There ensued two days of road travel. So much of Ugandan life plays out beside the roads that this provides remarkable insight. The locals I’m sure are as fond of having cameras waved in their faces as I would be – the result is a contest between any sensitivity one has and the temptation to capture the rich and exotic otherness of Africa. The unease created probably explains why I don’t go in for street photography in Oz either.
Our destination on day one was Kampala and the perfectly international Metropole Hotel. No distrurbances tolerated here.
A Nile Special, some freshly roasted ground-nuts lightly flavoured with garlic and a wide choice of cuisine, very gracious service. I recommend it highly.
The following morning we caught up with our favorite bird guide Prossy Nanyombi. She had shown us the Shoebill and Papyrus Gonolek the previous year and left us with a lasting impression of a somewhat stern but capable professionalism. We’d contacted Prossy first when we were planning the trip and she’d put us in contact with Avian Safaris, one of several companies that she does some work for. We were soon on the road, Tony at the wheel.
Kampala is simply krazy. And in the rain even more so. Its population is somewhere in the vicinity 2 million. The road rules are as much a puzzle to me as Australian Rules Football would be to a Boda Boda rider although the results are very similar …
Kampala has been declared the most fun, friendly, and affordable capital in East Africa. If you are going to spend any time there you should probably learn why not to wear yellow or light blue (especially at election time). Yes there are elections, it’s just not how they choose their presidents. These and other important facts can be found <HERE>.
The traffic is, and there’s nothing you can do about that. Meditate. And eventually it goes away, left behind, waiting for your return!
The city gives way to towns and then villages …
Towards sun down and under a threatening sky we arrived at Pian Upe. It’s a game reserve rather than a National Park. It’s in the north-east of Uganda not far from the Kenya Border. It’s beautiful and it’s nothing like Budongo.
bobmcgee 