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Semliki – So What?

By on 19. August 2011 in Uganda
Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica Regulorum), also called "The Pride of Uganda", Bigodi Wetland, near Kibale Forest, West Uganda, Africa

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica Regulorum), also called “The Pride of Uganda”, Bigodi Wetland, near Kibale Forest, West Uganda, Africa

Semliki makes you sweat! The sudden difference in temperature when driving down from chilly Fort Portal is overwhelming. With 660 meters above sea level, it was the lowest point we reached in Uganda. Known for its vast variety of birds, Semliki National Park has attracted an increasing, but still small number of nature lovers. In 2010, about 3.000 visitors were counted. These include lots of local school kids, who primarily come to see the hot springs. We shared the mini – geysers with such a group, about 100 teenagers from a Muslim private school. Even with whiffs of scorching hot steam blowing into their faces, they were incredibly well behaved: none of the pushing and shouting you would observe in our country. None of us questioned the guide’s argument that you can cook an egg in boiling water in six minutes. Continue Reading →

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Monkey Business Goes Eco

By on 18. August 2011 in Uganda
Black and White Colobus Monkey (Colobus guereza), Bigodi Wetland, near Kibale Rainforest, North Uganda, Africa

Black and White Colobus Monkey (Colobus guereza), Bigodi Wetland, near Kibale Rainforest, North Uganda, Africa

Kibale Rain Forest has turned into a very successful ecotourism project that benefits all parties involved. The animals of course, the marveling visitors and the community, which receives all the income from the budding grass root tourism initiated back in 1992. Neighboring Bigodi Wetland, a high altitude swamp, hosts a large population of different kinds of monkeys and lots of birds. The local celebrity is the Great Blue Turaco. In flight its bright blue feather show best and give it a truly majestic look. Continue Reading →

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Gourmet Food And A Bit Of Safari Feel

By on 17. August 2011 in Uganda
Sunset over Mountain of the Moon Lodge, Fort Portal, North Uganda, Africa

Sunset over Mountain of the Moon Lodge, Fort Portal, North Uganda, Africa

Not only chimps find yummy food in Kibale, also the visiting tourists. As soon as we arrived at the Kibale Forest Camp, the dinner menu was cited to us and our taste buds jumped in action, only to be forced to wait another couple of hours. These can be spent following a short walk around the camp or listening to the singing of the village children. The chef’s creations at the Kibale Forest Camp will not be forgotten, especially the chocolate cake, our first sweet dish in Uganda. In the nicely decorated restaurant, a large Belgium family celebrated the birthday of one of their many children. It meant more cake for us, when the staff surprised the happy teenager with a big cake and a cheerful “Happy Birthday”. Continue Reading →

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Kibale Rainforest – Chimps Are A Lot Like Us

By on 17. August 2011 in Uganda
Alpha Male Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes), Kibale Rainforest, North Uganda, Africa

Alpha Male Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes), Kibale Rainforest, North Uganda, Africa

Kibale Rainforest is promoted as the best place for tracking chimpanzees in Africa. For us, it was definitely the easiest! After a short but brisk walk along a well trodden path, a large Chimpanzee family was thrashing through the trees and bushes, ripping off leaves, jumping, climbing, grooming each other or simply looking at us. An alpha male was sitting in a tree fork, waiting for a female (which was very obvious!), and studied us in a rather oblivious manner. The lady never came and eventually he trotted off to the clicking of our cameras. Continue Reading →

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Hard Work For Little Money

By on 16. August 2011 in Uganda

Eucalyptus Turned Charcoal & Tea Picking

Tea Picking, West Uganda, Africa

Tea Picking, West Uganda, Africa

On one of our strolls in the hills around Lake Bunyonyi, we came across three young men neatly stacking newly cut eucalyptus trees. Five days of work had gone into cutting down the trees and piling up the stack, they told us. Adding that now they had to cover it with soil and set in on fire. After another five day this would produce 35 bags of precious charcoal. The guys, by pointing at a large piece of burned slope stressed how important it was to guard the smoldering fire. Others had obviously been less careful! The charcoal maker pay the owner of the plot for cutting down the trees, but searing the grass would add to their bill. Continue Reading →

