named after
you! I am not aware that HRH has set foot inside 'her' park since her visit
some 50 years ago although Prince Phillip was here only a couple of years
back (probably to shoot some animals) but I would think she might be a bit
sad at the current state of the place. Now don't get me wrong it is nice and
will potentially one day be great again but there is a long way to go until
then. The wildlife is still recovering from the bad years in Uganda and the
infrastructure is still somewhere short of perfect. But despite all that we
had a great 3 nights there.
Leaving Semliki on the Sunday morning after much deliberation of whether to
stay or not was quite easy in the end. It was a great spot up at Ntoroko and
we felt we could have stayed there a few days. However Sunday morning came,
another bright sunny morning, and we felt we had to move on. The disturbance
of staff from the Semliki Lodge preparing a boat for guests to 'hunt down'
the Shoebill made it feel like we had lost our perfect spot, so we set of to
the QENP. Stopping off briefly in Fort Portal again to buy beers and visit
the market we then took the good tar road all the way to the park via
Kasese.
Our first stop before reaching the park, the Equator again. No song and
dance at this crossing, no shops, no buckets of swirling water, just a
couple of signs and a photo opportunity. Then we stopped off briefly at the
QENP information centre to chat to Moses, yep he works there, and try and
glean some information on the available campsites. Suitably armed with the
required information, we then proceeded to the Kabatoro Gate to pay our fees
and head for camp. As usual we can never fully decide on a plan so we paid
fees for a single night with the option of topping them up if needed. Our
destination was a bush camp just down the track from Mweya called Campsite 1
(S0 10.678 E29 55.104). Good name, and the one next to it is called, yep
Campsite 2. Despite the unimaginative name the site was perfect. Just us and
the bush, positioned high up above the channel that links Lake Edward and
Lake George. Facilities, pit latrine. It was a delightful place despite the
annoying little flies that pestered us. After a peaceful night, no wild
animals in camp, we popped along to Mweya to pay for the camping and also
top up our park fees as we had made a plan to stay in the park for 3 nights.
Whist there we topped up the water tanks, had some breakfast, and then set
off to see the wildlife. The Queen has a couple of tracks named in her
honour too, and the Leopard track was presumably named after all the
Leopards in the area, assuming there are actually any there as we saw none.
The bush is quite dense in that area of the park and spots were few and far
between. Quite a few birds were around, and we saw one nice herd of
Elephant, a few Cobs, and the odd Warthog. After exiting that area of the
park at the Katunguru Gate we headed east across the main road to the
Kasenyi area with the possibility of lions. This area is not gated so we did
wonder if you actually needed to pay to drive in it at first but then we
were stopped by two UWA rangers who checked our park fee receipt. It was
much more open in Kasenyi but still fairly quiet on the animal front. There
very well might be Lions but alas we saw none, just average numbers of Cob,
Waterbuck, and Buffalo. It was a pleasant drive but as time was pushing on
we made tracks back to the main road and crossed the Kazinga Channel that
divides the park north / south and before entering again popped along to see
the Kyambura Gorge and have lunch. The gorge is quite impressive but not awe
inspiring. Driving up to it you would never know it was there as it is a
huge rift in the fairly flat landscape. It is best described as a sunken
forest and is home to some habituated Chimpanzees.
Re-entering the NP our aim was initially the Jacana Camp but we never saw
the turning. The road that passes thru this section of the park is a public
road and thus busy with trucks in transit between Uganda and the DRC. We did
get stuck in a traffic jam at a bridge. A road work water tanker that had
filled its belly from the poor dwindling stream had broken down where they
had parked it blocking the bridge. Thankfully only about 30 minutes later
normal service was resumed and we managed to skip past the queue of trucks
that had built up. As Jacana was not an option we amended our plan to stay
at Ishasha Camp instead (S0 37.154 E29 39.668). Blimey the place was busy,
probably 3 separate tour groups, and not our peaceful bush camp from the
previous night. The facilities were not much better, pit latrine and a cold
shower, but it was just fine. This is where our visit to the park hit a
downturn. That night I slept for only about 10 minutes, nothing to do with
the warthogs and Hippos snorting and snuffling in the camp. (Sue's comment -
loads of hippos were munching around the car and she got to watch them -
brave me, Matt was too knackered to look). The following morning I was
knackered and had no energy. I initially put it down to dehydration and we
relaxed for the day and I drank plenty of water. It was quiet in camp as
everyone else had packed up and left so we had a nice day despite my
ailment. Peace and quiet was briefly interrupted in the afternoon by a
thunderstorm, but thankfully come nightfall I had managed the odd doze here
and there and caught some good sleep overnight too.
Feeling somewhat better the following morning we packed up camp early and
went for a game drive. Plenty of Cob, Elephant, Buffalo, and some good new
bird spots, but not a sight of the alleged 'Tree Climbing Lions' that live
in the area. So instead of staying another night we hit the road just before
lunch to Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi. Mufasa's belly was getting a touch light
as we had not filled up since Kampala some 1200km ago, so a quick splash and
dash in Kihihi, and then the slow road thru the hills down to Kabale. All
was going so well and then we hit a snag. As usual we passed all sorts on
the road and most of the people wave and gesture as if they want you to stop
so they can hitch a lift of ask for 'gifts'. One chap was most insistent but
we just passed on by. About 10 minutes later we found out why, the road was
shut. A river had flooded the road and the main road we needed was only
about 2km past the river. We had seen no other road for miles and had
visions of having to drive most of the 100km back to where we had come from
before finding an alternative. Backtracking up the hill we this time stopped
at the chap who had tried to stop us previously. 'Why didn't you stop' he
asked 'I was going to tell you the road is closed!'. We tried to explain
that if we stopped for every frantically waving person we would have only
travelled about 100km in 4 months! Anyway, he kind of explained that there
was a 'new' road around the problem and we eventually found it. Road, or
narrow muddy track down the side of a hill? Things came to a halt briefly
when we met a pickup coming up the track. After some negotiation and
manoeuvring we managed to get around it and continued down the 'perilous'
descent. Things were not much better when we eventually reached the main
road as that was under repair.
Eventually we managed to reach Kabale and looked for bread and beer. The
muffins from the Hot Loaf Bakery were dry and more like biscuits, obviously
not a Ugandan staple, and the beer very expensive. So armed only with a loaf
of bread which we hoped would be more like bread than the muffins were
muffins we set off down to Lake Bunyonyi and the Bunyonyi Overland Camp (S1
16.314 E29 56.276). Again the night was not good and I was up several times,
now with diarrhoea, stomach ache, more than my usual quota of flatulence,
and what Sue described as 'eggy burps'. Managing to eventually make daylight
we consulted our 'what you might be dying from' medial book and diagnosed
Giardia, a form of bacterial diarrhoea. We did bring some antibiotics with
us, but not the specific one we needed. Thankfully after chatting with one
of the staff at the camp he offered to mercy dash to Kabale and try and buy
some for us, which he managed. Hopefully now I am on the mend, and we will
depart here over the weekend and head to Rwanda relatively fit and healthy
ready for the chance of spotting the Gorillas.
Our spot at the Bunyonyi camp is right on the waters edge and is very nice
indeed, and thankfully we have flushing toilets here and not a pit latrine,
what a nightmare that would have been!!!
Friday, 19 September 2008
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Addendum to the message from the birthday girl
For those interested parties I will fill in the missing information from the Birthday Girls blog entry, the coords of where we were.
Whilst in the Semliki GR we passed thru the Semliki Lodge (N0 54.525 E30 21524) on the way to the Chimp Researchers Camp (N0 53.589 E30 22.685). Eventually we made it to the Ntoroko Campsite (N01 03.437 E30 32.749) on the shore of Lake Albert. Normal service will be resumed soon!
Whilst in the Semliki GR we passed thru the Semliki Lodge (N0 54.525 E30 21524) on the way to the Chimp Researchers Camp (N0 53.589 E30 22.685). Eventually we made it to the Ntoroko Campsite (N01 03.437 E30 32.749) on the shore of Lake Albert. Normal service will be resumed soon!
Saturday, 13 September 2008
message from the birthday girl....
Thanks for all the birthday messages, I had a great day.
Saturday 13 Sep - Thought it about time I did a bit of an update. Currently
sitting on the southern shores of Lake Albert in the Semliki Valley game
reserve. It is boiling hot even though there is a cool breeze blowing in off
the lake. Although we can't complain as we wanted sunshine and warm weather
when we left Ethiopia and that's what we're getting. Don't think it'll last
too long as we'll probably be in the rain forests in the not too distant
future.
Can't remember when Matt wrote his last blog so if I repeat any of it...
ignore it. We spent 3 nights at Lake Nkuruba and didn't really do much at
all apart from chill out and watch the monkeys and birds. We had dinner
there one night and decided we should try the local Ugandan food, so we
ordered matoke with groundnut sauce and cassava with beef. Matoke is mashed
plantains (some sort of green banana) and when cooked it is slightly like
mashed potato but not as nice and as for the groundnut sauce - it looked
like cat puke, but we did eat it. Cassava is a bit like parsnip but drier
and once we'd mashed it up in the beef gravy it wasn't too bad. Luckily
enough we don't have to eat local food every night.
