Uganda and Rwanda - Kampala, Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
It wasn’t far into Uganda that we noticed the landscape starting to change. We had already seen plantain trees, but now there were many more. Uganda is the biggest producer of plantain in the world. We also noticed that the dwellings were now round mud huts with thatched roofs, the vegetation was greener and the landscape became more hilly. There were rice paddies and some sort of bean that they lay out in the sun to dry. Many kids waved at us - I don’t know why they were so excited but they would shout out and wave madly, most with big smiles. Some didn’t react, but others stared openly, which was amusing too. We noticed less kids in school uniform compared to Kenya – in the latter school is compulsory but it’s not enforced in Uganda. I spent most of the bus ride waving at kids and trying to take photos of the scenery as it flashed past. By mid-afternoon we arrived in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and stopped for half an hour for money and supplies. Unfortunately Barclays Bank’s ATM swallowed Nath’s ING card so we had a brief period of urgency trying to get it back within the time we had there, and luckily the bank staff obliged. We set up camp at a place called Red Chilli in the north of Kampala and really only had time for our feet in their tiny pool before my group was needed to help with preparing dinner. (We were on a roster system).
It was an early start again for the long drive to Lake Bunyonyi, in the Ugandan highlands. We passed more villages, farmland, waving and smiling children and market stalls, with runners trying to sell bananas, pineapples, meat skewers and soft drinks. As we drove, the landscape became more mountainous. We stopped in Kabale for money and so the cook could get more supplies, then our trip continued up a bumpy gravel road, passing people and even young kids digging quarry stones high up the side of the mountain, which was quite sad to see. Finally we arrived at Lake Bunyonyi, a beautiful Volcanic lake that was crocodile, hippo and bilharzia (worm) free.
Nath and I decided to upgrade to a room with a shower and toilet and a little balcony with a view over a beautiful part of the lake. We noticed that it was cooler at night so we were glad to have a proper bed and extra blankets.
The next day was the day we’d been waiting for, and were even on this part of the trip for - trekking to see the mountain gorillas in the famous Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. On the road by 5am, our bumpy two-hour ride in a minivan jolted us into staying awake, and as we wound up the road into the mountains we stopped at an amazing viewpoint to see the mist-shrouded mountains which stretched as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo. When we arrived at the national park, we were split into two groups, as only eight people are allowed with each group of gorillas, for 1 hour per day. Our group was going to visit the Oruzogo group of gorillas. We had a short briefing with our guide, David, and then he disappeared and we sat around talking for about an hour, wondering why we didn’t get going. Eventually the park rangers came out and addressed our two groups and said that there was a problem with our permits, they were trying to sort it out and we could probably trek tomorrow. We were all very dismayed after being keen and ready to go and up for hours. We said we’d be happy to wait, but usually they sent the trekkers out by 9am at the latest and it was after that already. Meanwhile back at camp, our tour guide Justus was on the phone to the head office in Kampala to find out what had happened. Apparently the relevant Ugandan Government Department had accepted our group’s money but hadn’t processed it, even though they had issued the permits. We suspect something dodgy was going on somewhere along the line, but luckily it was all sorted out in the end and they allowed us to set out trekking at about 10.30am.
After a few kilometres further in the minivan, we alighted and made our way along an improvised track down quite a steep hill into a small gully, then up the other side. We had only walked for about ten minutes when we saw our first gorilla as they had sent the scouts ahead because of the mix-up. The first one we saw was a young male called Muntu, who apparently likes people, and actually followed us down the trail as we moved towards the group. We saw two more young males chomping on wood and playing on a vine, then a bit further on we saw the silverback who was massive!
There was also a group of females holed up underneath a fallen tree. Three of the females had 1-year-old babies that were so cute. We couldn’t get closer than seven metres, not only for our safety but because humans can transmit diseases to them. We got some decent photos though, and witnessed the females reprimanding the young males. Eventually they all moved out of the hollow and we could see one of the babies swinging around on a vine. It started tormenting the other nearby baby, who then started play fighting and biting each other, which was pretty cute and amusing to watch. We trailed the group through the jungle further, which was quite challenging with no trails and many vines and trees to get through. We descended further in to the valley and watched a couple springing around on fallen trees, then it was time to head back. We had seen about 20 gorillas out of the group of 22 so we were all thrilled and happy we’d been able to walk and have such a successful visit. On the way back we enjoyed the views of the forest and mountains, and once we left the park, farms, banana plantations and stepped terraces growing crops. Lots of people waved again and it felt like really rural Uganda. Back at camp, everyone was hot so we all went swimming in the fresh water lake, which felt great, and had a relaxing evening. Everyone was pretty tired so we hit the sack early.
