Girls really enjoyed getting up at 6am to go back into the park for an early morning lion spot. Lots of waterbuck, kob and warthog but 2 hours later those pesky lions were still hiding. However we did get a great view of a hippo walking back to the lake to join its mates. I am guessing it was a Mr Greedy hippo who was stretching his feeding time to the max.
We stopped off at the tiny fishing village of Kasenyi where we chatted and brought fresh veg from a tiny local shop. We saw hippos in the lake and shared biscuits with the sweetest children. People here still have very little but it’s a degree or 2 less desperate than DRC. The children want to walk with you and hold your hand but they don’t ask for anything and when you do offer biscuits you don’t worry about disappearing under a raging mob of children. Nonetheless in their ragged assortment of clothes with the tiniest of frames it’s hard not to dwell on the imbalance of wealth.
Later in the day we visited the town of Kasese where the local market was in full flow. It is surprisingly easy to self cater here but shopping isn’t a quick trip. Local stalls sell the best fresh produce but they all sell different things so you have to visit several and have a chat in each one about where you come from and how you like Uganda. Then you have to go to one or two tiny supermarkets to pick up things like pasta, milk, and cereals. It’s all an experience and I have rustled up a few lovely dinners.
Final jaunt of the day was a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel . Drew drove us there and managed to collect the first speeding ticket of the holiday. This is impressive as Geoff has usually clocked up at least one by this stage of the holiday. In her defence Geoff had told her not to worry about the signs as everyone else appeared to be ignoring them, in reality perhaps I should have sat in the front and supervised. The traffic policeman was very nice about it and was most concerned that we should not think badly of his country as a result. However he was not as nice as the army guy with him who said she was only young and had to learn about these things so he decided no fine!!! Only in Africa.
The boat trip runs along the Kazinga channel for 32k joining Lake George and Lake Edward. It was a long lazy trip with just the 4 of us on a small boat. The evening light was beautiful and we came very close to several schools of hippo cooling in the river. The guide was great, lots of information about the wildlife but not too much tourist spiel. The driver had a disconcerting habit of chatting on his mobile whilst drifting towards the hippos. On one occasion the alpha male decided to run/swim towards us in a less than friendly manner and I managed to just about contain my desire to scream “put the bloody phone down and get away from that hippo you fool” into a mere sharp intake of breath and a slight girly squeak. Our guide chuckled and said “it’s OK we are quite safe”. Try telling that to the 13 people in Niger who died when a hippo attacked their boat!
The main attraction were the hippos but just as good were the birds along the bank, we spotted 3 species of kingfishers, cormorants, storks and best of all, African fish eagles. A crocodile on the bank was obligingly still as she was protecting her eggs nearby. As the trip drew to a close, phone man received a call and we sped back to the other bank to see a couple of elephants bathing in the river. Perfect end to the day.
Pirate Travels 