We came down to Semliki valley game reserve on Thursday and stopped off at
the Semliki lodge for a drink. Have to experience the life of luxury now and
again but I'll do without it if it means no going back to work. We had lunch
at the lodge courtesy of the US Coastguard. No they didn't pay. When we
arrived we asked if it was possible to have lunch and as they normally only
cater for the guests staying there Kristin (runs the lodge with her husband
Mark) said if there was food leftover she'd be able to sort something for
us. Luckily for us there was. It was much appreciated, and free!
We then went through to the chimp research camp to find out if we would be
able to do a chimp trek the following day. They said it would be fine and we
could join the researchers on their walk which would leave at about 6.00am.
We camped at the research camp and woke up next morning to thunder and
lightning and a bit of rain. We joined Justice (ranger with the medicine -
rifle), Charlotte and Phineas (both students from Cambridge) and had to walk
to the forest in the dark and luckily didn't encounter any lions, buffalo or
any other wild beast. We got to the forest as the chimps were de-nesting
(getting out of bed). We spent about 6 hours in the forest with them and
they had quite a lazy day, which meant we did too as we didn't have to
follow them for miles. The noise they make when they call is quite
disturbing as it sounds as if they are really aggressive. It was really
special to spend time with the chimps and to see what they get up to. A
birthday I won't forget in a hurry.
After that we headed to the campsite on the lakeshore via the lodge, had to
have a birthday drink didn't I! Matt then cooked a veggie curry with coconut
milk - it was delicious and then we had some of my birthday pressie,
Cadbury's chocolate. And don't forget the beer. Then it was into the tent to
wait for the hippo's to come out to graze but I didn't see them and Matt
sure didn't as he was fast asleep.
Today we decided it was time to do something completely different - ready
for this Oz - we tried fishing. Didn't catch anything although we had to be
really careful not to catch birds. Not what you think , the birds were
flying past when we were casting and it looked at times like they wanted to
eat our lures. Will try again tomorrow. Oh and Matt nearly caught a Pied
Kingfisher that was very interested in the lure in the water, needless to
say he reeled it in post haste!
Latest news on ablutions - decided that bush showers and bucket showers are
the best as they are outside and you don't have to go into any grotty dingy
damp rooms. As for loos, long drops are still gross especially when Matt
tells me he has seen bats flying in them. So when we get back to
civilization please don't worry if we go out into your garden for a pee or
shower!
Only got about 7 weeks left, how time flies.
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Mufasa blows a fuse or two, but we are determined to keep our heads above water!
They say that Jinja on the north shore of Lake Victoria is the adrenalin
centre of East Africa, if not the whole of Africa with the current situation
in Zimbabwe and the Vic Falls. Say no more we just had to get there and see
what near death experiences were on offer!
It is nice to have a short drive for a change and despite Mufasa blowing a
fuse the journey down to Jinja was uneventful. The fuse seems to be a
problem that is related to the washer and reverse light issues that have
cropped up so far. The reverse lights were now working after I had fixed the
switch (read glued it together) in Eldoret, but the fuse for the
washer/speedo and now as it turns out the reverse lights keeps blowing.
Story to be continued later!
Anyway, we headed to Jinja and the Bujugali Falls on the Nile about 9km
north of town. They are more rapids than falls and they will soon be gone
with the planned dam that is due to be constructed just down stream of the
falls. Our home for 2 nights the Eden Lodge (N0 29.082 E33 09.703) is a few
minutes walk from the falls and we almost had the camp grounds to ourselves.
There is a huge camping area that is grassy and dotted with huge trees, and
most peaceful. The bird life in the grounds is fab and kept us both busy.
The Bujugali Falls are the play ground for the white water river rafting
companies that operate on the Nile. We ventured down on the Sunday morning
to see them and hopefully watch some lucky punters wash up from their
adventure! The falls / rapids are pretty spectacular and are a grade 5 in
the white water rafting scales, i.e. death defying. Sure enough after a
short wait the lucky punters appeared. My God, it looked terrifying watching
from the safety of the river bank let alone being bashed around in the raft.
Two rafts went through, the first lost 2 or 3 punters, and the second passed
thru unscathed. Did it make us want to try it, not on your life! Everyone
was safely recovered.
On leaving Eden Lodge we hit downtown Jinja, not a bad place at all, a nice
African town. It is obviously a bit scruffy and suffered in Uganda's bad
years, but you can see the signs of it turning into a real place to be. Sue
was not too keen on all the fruit bats we saw down near the river,
especially when they left their roosts and flocked in numbers above our
heads. The other draw in town is the 'Source of the Nile', i.e. where the
lake ends and the river starts. Can you believe they wanted Ush10,000 each
plus Ush2,000 for Mufasa for us to drive down and see it. Needless to say we
said 'NO' and parked just up the road and saw it all from a great free
viewpoint! Crazy! Then it was time for the short drive to Kampala.
Once again we lost another fuse on the way, bugger. However we now have an
idea of what might be going on. As the fuse is on the circuit for
washer/speedo/reverse lights we have a theory that the damaged reverse
switch on the gearbox is now shorting the circuit and blowing the fuse as it
blew when I put Mufasa into reverse. Coincidence we don't know but I have
now disconnected the reverse switch and bagged and tapped the connector, so
watch this space. Just need to buy some more fuses!
The traffic coming into Kampala was grim as we had read it would be.
Thankfully our destination, Red Chilli Rest Camp (N0 19.205 E32 37.798) is
on the eastern side of town so for the moment we don't have to pass thru the
city and the worst of the traffic. Before hitting camp we made our way to
the Lugogo Mall, home of Shoprite and Game amongst others, basically an
ex-pat shopping centre. Very nice it was to and we stocked up on a couple of
essentials and will hit it again before leaving town to keep us going on the
road for a while.
So apart from a huge thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, tent wasn't erected,
it is hot and sunny in Kampala, but I think we might get another downpour
later! They have free internet here which is great if not very much in
demand, overland trucks stop here, and also a tad slow. It is a wireless
network but we don't have wireless on the laptop to make use of it, and
there is an ethernet connection free to plug the laptop into but I can't get
that to work either! Anyone got a Networks for Dummies book handy?
Next stop for us the Murchison Falls NP and our first taste of wild Uganda,
oh and the expensive parks fees too!
centre of East Africa, if not the whole of Africa with the current situation
in Zimbabwe and the Vic Falls. Say no more we just had to get there and see
what near death experiences were on offer!
It is nice to have a short drive for a change and despite Mufasa blowing a
fuse the journey down to Jinja was uneventful. The fuse seems to be a
problem that is related to the washer and reverse light issues that have
cropped up so far. The reverse lights were now working after I had fixed the
switch (read glued it together) in Eldoret, but the fuse for the
washer/speedo and now as it turns out the reverse lights keeps blowing.
Story to be continued later!
Anyway, we headed to Jinja and the Bujugali Falls on the Nile about 9km
north of town. They are more rapids than falls and they will soon be gone
with the planned dam that is due to be constructed just down stream of the
falls. Our home for 2 nights the Eden Lodge (N0 29.082 E33 09.703) is a few
minutes walk from the falls and we almost had the camp grounds to ourselves.
There is a huge camping area that is grassy and dotted with huge trees, and
most peaceful. The bird life in the grounds is fab and kept us both busy.
The Bujugali Falls are the play ground for the white water river rafting
companies that operate on the Nile. We ventured down on the Sunday morning
to see them and hopefully watch some lucky punters wash up from their
adventure! The falls / rapids are pretty spectacular and are a grade 5 in
the white water rafting scales, i.e. death defying. Sure enough after a
short wait the lucky punters appeared. My God, it looked terrifying watching
from the safety of the river bank let alone being bashed around in the raft.
Two rafts went through, the first lost 2 or 3 punters, and the second passed
thru unscathed. Did it make us want to try it, not on your life! Everyone
was safely recovered.
On leaving Eden Lodge we hit downtown Jinja, not a bad place at all, a nice
African town. It is obviously a bit scruffy and suffered in Uganda's bad
years, but you can see the signs of it turning into a real place to be. Sue
was not too keen on all the fruit bats we saw down near the river,
especially when they left their roosts and flocked in numbers above our
heads. The other draw in town is the 'Source of the Nile', i.e. where the
lake ends and the river starts. Can you believe they wanted Ush10,000 each
plus Ush2,000 for Mufasa for us to drive down and see it. Needless to say we
said 'NO' and parked just up the road and saw it all from a great free
viewpoint! Crazy! Then it was time for the short drive to Kampala.
Once again we lost another fuse on the way, bugger. However we now have an
idea of what might be going on. As the fuse is on the circuit for
washer/speedo/reverse lights we have a theory that the damaged reverse
switch on the gearbox is now shorting the circuit and blowing the fuse as it
blew when I put Mufasa into reverse. Coincidence we don't know but I have
now disconnected the reverse switch and bagged and tapped the connector, so
watch this space. Just need to buy some more fuses!