Six of us had decided to take up the option of a side-excursion to Rwanda for the day, given we were only a few hours away and the country has such an interesting and tragic history. Coby, Jill, Sarah, Naomi, Nath and I set off at 6am with our mini van driver for the day, Isa.
It was still pitch black down the bumpy road and Kabale looked like a ghost town as we drove through in the fog, with random lone figures walking on the side of the road. It was about 45 minutes to the border, where we briefly thought we might have an issue for not applying three days earlier due to no Internet access. The official at the border wasn’t happy but thankfully let us through. We descended into a lovely, lush valley featuring more stepped hillsides, tea plantations and rice paddies, as the road wound through small villages. It was a beautiful drive and we were impressed with the country from the get-go.
It took about another 90 minutes to reach Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Unlike Nairobi and Kampala, it was very clean, tidy and tree-lined, with minimal traffic congestion. Apparently after the genocide in 1994, the international community felt guilty for not stepping in to help Rwanda sooner, and donated quite a lot of money for better infrastructure and public projects.
Our first stop was 30km south of the city at a place called Nmata Church, which was the site of a horrific massacre during the war. It’s now a memorial, and a guide explained how the people from the Tutsis thought they were safe in the church but the Hutu Interahamwe military army came and killed people with machetes, guns, grenades, and simply bashed the children’s heads against the wall to kill them because they didn’t want to waste bullets. The skulls and bones are lined up on display. Another nearby building was set on fire, and everything has been left as it was, half burnt. It was very confronting. We left a donation to the upkeep of the site and soberly headed back to Kigali, where we visited the Kigali Memorial Centre.
There we got an audio guide to help us understand the displays better, but many of the signs were also in English. We read and heard about how the Belgian and German governments started classifying the Hutus and the Tutsis many decades ago, which started tribal tensions where there were previously none. The displays explained how successive governments portrayed the Tutsis as lesser people through propaganda, and how eventually the president was targeted in a plane crash on the way home from Tanzania which allowed the Interahamwe army to launch a full assault on the Tutsis. It was heartbreaking to read the details of the brutality they used, including torture, humiliation and rape. Many of the Interwahme had HIV, leaving a lasting legacy for many Rwandan women still dying from it today. They had no mercy for children, and turned neighbour against neighbour, even killing moderate Hutus or those who objected to the war. There was a room full of photos of people who had died in the massacre (over 1 million throughout Rwanda), and also a room of a selection of children’s stories and photos. For somebody who has grown up in Australia, it is incomprehensible to me how people could act in these ways, but it made me appreciate how lucky I am. It was an upsetting but educational experience.
We were all quite somber afterwards, so we had a quick look in the memorial garden, then decided to get some lunch and gain another perspective on the country. Isa took us to a little place on the hillside looking down one of the main roads, not our pick but it was fine. He turned out to be quite a character, regaling us with stories and telling us about the history and culture. We drove through the city to Hotel de Milles Collines, the renowned hotel where the manager bravely hid many Tutsis during the war, later made famous in the movie Hotel Rwanda. There wasn’t much to see from the outside but it was interesting anyway. Then Isa took us to another site nearby, Camp Kigali Memorial, which marks the place where ten Belgian UN peacekeepers were murdered while protecting acting Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. The building still had the bullet holes inside and out. The last site of interest was the prison, from which we’d seen some prisoners working by the sides of the road.
On the journey back to the border, we enjoyed people-watching and trying to take some sneaky photos of the women wearing colourful traditional dresses, cyclists, people carrying all sorts of items and children. It’s obviously still a tough life there, but big strides have been made since the war. We crossed back into Uganda without problems, and just made it back to camp in time for dinner.