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Queen Elisabeth National Park

By on 16. August 2011 in Uganda
Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus Amphibius), Queen Elisabeth National Park, West Uganda, Africa

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus Amphibius), Queen Elisabeth National Park, West Uganda, Africa

The scenery is spectacular and unique, green islands seem to float in the golden colored savannah plains. At a closer look, these are dense shrubs surrounding a cactus tree. In the early morning with the mist nestled in-between, this view was quite mystical. Continue Reading →

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Getting Medical Help In Rural Uganda – A Drama In Three Acts!

By on 15. August 2011 in Uganda
Gilles & Dr. Williams at Kagando Hospital on the Congolese border, North Uganda

Gilles & Dr. Williams at Kagando Hospital on the Congolese border, North Uganda

1) The night after the gorilla trek, Gilles woke up in terrible pain. His left eye was swollen and awfully red. As soon as it got light we asked one of the awakening drivers to take us to the village hospital in Buhoma. Our arrival caught the only person on duty, a sturdy nurse, by surprise. She left to get help.

We waited in the doctor’s office, a two by two meter room, with a few pieces of old wooden furniture. Lots of faded sheets of paper tucked to walls and doors gave instructions as what to do when bricked by needles or how to recognize Ebola. The only items that reminded us of a hospital were neatly wrapped syringes. On two small cupboards it said “Medication”. Those were locked with a padlock. The strangest thing was a filing cabinet with lots of faded forms meant to transfer patients to labs or an x-ray, etc… Where could those facilities possibly be? Continue Reading →

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Buhoma Highlights – Fiction & Reality

By on 14. August 2011 in Uganda
Large tea plantations, a few on flat terrains, but most sneaking up hills, are another common sight in Uganda. The different green of the leaves make them pleasant eye-catchers. West Uganda, Africa

Large tea plantations, a few on flat terrains, but most sneaking up hills, are another common sight in Uganda. The different green of the leaves make them pleasant eye-catchers. West Uganda, Africa

Our room at Bwindi View Camp desperately needed an overhaul. However, the staff was lovely and the food ok. The best place was the restaurant’s terrace, the perfect place to mingle. Either we were competing with Italians for the best photos of the many birds in the surrounding trees or were queuing for a plug in the jungle of mobiles, cameras or laptops near the only power outlet. Continue Reading →

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Meeting The Habinyanja Family

By on 13. August 2011 in Uganda
Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Beringei), Family Habinyanja, Makara, the Silver Back, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, West Uganda, Africa

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Beringei), Family Habinyanja, Makara, the Silver Back, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, West Uganda, Africa

High above our heads they were, up in the trees, loudly ripping off the leaves and moving swiftly from one branch to another. This was a surprise to us: all the pictures we had seen showed relaxed gorillas sitting on the ground surrounded by juicy, leafy vegetation.

Pieces of wood came raining down on us. It was more an acoustic entertainment than a visual one, since we could barely see them. But they must have felt like pleasing us and moved on to a clearing where they settled in the high grass. Continue Reading →

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Bwindi Rainforest

By on 13. August 2011 in Uganda

Home Of Uganda’s Last Mountain Gorillas

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Beringei), Family Habinyanja, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, West Uganda, Africa

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Beringei), Family Habinyanja, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, West Uganda, Africa

Rain set in once we arrived in the small village of Buhoma, site of the National Park’s headquarters. This worried us endlessly: trekking through the forest is difficult enough, but in ankle-deep mud? Besides, Gorillas do not like rain and hide in the dense forest. Even if you find them, making decent photos would be simply impossible. In the grotty, horrible room of the Bwindi View Camp, we hoped for decent weather for the next morning. Continue Reading →

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