The traffic coming into Kampala was grim as we had read it would be.
Thankfully our destination, Red Chilli Rest Camp (N0 19.205 E32 37.798) is
on the eastern side of town so for the moment we don't have to pass thru the
city and the worst of the traffic. Before hitting camp we made our way to
the Lugogo Mall, home of Shoprite and Game amongst others, basically an
ex-pat shopping centre. Very nice it was to and we stocked up on a couple of
essentials and will hit it again before leaving town to keep us going on the
road for a while.
So apart from a huge thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, tent wasn't erected,
it is hot and sunny in Kampala, but I think we might get another downpour
later! They have free internet here which is great if not very much in
demand, overland trucks stop here, and also a tad slow. It is a wireless
network but we don't have wireless on the laptop to make use of it, and
there is an ethernet connection free to plug the laptop into but I can't get
that to work either! Anyone got a Networks for Dummies book handy?
Next stop for us the Murchison Falls NP and our first taste of wild Uganda,
oh and the expensive parks fees too!
Friday, 29 August 2008
Time to escape Kenya and try out the Ugandan experience!
The border was a bit frustrating but we made it to Uganda and our 5th
country of the trip. Our stay at the Naiberi River Camp near Eldoret in
Kenya was just what we needed. It gave us time to sort ourselves out again
and prepare us for the next adventure ahead. The owner of the camp, Raj, was
really nice and he invited us down to his house in the grounds of the site
for coffee one evening to showcase his impressive home. Well I say he did,
he managed the odd word or three whilst engrossed in the movie on the TV,
while his girlfriend made us coffee and a sandwich and then showed us
around, and a very nice property it was too!! She then joined Raj on the
sofa and the TV watching so we ate and drank up and made our excuses. Very
kind of them to invite us but a bit strange.
Anyway, the next day we went shopping in Eldoret and stocked up on a few
essentials, including some cheese from the cheese factory, and on the way
back stopped of at Raj's factory where they make sweaters and blankets. One
of his foreman showed us around and it was quite an eye opener. Neither of
us have seen the whole process from thread to finished article before and it
was amazing. The place was not quite a sweat shop, but it was definitely a
hive of activity. From hand worked knitting machines to 'computerised'
machines to do all sorts. Even the process of reusing the waste material
from cutting the clothes and making the threads for the blankets was
engrossing. If you ever get the chance to visit such a place do so as it is
incredible. We had company in camp that night, our last there, as two
overland trucks pulled in for the night. Thankfully they were very civilised
and not noisy like the occupants of the seven trucks that invaded the Snake
Park back in Tanzania.
Today we left Eldoret, not before using up all our remaining Kenyan money on
fuel and food, and headed for the border at Malaba (N0 38.449 E34 15.118).
Well the Kenyan side was a mad scrum but we were processed efficiently. You
should have seen the huge queue of heavy goods vehicles waiting to be
processed thru to Uganda. It must have been several km long!! Then came the
Ugandan side! Immigration was fine and we coughed up the $50 each for our
entry visas and then off to customs. The customs man quite happily processed
our carnet but in order to get it back we had to pay the road tax which is a
flat fee for foreign vehicles rather than a per km fee for the locals. So,
he fills out a form and you have to go upstairs to the bank to pay the
money, Ush32750. We did not have any local currency and asked if we could
pay in USD. Now the very cheerful young lady at the counter, miserable as
sin, said we could so we produced our $20, at the given exchange rate, and
she said no go. If we wanted to pay with a note less than $50 we got a worse
rate! So we worked out that we needed another $1 to make up the difference.
I went and got a fistful of $1 notes from Mufasa and we returned. I thought
I would piss her off by giving her the money in eleven $1 and one $10 note.
OK no problem, oh but we had to pay another Ush2000 bank charges!! So we
coughed up 2 more crisp $1 notes and she then counted them, via a machine as
she didn't have enough fingers, and then UV checked them all. Finally she
did the paperwork but we had to go next door for another happy lady to enter
the details on her PC before printing off a receipt and giving it the
official stamp. Finally we were able to go and reclaim our Carnet and make a
run for it. Oh no silly me we had to stop again at the police point for them
to stamp the blinking receipt also! What a fiasco but at least after about 1
1/2 hours we were free and in Uganda!
Our first point of call a Barclays ATM in Tororo and then north to the
foothills of Mt Elgon and the town of Sipi to see the water falls there. The
falls are apparently one of the most spectacular in Uganda, and yep they are
pretty cool. We are camped at the Twilight Campsite (N1 20.104 E34 22.190)
in Sipi with a great view across the gorge to the falls, and I can hear them
gushing away as I write this sitting up in our tent tonight. Mt Elgon on the
other hand is engulfed in cloud but you never know it might just pop out at
some point. Perhaps tomorrow if the weather permits, had a huge storm pass a
couple of km by this evening, we will take a hike to check out the falls.
Then we head southwest to Jinga and the source of the Nile, not to mention
the white water rafting and the bungee jumping, gulp!
This may only be our first night in Uganda but I think we will like it here.
Things seem cheap, camping and the beer, and there is so much to do and see.
country of the trip. Our stay at the Naiberi River Camp near Eldoret in
Kenya was just what we needed. It gave us time to sort ourselves out again
and prepare us for the next adventure ahead. The owner of the camp, Raj, was
really nice and he invited us down to his house in the grounds of the site
for coffee one evening to showcase his impressive home. Well I say he did,
he managed the odd word or three whilst engrossed in the movie on the TV,
while his girlfriend made us coffee and a sandwich and then showed us
around, and a very nice property it was too!! She then joined Raj on the
sofa and the TV watching so we ate and drank up and made our excuses. Very
kind of them to invite us but a bit strange.
Anyway, the next day we went shopping in Eldoret and stocked up on a few
essentials, including some cheese from the cheese factory, and on the way
back stopped of at Raj's factory where they make sweaters and blankets. One
of his foreman showed us around and it was quite an eye opener. Neither of
us have seen the whole process from thread to finished article before and it
was amazing. The place was not quite a sweat shop, but it was definitely a
hive of activity. From hand worked knitting machines to 'computerised'
machines to do all sorts. Even the process of reusing the waste material
from cutting the clothes and making the threads for the blankets was
engrossing. If you ever get the chance to visit such a place do so as it is
incredible. We had company in camp that night, our last there, as two
overland trucks pulled in for the night. Thankfully they were very civilised
and not noisy like the occupants of the seven trucks that invaded the Snake
Park back in Tanzania.
Today we left Eldoret, not before using up all our remaining Kenyan money on
fuel and food, and headed for the border at Malaba (N0 38.449 E34 15.118).
Well the Kenyan side was a mad scrum but we were processed efficiently. You
should have seen the huge queue of heavy goods vehicles waiting to be
processed thru to Uganda. It must have been several km long!! Then came the
Ugandan side! Immigration was fine and we coughed up the $50 each for our
entry visas and then off to customs. The customs man quite happily processed
our carnet but in order to get it back we had to pay the road tax which is a
flat fee for foreign vehicles rather than a per km fee for the locals. So,
he fills out a form and you have to go upstairs to the bank to pay the
money, Ush32750. We did not have any local currency and asked if we could
pay in USD. Now the very cheerful young lady at the counter, miserable as
sin, said we could so we produced our $20, at the given exchange rate, and
she said no go. If we wanted to pay with a note less than $50 we got a worse
rate! So we worked out that we needed another $1 to make up the difference.
I went and got a fistful of $1 notes from Mufasa and we returned. I thought
I would piss her off by giving her the money in eleven $1 and one $10 note.
OK no problem, oh but we had to pay another Ush2000 bank charges!! So we
coughed up 2 more crisp $1 notes and she then counted them, via a machine as
she didn't have enough fingers, and then UV checked them all. Finally she
did the paperwork but we had to go next door for another happy lady to enter
the details on her PC before printing off a receipt and giving it the
official stamp. Finally we were able to go and reclaim our Carnet and make a
run for it. Oh no silly me we had to stop again at the police point for them
to stamp the blinking receipt also! What a fiasco but at least after about 1
1/2 hours we were free and in Uganda!
Our first point of call a Barclays ATM in Tororo and then north to the
foothills of Mt Elgon and the town of Sipi to see the water falls there. The
falls are apparently one of the most spectacular in Uganda, and yep they are
pretty cool. We are camped at the Twilight Campsite (N1 20.104 E34 22.190)
in Sipi with a great view across the gorge to the falls, and I can hear them
gushing away as I write this sitting up in our tent tonight. Mt Elgon on the
other hand is engulfed in cloud but you never know it might just pop out at
some point. Perhaps tomorrow if the weather permits, had a huge storm pass a
couple of km by this evening, we will take a hike to check out the falls.
Then we head southwest to Jinga and the source of the Nile, not to mention
the white water rafting and the bungee jumping, gulp!
This may only be our first night in Uganda but I think we will like it here.