The next day, we got a sleep in. It felt amazing to have breakfast at 8am! Nath and I we met up with Coby and Jill mid-morning for a little excursion across the lake. We hired canoes, traditional wooden dugouts that were very difficult to steer, but we made it around a little island and across to the other side. Some young local kids asked us where we were going and showed us a good spot to secure our canoes while we were hiking. We gave them a few shillings each to mind them while we were gone and told them we would give them a bit more if they were still there when we returned. We hiked up a decent hill for about 25 minutes, past a village where a number of people greeted us, and nearby a church, which was playing music that we could hear back at camp. About four people offered to be our guides, but we could see where we need to go. We soon reached the ridgeline, from which we could see a magical view of the massive lake in both directions and many more small islands. There was nobody up there except a handful of local kids, who came up to us and started doing tricks like handstands and somersaults. At first we were a little wary that they might expect money but they were genuinely curious about us and had fun posing for photos and seeing them afterwards. Our head canoe-watcher, a shy boy of about 12, miraculously appeared and showed us a quicker way down. He told us a bit about school and the village and a little about his family life. We gave he and the other boys some more shillings as promised, then set off back across the lake.
Later that afternoon most of the group ended up on a wooden deck over the lake, relaxing, reading and swimming. There was a rickety platform up a nearby tree which some of the others had jumped off. Eventually nearly everyone jumped in from it. I got more nervous when the girl in front of me got cold feet at the top, when I was already perched precariously waiting for my turn! We lazed around then some of the boys and Nath played volleyball and I sat on the verandah, writing my diary and admiring the view. It was relaxed night with a few drinks and some games of pool.
We were rewarded for our early start by beautiful views over the mountains as we descended from Lake Bunyonyi. It was a long day on the bus back to Kampala but mid-afternoon we stopped at the equator for a photo, where we saw an amazing little green and aqua frog. At Kampala we had been hoping to see the palace, but by the time we took 90 minutes to get the campsite it was too late. Instead we went for a walk with Dorien and Christophe up a nearby main road, walking carefully on the dirty shoulder, and then up a more upmarket street where the German Embassy is, and back down past a poor street with little huts and curious but friendly eyes watching us. We stopped at the supermarket and bought icecreams, which were melting before we could eat them as it was rather hot. We had a false alarm when we got back to camp as some of Nath’s shirts hanging on the line had disappeared, but it seems they had been collected by the camp staff by accident.
The next morning we drove a couple of hours to Jinja, to a lovely campsite on the River Nile, from which we could choose our activities for the day. Some went whitewater rafting but Nath and I have done that before, so 11 of us went to help out at a community project, painting a school. First we were taken to the NGO, Soft Power’s head office to see what they had been working on. We visited a classroom full of young children and lots of books that had been donated. The kids were really cute and one called Joseph asked me my name and I had a conversation with him about what his favourite book was. He and a younger boy, Alex, followed us around and wanted to hold our hands. We took some photos with them and gave then some pens. Many people were waiting to see the medical staff at the health centre, and were told that Soft Power was teaching the community about sanitation (they had rigged up a clever tippee tap), family planning and budgeting. There was also a community garden, demonstrating how to grow vegetables in minimal space, and a fuel-efficient stove. Many aspects of the teachings were environmental as well as social so I found it very interesting. We then got in the back of the transport, a small truck with a big tray in the back with steel bars to hold on to, used for transporting goods. We all held on for grim death as we bumped up the road to the school. We were given long rollers on sticks and buckets of paint and got to work painting two classrooms. It was hard work because the ceilings were high but the young local kids kept looking through the open windows at us, playing and having fun. At one point Dorien disturbed a little gecko, which frightened them both! We were only there for a couple of hours but apparently because there were so many of us, the supervisors said that they were now ahead on the project, which made us feel good. All the kids waved goodbye and we drove back through the villages, waving at everyone and getting covered in red dust from the road.
Back at camp we sat in the great bar overlooking the river and ordered some food. Nath and I shared a pizza, which was amazing after all the plain African food we’d had. After 4pm we were picked up for a boat ride on a banana boat, up the Nile to Lake Victoria. The ten of us squeezed on and they took us along the shoreline, pointing out birds such as the African crane and beautiful malacite kingfisher. Our guide explained that there are no crocodiles or hippos in this part of the river or lake due the fast flowing water, which takes three months to reach the sea. We alighted on a little island at the river mouth to get a photo of the lake and the sign “The Source of the River Nile”. All in all it was a very enjoyable day. The showers at camp weren’t lit and it was a challenge getting the rest of the red dust off myself by the light of a headlamp, but after washing my hair, I felt like a million dollars – a small but appreciated luxury in Africa!