Things seem cheap, camping and the beer, and there is so much to do and see.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
The rocky Kenyan roads, and the route to Uganda
Boy some of these northern Kenyan roads can give you a hard time. We knew
what to expect heading south from Moyale, but I guess ones memory sometimes
gives a false picture of what lies ahead. The drive to Marsabit was long and
hard again but not too bad, even though we weren't expecting such a bumpy
ride. Thankfully this time the drive passed without any incident and it was
a much relieved Mufasa and passengers that rolled into Marsabit and the
wonderful Henry's Rest Camp (N2 20.737 E37 57.934). At least when you
retrace earlier steps it is nice to know that there is a good camp waiting
for you. As it had been an early start leaving Moyale we arrived in Marsabit
not long after lunch so there was plenty of time for Sue to catch up with
the washing and for me to do a few jobs on Mufasa and the laptop. By
nightfall we had completed our tasks, eaten well, and stocked up with bread
and cakes from the bakery at the camp. Once again it was a windy night but
at least this time we were expecting it!
Another early start the next morning but a new road to navigate, west to
Lake Turkana and Loiyangalani. When we had filled up Mufasa on arriving in
Marsabit we were given some good advice on which road to take west. The
northern route via North Horr was a no no as apparently there had been some
bandit activity in the area and livestock had been stolen and a few police
and locals killed. Best avoided! So we chose the southern road, which was
about 20km shorter anyway, and it was a great choice. The first few
kilometres out of Marsabit were ugly on the road to Isiolo but we soon made
our turn west and the new road to explore. It had been a cold and misty
start up in the hills of Marsabit but we soon descended down via a lumpy
bumpy lava rock road to the Koroli Dessert. After about 25km of the lava
rocks we were in sand, nice smooth sand. It was a nice change and our first
real adventure across a sandy dessert in Mufasa. I guess it was good that we
enjoyed the experience as we had about 160km of it before we reached the C77
the other side and the road north to Loiyangalani. The down side for us with
the sand was the 'cement dust' sections! Thankfully you can see them coming
but when you hit them you disappear in a huge cloud of very fine dust. Most
of the time we managed to wind the windows up in time, but once or twice we
failed in our efforts. Imagine sitting nice and comfy driving along and then
some bugger chucks a bag of cement in your face thru the window! There were
the odd patches of deep sticky stuff to navigate too but with a bit of
judgement and a good helping of luck we managed to avoid getting stuck. The
dessert was beautiful and it was strange to come across several communities
in the middle of nowhere. What these people do for a living and how they
feed themselves and survive is a mystery to us. It was bad enough just
driving through the place let alone living there! Once at the C77 the road
took us north to Lake Turkana. The first 60km were nice sand with the odd
rock here and there, but then the lava fields started again. It took us
about 90 minutes to drive the last 20km on the rocks! It was a slow and hot
drive on the rocks, but the scenery was absolutely stunning. Again, how
people manage to survive in these conditions is lost on me. The lake is
quite a site when it comes in to view but with the sun high in the sky the
views were a bit hazy, but still spectacular. Loiyangalani is an oasis when
it appears, lush and green with palm trees, quite a change from the rocky
surrounds it sits in. Our stop for the night was the Palm Shade Camp (N2
45.377 E36 43.275) and very nice it was too if a tad pricey. The showers
were cool, well they were actually very warm thanks to the thermal spring
that the water was taken from, natural hot water. We had read that the wind
blows hard from the hills thru the town and it certainly did so that night.
Despite having plenty of shelter from the palm trees we were still rocked
around a fair bit and it took 3 attempts to finally sort out the flysheet to
stop it flapping around.
We had managed to communicate with Rich Kaz and Rebecca via email and SMS
and worked out that paths would cross in a day or so a bit further south at
Lake Bogorio NR. So we left the Palm Shade camp and hit the road south to
Maralal. Once we had renegotiated the 20km of lava rocks the road became
sandy again. The route took us up into the hills again and across the Akirim
Plateau and eventually via a few ups and downs to Maralal and the Yare Camel
Club (N1 03.526 E36 42.650). The good thing about being back in Kenya, apart
from the roads, was being able to camp and cook for ourselves again and the
shops in Maralal, few that they were, filled up the fruit and vegetable
boxes and also our bread and cake supply. The Camel Club, where the annual
Camel Derby is held, was a cool spot and cheap too. Despite having
resupplied we treated ourselves to a few beers and dinner in the restaurant
which was nice and gave Sue a break from the kitchen too! It was a chilly
night up in the tent and the dew in the morning was very heavy so it took a
while to get things dried off before we could hit the road again.
We had arranged to meet up with the Bushcats at a campsite in the Lake
Bogorio NR that day. The drive was good and we made the reserve just after
lunch. It is not the biggest of reserves but it has two attractions,
Flamingos and hot water geysers. The Flamingos were there in quite large
numbers but probably not at their peak and the geysers were great but quite
busy with day trippers. As it was a scorching day we decided to visit the
geysers again in the morning when they would be quieter and pushed on
through the reserve to check out the two campsite options and also try and
locate the Bushcats. Acacia camp was very nice but we needed to check out
Fig Tree Camp as the book had made it sound the better option. The track to
Fig Tree was long, narrow, and rocky. You could almost guarantee that if we
were going to bump into the Bushcats it would be on the track to the camp,
and we did. Thankfully it was only a few meters from the camp and Rich was
able to reverse back otherwise it would have been interesting if we were
half way along with a few km either way for one of us to back up on!! It was
great to catch up with each other again and we soon made tracks to Acacia
Camp as we thought it much nicer, and it was too. We camped right on the
shore of the lake with hundreds of Flamingos for company, and a few thousand
flies too!! Information was shared on our respective trips to Ethiopia and
Uganda and before we knew it the following morning had come and it was time
to go our separate ways again. First we headed off to check out the spouting
geysers and thankfully we had them to ourselves.
The Bushcats then headed north taking the route that we had come, Maralal,
Loiyangalani, Marsabit and then Ethiopia. We headed west and Eldoret. As we
were passing the Kerio Valley / Lake Kamnarock NR we thought we would stop
off and have lunch there. It took an hour to get there from the main road,
only about 25km, and the lake was pretty dry. So a quick lunch was had and
then we backtracked to the main road and continued on our way. Our
destination just west or Eldoret was the Naiberi River Camp and Resort (N0
26.864 E35 25.333). The Bushcats had stayed as had a few other people we had
met and it came highly recommended, and we can see why. The place is great
and we have it to ourselves too! We are in our own pitch with a huge bandas
to use. The facilities are great and there is a swimming pool too! It has
been a great spot to get ourselves sorted out again. The truck has been
cleaned in and out, the washing is again done including the bedding, and
Mufasa has been fixed up. I needed to rotate the tyres as we have done
nearly 15000km on them and the rear tyres are looking a bit sad. The rocky
roads have taken their toll on them and they look like they have been in a
battle zone with chunks missing from the treads. So our two spares are now
into the action. I have also fixed another couple of problems that raised
their heads. On leaving Maralal the Netstar Tracker alarm started to sound
after we went over a heavy bump. I had to cut the earth to the siren as the
remote would not disable the system. All seems ok now and I have rewired the
siren, so fingers crossed. The other problem was the lack of reversing
lights. After checking the fuses and cleaning out the very dusty rear light
clusters the problem was located. The switch that engages the lights when
reverse is selected sits in the side of the gearbox and I think a stone must
have spat up and broken it off. It has been glued back in place but a
replacement will be needed at some point.
We now have to plan our route out of Kenya seeing all we can before crossing
over to Uganda, a place that everyone seems to rave about!
what to expect heading south from Moyale, but I guess ones memory sometimes
gives a false picture of what lies ahead. The drive to Marsabit was long and
hard again but not too bad, even though we weren't expecting such a bumpy
ride. Thankfully this time the drive passed without any incident and it was
a much relieved Mufasa and passengers that rolled into Marsabit and the
wonderful Henry's Rest Camp (N2 20.737 E37 57.934). At least when you
retrace earlier steps it is nice to know that there is a good camp waiting
for you. As it had been an early start leaving Moyale we arrived in Marsabit
not long after lunch so there was plenty of time for Sue to catch up with
the washing and for me to do a few jobs on Mufasa and the laptop. By
nightfall we had completed our tasks, eaten well, and stocked up with bread
and cakes from the bakery at the camp. Once again it was a windy night but
at least this time we were expecting it!
Another early start the next morning but a new road to navigate, west to
Lake Turkana and Loiyangalani. When we had filled up Mufasa on arriving in
Marsabit we were given some good advice on which road to take west. The
northern route via North Horr was a no no as apparently there had been some
bandit activity in the area and livestock had been stolen and a few police
and locals killed. Best avoided! So we chose the southern road, which was
about 20km shorter anyway, and it was a great choice. The first few
kilometres out of Marsabit were ugly on the road to Isiolo but we soon made
our turn west and the new road to explore. It had been a cold and misty
start up in the hills of Marsabit but we soon descended down via a lumpy
bumpy lava rock road to the Koroli Dessert. After about 25km of the lava
rocks we were in sand, nice smooth sand. It was a nice change and our first
real adventure across a sandy dessert in Mufasa. I guess it was good that we
enjoyed the experience as we had about 160km of it before we reached the C77
the other side and the road north to Loiyangalani. The down side for us with
the sand was the 'cement dust' sections! Thankfully you can see them coming
but when you hit them you disappear in a huge cloud of very fine dust. Most
of the time we managed to wind the windows up in time, but once or twice we
failed in our efforts. Imagine sitting nice and comfy driving along and then
some bugger chucks a bag of cement in your face thru the window! There were
the odd patches of deep sticky stuff to navigate too but with a bit of
judgement and a good helping of luck we managed to avoid getting stuck. The
dessert was beautiful and it was strange to come across several communities
in the middle of nowhere. What these people do for a living and how they
feed themselves and survive is a mystery to us. It was bad enough just
driving through the place let alone living there! Once at the C77 the road
took us north to Lake Turkana. The first 60km were nice sand with the odd
rock here and there, but then the lava fields started again. It took us
about 90 minutes to drive the last 20km on the rocks! It was a slow and hot
drive on the rocks, but the scenery was absolutely stunning. Again, how
people manage to survive in these conditions is lost on me. The lake is
quite a site when it comes in to view but with the sun high in the sky the
views were a bit hazy, but still spectacular. Loiyangalani is an oasis when
it appears, lush and green with palm trees, quite a change from the rocky
surrounds it sits in. Our stop for the night was the Palm Shade Camp (N2
45.377 E36 43.275) and very nice it was too if a tad pricey. The showers
were cool, well they were actually very warm thanks to the thermal spring
that the water was taken from, natural hot water. We had read that the wind
blows hard from the hills thru the town and it certainly did so that night.
Despite having plenty of shelter from the palm trees we were still rocked
around a fair bit and it took 3 attempts to finally sort out the flysheet to
stop it flapping around.
We had managed to communicate with Rich Kaz and Rebecca via email and SMS
and worked out that paths would cross in a day or so a bit further south at
Lake Bogorio NR. So we left the Palm Shade camp and hit the road south to
Maralal. Once we had renegotiated the 20km of lava rocks the road became
sandy again. The route took us up into the hills again and across the Akirim
Plateau and eventually via a few ups and downs to Maralal and the Yare Camel
Club (N1 03.526 E36 42.650). The good thing about being back in Kenya, apart
from the roads, was being able to camp and cook for ourselves again and the
shops in Maralal, few that they were, filled up the fruit and vegetable
boxes and also our bread and cake supply. The Camel Club, where the annual
Camel Derby is held, was a cool spot and cheap too. Despite having
resupplied we treated ourselves to a few beers and dinner in the restaurant
which was nice and gave Sue a break from the kitchen too! It was a chilly
night up in the tent and the dew in the morning was very heavy so it took a
while to get things dried off before we could hit the road again.
We had arranged to meet up with the Bushcats at a campsite in the Lake
Bogorio NR that day. The drive was good and we made the reserve just after
lunch. It is not the biggest of reserves but it has two attractions,
Flamingos and hot water geysers. The Flamingos were there in quite large
numbers but probably not at their peak and the geysers were great but quite
busy with day trippers. As it was a scorching day we decided to visit the
geysers again in the morning when they would be quieter and pushed on
through the reserve to check out the two campsite options and also try and
locate the Bushcats. Acacia camp was very nice but we needed to check out
Fig Tree Camp as the book had made it sound the better option. The track to
Fig Tree was long, narrow, and rocky. You could almost guarantee that if we
were going to bump into the Bushcats it would be on the track to the camp,
and we did. Thankfully it was only a few meters from the camp and Rich was
able to reverse back otherwise it would have been interesting if we were
half way along with a few km either way for one of us to back up on!! It was
great to catch up with each other again and we soon made tracks to Acacia
Camp as we thought it much nicer, and it was too. We camped right on the
shore of the lake with hundreds of Flamingos for company, and a few thousand
flies too!! Information was shared on our respective trips to Ethiopia and
Uganda and before we knew it the following morning had come and it was time
to go our separate ways again. First we headed off to check out the spouting
geysers and thankfully we had them to ourselves.
The Bushcats then headed north taking the route that we had come, Maralal,
Loiyangalani, Marsabit and then Ethiopia. We headed west and Eldoret. As we
were passing the Kerio Valley / Lake Kamnarock NR we thought we would stop
off and have lunch there. It took an hour to get there from the main road,
only about 25km, and the lake was pretty dry. So a quick lunch was had and
then we backtracked to the main road and continued on our way. Our
destination just west or Eldoret was the Naiberi River Camp and Resort (N0
26.864 E35 25.333). The Bushcats had stayed as had a few other people we had
met and it came highly recommended, and we can see why. The place is great
and we have it to ourselves too! We are in our own pitch with a huge bandas
to use. The facilities are great and there is a swimming pool too! It has
been a great spot to get ourselves sorted out again. The truck has been
cleaned in and out, the washing is again done including the bedding, and
Mufasa has been fixed up. I needed to rotate the tyres as we have done
nearly 15000km on them and the rear tyres are looking a bit sad. The rocky
roads have taken their toll on them and they look like they have been in a
battle zone with chunks missing from the treads. So our two spares are now
into the action. I have also fixed another couple of problems that raised
their heads. On leaving Maralal the Netstar Tracker alarm started to sound
after we went over a heavy bump. I had to cut the earth to the siren as the
remote would not disable the system. All seems ok now and I have rewired the
siren, so fingers crossed. The other problem was the lack of reversing
lights. After checking the fuses and cleaning out the very dusty rear light
clusters the problem was located. The switch that engages the lights when
reverse is selected sits in the side of the gearbox and I think a stone must
have spat up and broken it off. It has been glued back in place but a
replacement will be needed at some point.
We now have to plan our route out of Kenya seeing all we can before crossing
over to Uganda, a place that everyone seems to rave about!
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
One adventure completes and another is restarted
The best made plans and all that. We are now back across the border in Kenya
and our Ethiopian adventure kind of came to a early end. Our plans of
visiting the Omo Valley and the various tribes there came to nothing as we
thought they might. In Arba Minch we enquired at the very helpful tourist
office as to whether a guide was necessary to visit the Omo area and they
suggested it would not be easy visiting without one. Obviously for us with
only 2 seats in Mufasa taking a guide is not really an option, well apart
from having the poor chap sit on the roof rack! The villages we would have
visited are a bit remote and communications with the local people would be
tricky without someone to help. The other big problem is that you get mobbed
by people wanting things from you especially money for taking photographs
and without someone to shield you from the worst of it the experience would
not be great, not that it would be great anyway. We are not comfortable with
the meat market approach to tourism of picking people that you want to
photograph, having them stand where you want them, snapping away, and then
paying for the privilege. It just is not our way of doing things. I know it
is how these people make their living these days as tourism is their only
real income but it just doesn't do it for either of us. So we made the
decision to just aim back to Moyale and cross back to Kenya instead, and if
you want to see pictures of the various colourful tribes from the Omo Valley
then try the internet!
We stayed the night in Arba Minch at the Bekele Mola Hotel (N6 00.317 E37
33.095) camping in their grounds and it was an intoxicating evening, of the
alcoholic type! The alcohol was courtesy of a very nice young couple Wiz and
Juju (not sure if that is how you spell their names so apologies to the two
of you if you get around to reading this) who are on their way to Kenya from
the UK. Juju is Kenyan and is returning home for a while. They should now be
in the Omo Valley but I don't think they had plans of visiting the villages
as they are not into the meat market approach to tourism either!
Before leaving Arba Minch we were very grateful for the services of the
mechanics at the Mekane Yesus Technical College for giving our rear drum
brakes a good clean out. There were making all sorts of nasty noises and had
half of Africa clogging them up!! The college is part of a project run by an
Evangelical Church mission there and they have such a good reputation that
they are affiliated to Toyota in Ethiopia! It was quite an experience having
them do the work and we were charged the outrageous amount of Birr60 (£3)
for the labour, about an hour, oh and at least 10 or 12 keen workers!! Best
£3 I have ever spent.
Our last night in Ethiopia was spent where our first night was, camping in
the grounds of the Yabello motel (N4 53.031 E38 08.414). It was still as
average as it was a few weeks ago but at least the smelly toilet now flushed
and there was water in the tap outside. So good for them, some sort of
progress!! No goats to slaughter this time, just a couple of inquisitive
cows and a donkey. Thankfully the border crossing was a breeze today. No
waiting around for the Ethiopian side to open up as we made sure we were in
Moyale during the opening hours. The Kenyan side was efficient and we were
back at the KWS campsite by midday. So tomorrow its back on the bumpy road
to Marsabit before heading west to Lake Turkana rather than continuing south
to Isiolo.
Our impressions of Ethiopia, an amazing country with so much to offer but
whether it will get there or not who knows. Everything was pretty cheap,
from diesel to food and accommodation. The people were very friendly and
more than willing to help out if needed. The good old Faranji Frenzy was an
experience and pretty amusing most of the time although the constant
attention does get a bit tiring.
N3 31.081 E39 03.007
and our Ethiopian adventure kind of came to a early end. Our plans of
visiting the Omo Valley and the various tribes there came to nothing as we
thought they might. In Arba Minch we enquired at the very helpful tourist
office as to whether a guide was necessary to visit the Omo area and they
suggested it would not be easy visiting without one. Obviously for us with
only 2 seats in Mufasa taking a guide is not really an option, well apart
from having the poor chap sit on the roof rack! The villages we would have
visited are a bit remote and communications with the local people would be
tricky without someone to help. The other big problem is that you get mobbed
by people wanting things from you especially money for taking photographs
and without someone to shield you from the worst of it the experience would
not be great, not that it would be great anyway. We are not comfortable with
the meat market approach to tourism of picking people that you want to
photograph, having them stand where you want them, snapping away, and then
paying for the privilege. It just is not our way of doing things. I know it
is how these people make their living these days as tourism is their only
real income but it just doesn't do it for either of us. So we made the
decision to just aim back to Moyale and cross back to Kenya instead, and if
you want to see pictures of the various colourful tribes from the Omo Valley
then try the internet!
We stayed the night in Arba Minch at the Bekele Mola Hotel (N6 00.317 E37
33.095) camping in their grounds and it was an intoxicating evening, of the
alcoholic type! The alcohol was courtesy of a very nice young couple Wiz and
Juju (not sure if that is how you spell their names so apologies to the two
of you if you get around to reading this) who are on their way to Kenya from
the UK. Juju is Kenyan and is returning home for a while. They should now be
in the Omo Valley but I don't think they had plans of visiting the villages
as they are not into the meat market approach to tourism either!
Before leaving Arba Minch we were very grateful for the services of the
mechanics at the Mekane Yesus Technical College for giving our rear drum
brakes a good clean out. There were making all sorts of nasty noises and had
half of Africa clogging them up!! The college is part of a project run by an
Evangelical Church mission there and they have such a good reputation that
they are affiliated to Toyota in Ethiopia! It was quite an experience having
them do the work and we were charged the outrageous amount of Birr60 (£3)
for the labour, about an hour, oh and at least 10 or 12 keen workers!! Best
£3 I have ever spent.
Our last night in Ethiopia was spent where our first night was, camping in
the grounds of the Yabello motel (N4 53.031 E38 08.414). It was still as
average as it was a few weeks ago but at least the smelly toilet now flushed
and there was water in the tap outside. So good for them, some sort of
progress!! No goats to slaughter this time, just a couple of inquisitive
cows and a donkey. Thankfully the border crossing was a breeze today. No
waiting around for the Ethiopian side to open up as we made sure we were in
Moyale during the opening hours. The Kenyan side was efficient and we were
back at the KWS campsite by midday. So tomorrow its back on the bumpy road
to Marsabit before heading west to Lake Turkana rather than continuing south
to Isiolo.
Our impressions of Ethiopia, an amazing country with so much to offer but
whether it will get there or not who knows. Everything was pretty cheap,
from diesel to food and accommodation. The people were very friendly and
more than willing to help out if needed. The good old Faranji Frenzy was an
experience and pretty amusing most of the time although the constant
attention does get a bit tiring.
N3 31.081 E39 03.007
Preparation for the Final leg of Ethiopia
I must admit that I am feeling a little maxed out on Ethiopia by now.
Whether it is all the driving, the intense scenery, the very filling
national food, or just the constant Faranji (foreigner) fever, I don't know.
Our final leg of our visit here is about to start and it could be the making
or breaking of our experience of this country.
We had just what the doctor ordered at Gorgora, Tim and Kim's project. There
is not much built yet but things take time in Africa. At the moment it is
just a bush camp on the shores of the lake with no facilities and not a soul
around to pester us or demand anything from us, heaven! I also managed to
isolate the windscreen washer relay that I presume is the root of our washer
problem. Now we no longer have the washer facility or intermittent wipe, but
at least the wipers only work when instructed. We will try and get hold of
another relay at some point but if it doesn't get fixed before Johannesburg
then no problem. It was also Paul's birthday so we celebrated late into our
second night by the lake. Sadly the following morning it was time to part
company with Paul and Lizzie as they were Sudan bound and we were heading
south towards Addis. Hopefully at the time of writing this they have
successfully managed to enter Sudan and head towards Egypt. N12 13.691 E37
17.966
Our stopping point on the way back to Addis was Bahir Dar on the southern
shore of Lake Tana and the Ghion Hotel where we camped the night. As for the
town itself, we didn't venture very far but it is a large bustling place and
purely a transit stop for us. N11 35.878 E37 23.155
Our final drive on the northern circuit back to Addis was uneventful and it
was no surprise to us that we were greeted back in Addis with rain. It was
raining when we left two weeks prior and it was wet and gloomy when we
departed for the final time the next morning. After eventually finding Mr
Martin's Cozy Place and being allowed to camp for the night we made our plan
for the next stage of our trip. N9 00.233 E38 46.809
Mufasa was due a service, well mainly an oil change and fuel filter change.
We checked out one option in Addis but they seemed clueless so we decided to
head south to Awassa and see what we could arrange there. The road was good
and there were plenty of overturned trucks and buses along the way, the norm
for Ethiopia. A brief stop in Ziway for lunch, cold pizza and Spriss (a
layered papaya/avocado/mango juice) and Awassa was reached early afternoon.
First stop the Toyota garage to see what they could do for us. Hmmm. Ask
them to do a simple service and they just don't seem to understand. I
eventually managed to get a price out of them despite them just wanting us
to bring the car and then tell us how much after the work had been done! It
all seemed a bit pricey and as I was itching to get my hands dirty I decided
to do the work myself. Thankfully Paul had been very helpful in explaining
some of the routine maintenance jobs to me so I was well armed to tackle the
greasing and other jobs that needed to be done. The fuel filter was a bit of
a pain as whoever had put the last one on had done it far to tight for me to
remove, but thanks to the help of a local mechanic I had it sorted and
replaced in no time. I cleaned the air filter and checked all sorts of
things. The final job of changing the oil was achieved with the help of the
man who is looking after the campsite we are staying at. So hopefully Mufasa
is now fit and healthy for the next onslaught Africa can throw at him. Sue
even gave him a clean, so for the moment at least he looks white and not
muddy brown!
We have had a few relaxing days here at the Adenium Campsite and tomorrow we
head of to the Omo valley and the delights or horrors that it has to offer!
N7 04.564 E38 29.043
Whether it is all the driving, the intense scenery, the very filling
national food, or just the constant Faranji (foreigner) fever, I don't know.
Our final leg of our visit here is about to start and it could be the making
or breaking of our experience of this country.
We had just what the doctor ordered at Gorgora, Tim and Kim's project. There
is not much built yet but things take time in Africa. At the moment it is
just a bush camp on the shores of the lake with no facilities and not a soul
around to pester us or demand anything from us, heaven! I also managed to
isolate the windscreen washer relay that I presume is the root of our washer
problem. Now we no longer have the washer facility or intermittent wipe, but
at least the wipers only work when instructed. We will try and get hold of
another relay at some point but if it doesn't get fixed before Johannesburg
then no problem. It was also Paul's birthday so we celebrated late into our
second night by the lake. Sadly the following morning it was time to part
company with Paul and Lizzie as they were Sudan bound and we were heading
south towards Addis. Hopefully at the time of writing this they have
successfully managed to enter Sudan and head towards Egypt. N12 13.691 E37
17.966
Our stopping point on the way back to Addis was Bahir Dar on the southern
shore of Lake Tana and the Ghion Hotel where we camped the night. As for the
town itself, we didn't venture very far but it is a large bustling place and
purely a transit stop for us. N11 35.878 E37 23.155
Our final drive on the northern circuit back to Addis was uneventful and it
was no surprise to us that we were greeted back in Addis with rain. It was
raining when we left two weeks prior and it was wet and gloomy when we
departed for the final time the next morning. After eventually finding Mr
Martin's Cozy Place and being allowed to camp for the night we made our plan
for the next stage of our trip. N9 00.233 E38 46.809
Mufasa was due a service, well mainly an oil change and fuel filter change.
We checked out one option in Addis but they seemed clueless so we decided to
head south to Awassa and see what we could arrange there. The road was good
and there were plenty of overturned trucks and buses along the way, the norm
for Ethiopia. A brief stop in Ziway for lunch, cold pizza and Spriss (a
layered papaya/avocado/mango juice) and Awassa was reached early afternoon.
First stop the Toyota garage to see what they could do for us. Hmmm. Ask
them to do a simple service and they just don't seem to understand. I
eventually managed to get a price out of them despite them just wanting us
to bring the car and then tell us how much after the work had been done! It
all seemed a bit pricey and as I was itching to get my hands dirty I decided
to do the work myself. Thankfully Paul had been very helpful in explaining
some of the routine maintenance jobs to me so I was well armed to tackle the
greasing and other jobs that needed to be done. The fuel filter was a bit of
a pain as whoever had put the last one on had done it far to tight for me to
remove, but thanks to the help of a local mechanic I had it sorted and
replaced in no time. I cleaned the air filter and checked all sorts of
things. The final job of changing the oil was achieved with the help of the
man who is looking after the campsite we are staying at. So hopefully Mufasa
is now fit and healthy for the next onslaught Africa can throw at him. Sue
even gave him a clean, so for the moment at least he looks white and not
muddy brown!
We have had a few relaxing days here at the Adenium Campsite and tomorrow we
head of to the Omo valley and the delights or horrors that it has to offer!
N7 04.564 E38 29.043
The scenic but very wet Historic Ethiopian Highlands
It seems strange now but we are kind of heading for home. Our most northern
point on the trip has been passed and the road leads us south, eventually!
We had a pleasant surprise at dinner on our last night in Lalibela. Paul and
Lizzie strolled in to the restaurant that we were eating at, small world.
They had seen Mufasa at our hotel but weren't staying there as they had
found an alternative, so they left a message for us at reception just in
case we didn't bump into each other. We had a nice evening together and
breakfast the following morning before Sue and I set off north and they
stayed to see the churches. We made a plan to meet up in the next town on
the route, Mekele.
On our way to Mekele we stopped off to see another church, one that we had
been told about by our guide in Lalibela. It was quite a detour from our
route on a slow bumpy rocky road but the church was quite impressive, built
in a huge cave, and supported on wooden beams covered in straw that held it
above the water in the cave's bottom. After returning to the main road we
continued on what we had been led to believe would be an easy 6 hour drive
from Lalibela to Mekele. Not quite right. The road ambles through
spectacular scenery and mountains. It climbs up then drops down before
climbing back up again etc. It was slow going at times even though it was a
pretty good gravel track. Mufasa doesn't do hills at speed so 1st and 2nd
gears were given a good test. Eventually we made it to the main north south
road from Addis to Aksum which is very good tarmac and we thought we would
be able to speed on thru the final 150km or so. Little did we know that
there were still several high passes to climb over which even on a good
tarmac road still takes plenty of time and more use of 1st and 2nd gears.
Mufasa especially hates the combination of steep hills, high altitude
(always over 2000m and up to 3500m), and crap diesel! Thankfully the road
was pretty quiet and the rain held off but it was still pretty gloomy in the
dark and misty mountains. We arrived in Mekele just before 21h00 and managed
to find a nice hotel, the Hill Top, to stay at and thankfully the restaurant
didn't close until 22h00 so we managed to fill our bellies after the long
drive before collapsing into bed for a much needed rest. N13 30.116 E39
29.185
The next morning we headed into town to find an internet cafe to email Paul
and Lizzie the name of our hotel so that we could meet up later that day
once they had made the long haul from Lalibela. One problem, the local phone
lines were down, so no internet anywhere in town, bugger. We would have to
try early the next morning to see if we could catch them. We spent the
afternoon back in our hotel room watching TV, as it was a bit soggy outside
with several heavy downpours. First thing the next day we did a tour of the
local hotels to try and locate Paul and Lizzie, no luck. The phone lines
were back so we tried the internet and there was an email from them saying
they were heading off to Adigrat as they hadn't heard from us. It had only
just been sent so we emailed them to see if they were still online. Luckily
they were and we drove across town to meet up.
After a meagre breakfast of coffee and cake we all set off for Adigrat. Our
route took us through the area of the Tigray churches. We planned to see a
few of them, which we managed, but it was quite an adventure. Not long after
leaving the main road we were mobbed by locals, one of which agreed to guide
us around a few churches for a small fee and also to find the priests with
the keys for each of the churches we would visit. The 3 churches we managed
to see were pretty amazing. We had the guide and priests hanging off our
trucks at one point to transport them around with us. Roof racks and running
boards come in pretty handy at times like this. Unfortunately the heavens
opened at the third church and we all got pretty wet getting back to the
trucks, but not as wet as the guys who were hanging on to the side of the
trucks on the way back to drop them off! The priest from the final church
was hanging off my side of Mufasa and he looked a touch damp and muddy by
the time we got him back to his house, poor chap.
Now we have been fortunate not to have had any real problems with Mufasa so
far, apart from the two punctures. So when our first issue arose it was a
bit annoying. Northern Ethiopia is pretty (extremely!) wet at this time of
year especially up in the highlands so the last thing you want to fail is
your windscreen wipers! We were heading to Adigrat in the rain and suddenly
the windscreen washer came on uninvited and soon ran out of water. The rain
had been pouring down but thankfully it stopped and we were able to
disconnect the washer motor to stop it burning out, but the wipers would not
stop when the ignition was switched on so the fuse had to be removed. If the
wipers were needed the fuse had to be reinserted again and then removed when
it was dry, which we did a few times before we eventually made Adigrat. Now
the strange thing is that the fuse for the wipers also seems to be the fuse
for the speedo and the odometer! Yep you read correct. With the fuse out the
speedo and odometer do not function. By design I don't know but if you want
to keep your Land Cruiser mileage down and you don't need windscreen wipers
then you know what to try! Me, I am too honest for that sort of game! We
checked into the Hohoma Hotel in Adigrat as Sue had been wanting to stay
there after reading the great review of the hotel in our guidebook, and it
didn't disappoint. The only problem we had was the pesky kids trying to wash
our trucks despite us telling them several times to leave them alone. I know
they are just trying to earn a few pennies but they clean them, with a mucky
sponge and gritty water, and then demand money from you even though you
never invited them to clean them in the first place. One of the waitresses
from the hotel gave them a mouth full at one point and they finally left.
N14 16.771 E39 27.662
The next destination on the historic tour was Aksum via the monastery of
Debre Damo. It is a men only destination up on the side of a rocky hill in
northern Ethiopia. You walk up to the base of a 15m sheer rock face and get
hoisted up to the monastery by the priests on a very iffy looking rope
around your waist. Well that is the theory at least. In the end Paul and I
didn't make it that far. Despite our guide books saying the fee for the
monastery including the hoist was Birr50 they wouldn't budge on demanding
Birr130 each. It may not seem like much money, about £7, but they were
trying to rip us off so we told them to forget it. As I keep telling some of
the locals in this country 'we may have a white face but we aint stupid!' It
was a shame not to do the hoist and see the monastery but it's a matter of
principles. They rip us off and then charge even more for the next person,
sod em! Instead we motored off to Aksum and the amazing Stelae fields. We
arrived late afternoon after more hills and windscreen wiper stops, so we
only had time for a few jobs before the evening and the torrential downpour.
The Kaleb hotel was letting us camp in their grounds but after 30 minutes of
very heavy wind and rain Paul and Lizzie's tent was drenched, but luckily we
hadn't put ours up, so we took rooms instead. N14 07.349 E38 43.387
The next morning and it was time to see the sights of Aksum. What can I say?
Amazing, breathtaking, awe-inspiring? None of the above! Despite all the
hype in the guidebooks we were all very disappointed with what we saw. The
biggest Stelae, that the Italians nicked and are now reinstating, is covered
in scaffolding and the rest is either poorly looked after or except one of
the tombs locked. The cheek is that you pay to go into the area of the
Stelae but in fact you could actually just stand outside and see most of it
for free. The Stelae in case you don't know are large obelisks that were
hewn out of rock and erected at some point during the time of the Aksum
civilisation that arose around 400BC to over thousand years later. Obviously
this is impressive in itself, but as a UNESCO site it is severely lacking.
So a little disappointed we hit the road to Debark, the gateway to the
Simien NP. We arrived late, in the dark, and the rain. Why? More very
scenic, wet and muddy roads. Good fun to drive but very tiring and slow
going, oh and more windscreen wiper stops. Thankfully the Simien Park hotel
in town, when we eventually found it, was pretty new and the rooms were nice
and clean. Sue and I had originally planned to head into the Simien NP but
we needed to take a guard with us, no room, and the weather was crap, so we
decided that in the morning we would continue on to Gonder with Paul and
Lizzie. N13 09.160 E37 53.910
Thankfully Debark to Gonder was a short drive by comparison to some of the
long hauls we had recently done. Now Gonder is the real deal. The Belegez
Pension was a delightful place to rest for the night and enable us to check
out the town and its historic sights. We were fortunate to bump into a Dutch
couple, Tim and Kim, at the Belegez. They live in Ethiopia down at Gorgora
on the north shore of Lake Tana, about 70km from Gonder. I would have to say
that they are a very courageous couple, in that they are setting up a new
campsite on the lake as a charitable trust for the locals in the village.
Their aim is to have everything complete within 5 years and then leave it
for the locals to run when they head back to Holland. Now whether it will be
run or ruined after they have departed who knows. Anyway we took GPS
coordinates from them and made a plan to visit after Gonder. Our host at the
Belegez, Felamon, agreed to be our tour guide for Gonder. The main
attraction in town is the Royal Enclosure and Fasilidas' Palace, a
collection of castles/palaces built in the 17th centaury by the various
rulers of both Ethiopia and the local districts. In a way it was just like a
visit to a very English castle but set in the depths of the Ethiopian
Highlands, but very impressive and pleasant none the less. Felamon was very
knowledgeable and blew our brains with all the information he had to offer.
We also managed a visit to Fasilidas' Baths and also the mightily impressive
Debre Berhan Selessie Church before we set off late afternoon to find Tim
and Kim's project at Gorgora.
N12 36.631 E37 28.323
point on the trip has been passed and the road leads us south, eventually!
We had a pleasant surprise at dinner on our last night in Lalibela. Paul and
Lizzie strolled in to the restaurant that we were eating at, small world.
They had seen Mufasa at our hotel but weren't staying there as they had
found an alternative, so they left a message for us at reception just in
case we didn't bump into each other. We had a nice evening together and
breakfast the following morning before Sue and I set off north and they
stayed to see the churches. We made a plan to meet up in the next town on
the route, Mekele.
On our way to Mekele we stopped off to see another church, one that we had
been told about by our guide in Lalibela. It was quite a detour from our
route on a slow bumpy rocky road but the church was quite impressive, built
in a huge cave, and supported on wooden beams covered in straw that held it
above the water in the cave's bottom. After returning to the main road we
continued on what we had been led to believe would be an easy 6 hour drive
from Lalibela to Mekele. Not quite right. The road ambles through
spectacular scenery and mountains. It climbs up then drops down before
climbing back up again etc. It was slow going at times even though it was a
pretty good gravel track. Mufasa doesn't do hills at speed so 1st and 2nd
gears were given a good test. Eventually we made it to the main north south
road from Addis to Aksum which is very good tarmac and we thought we would
be able to speed on thru the final 150km or so. Little did we know that
there were still several high passes to climb over which even on a good
tarmac road still takes plenty of time and more use of 1st and 2nd gears.
Mufasa especially hates the combination of steep hills, high altitude
(always over 2000m and up to 3500m), and crap diesel! Thankfully the road
was pretty quiet and the rain held off but it was still pretty gloomy in the
dark and misty mountains. We arrived in Mekele just before 21h00 and managed
to find a nice hotel, the Hill Top, to stay at and thankfully the restaurant
didn't close until 22h00 so we managed to fill our bellies after the long
drive before collapsing into bed for a much needed rest. N13 30.116 E39
29.185
The next morning we headed into town to find an internet cafe to email Paul
and Lizzie the name of our hotel so that we could meet up later that day
once they had made the long haul from Lalibela. One problem, the local phone
lines were down, so no internet anywhere in town, bugger. We would have to
try early the next morning to see if we could catch them. We spent the
afternoon back in our hotel room watching TV, as it was a bit soggy outside
with several heavy downpours. First thing the next day we did a tour of the
local hotels to try and locate Paul and Lizzie, no luck. The phone lines
were back so we tried the internet and there was an email from them saying
they were heading off to Adigrat as they hadn't heard from us. It had only
just been sent so we emailed them to see if they were still online. Luckily
they were and we drove across town to meet up.
After a meagre breakfast of coffee and cake we all set off for Adigrat. Our
route took us through the area of the Tigray churches. We planned to see a
few of them, which we managed, but it was quite an adventure. Not long after
leaving the main road we were mobbed by locals, one of which agreed to guide
us around a few churches for a small fee and also to find the priests with
the keys for each of the churches we would visit. The 3 churches we managed
to see were pretty amazing. We had the guide and priests hanging off our
trucks at one point to transport them around with us. Roof racks and running
boards come in pretty handy at times like this. Unfortunately the heavens
opened at the third church and we all got pretty wet getting back to the
trucks, but not as wet as the guys who were hanging on to the side of the
trucks on the way back to drop them off! The priest from the final church
was hanging off my side of Mufasa and he looked a touch damp and muddy by
the time we got him back to his house, poor chap.
Now we have been fortunate not to have had any real problems with Mufasa so
far, apart from the two punctures. So when our first issue arose it was a
bit annoying. Northern Ethiopia is pretty (extremely!) wet at this time of
year especially up in the highlands so the last thing you want to fail is
your windscreen wipers! We were heading to Adigrat in the rain and suddenly
the windscreen washer came on uninvited and soon ran out of water. The rain
had been pouring down but thankfully it stopped and we were able to
disconnect the washer motor to stop it burning out, but the wipers would not
stop when the ignition was switched on so the fuse had to be removed. If the
wipers were needed the fuse had to be reinserted again and then removed when
it was dry, which we did a few times before we eventually made Adigrat. Now
the strange thing is that the fuse for the wipers also seems to be the fuse
for the speedo and the odometer! Yep you read correct. With the fuse out the
speedo and odometer do not function. By design I don't know but if you want
to keep your Land Cruiser mileage down and you don't need windscreen wipers
then you know what to try! Me, I am too honest for that sort of game! We
checked into the Hohoma Hotel in Adigrat as Sue had been wanting to stay
there after reading the great review of the hotel in our guidebook, and it
didn't disappoint. The only problem we had was the pesky kids trying to wash
our trucks despite us telling them several times to leave them alone. I know
they are just trying to earn a few pennies but they clean them, with a mucky
sponge and gritty water, and then demand money from you even though you
never invited them to clean them in the first place. One of the waitresses
from the hotel gave them a mouth full at one point and they finally left.
N14 16.771 E39 27.662
The next destination on the historic tour was Aksum via the monastery of
Debre Damo. It is a men only destination up on the side of a rocky hill in
northern Ethiopia. You walk up to the base of a 15m sheer rock face and get
hoisted up to the monastery by the priests on a very iffy looking rope
around your waist. Well that is the theory at least. In the end Paul and I
didn't make it that far. Despite our guide books saying the fee for the
monastery including the hoist was Birr50 they wouldn't budge on demanding
Birr130 each. It may not seem like much money, about £7, but they were
trying to rip us off so we told them to forget it. As I keep telling some of
the locals in this country 'we may have a white face but we aint stupid!' It
was a shame not to do the hoist and see the monastery but it's a matter of
principles. They rip us off and then charge even more for the next person,
sod em! Instead we motored off to Aksum and the amazing Stelae fields. We
arrived late afternoon after more hills and windscreen wiper stops, so we
only had time for a few jobs before the evening and the torrential downpour.
The Kaleb hotel was letting us camp in their grounds but after 30 minutes of
very heavy wind and rain Paul and Lizzie's tent was drenched, but luckily we
hadn't put ours up, so we took rooms instead. N14 07.349 E38 43.387
The next morning and it was time to see the sights of Aksum. What can I say?
Amazing, breathtaking, awe-inspiring? None of the above! Despite all the
hype in the guidebooks we were all very disappointed with what we saw. The
biggest Stelae, that the Italians nicked and are now reinstating, is covered
in scaffolding and the rest is either poorly looked after or except one of
the tombs locked. The cheek is that you pay to go into the area of the
Stelae but in fact you could actually just stand outside and see most of it
for free. The Stelae in case you don't know are large obelisks that were
hewn out of rock and erected at some point during the time of the Aksum
civilisation that arose around 400BC to over thousand years later. Obviously
this is impressive in itself, but as a UNESCO site it is severely lacking.
So a little disappointed we hit the road to Debark, the gateway to the
Simien NP. We arrived late, in the dark, and the rain. Why? More very
scenic, wet and muddy roads. Good fun to drive but very tiring and slow
going, oh and more windscreen wiper stops. Thankfully the Simien Park hotel
in town, when we eventually found it, was pretty new and the rooms were nice
and clean. Sue and I had originally planned to head into the Simien NP but
we needed to take a guard with us, no room, and the weather was crap, so we
decided that in the morning we would continue on to Gonder with Paul and
Lizzie. N13 09.160 E37 53.910
Thankfully Debark to Gonder was a short drive by comparison to some of the
long hauls we had recently done. Now Gonder is the real deal. The Belegez
Pension was a delightful place to rest for the night and enable us to check
out the town and its historic sights. We were fortunate to bump into a Dutch
couple, Tim and Kim, at the Belegez. They live in Ethiopia down at Gorgora
on the north shore of Lake Tana, about 70km from Gonder. I would have to say
that they are a very courageous couple, in that they are setting up a new
campsite on the lake as a charitable trust for the locals in the village.
Their aim is to have everything complete within 5 years and then leave it
for the locals to run when they head back to Holland. Now whether it will be
run or ruined after they have departed who knows. Anyway we took GPS
coordinates from them and made a plan to visit after Gonder. Our host at the
Belegez, Felamon, agreed to be our tour guide for Gonder. The main
attraction in town is the Royal Enclosure and Fasilidas' Palace, a
collection of castles/palaces built in the 17th centaury by the various
rulers of both Ethiopia and the local districts. In a way it was just like a
visit to a very English castle but set in the depths of the Ethiopian
Highlands, but very impressive and pleasant none the less. Felamon was very
knowledgeable and blew our brains with all the information he had to offer.
We also managed a visit to Fasilidas' Baths and also the mightily impressive
Debre Berhan Selessie Church before we set off late afternoon to find Tim
and Kim's project at Gorgora.
N12 36.631 E37 28.323
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