Uganda - 5 June to 19 June 2007

People we are in the 'Heart of Darkness' as Joseph Conrad so eloquently called it. Africa, with it's ever changing beautiful scenery ranging from savannah to lush green tropical, thick forests, undulating landscapes filled with tea plantations and fruit orchards simulating valleys of tea lined fruit bowls, colourful school uniforms, kids running excitedly alongside the cars waving and shouting madly at us (and us in return of course), extremely friendly and helpful people, ancient Pygmy people, experiencing an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, beautiful crater lakes, animals in their natural environment and in abundance. This is Africa and we are going strong !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are truly in the thick of things. Africa, with its overpopulated cities, almost impenetrable traffic, aggressive yet humble drivers, no road rules where anything goes, AK 47's at each police stop, unbelievably busy markets selling everything from groceries, raw meat, vehicle/bicycle spares to anything else you might need, with even some coffins alongside the road, free flowing sewerage with pungent smells, extreme poverty and animals roaming freely.

A special mention must be made to all the Globerider boys (Gary, Dean, Eddie and Waldo) who have tackled these extremely bad roads with guts and tenacity, making them blend in perfectly with the local drivers. They are truly enjoying this experience to the 'T'!

It's been a couple of weeks since last we spoke and what a time we've had in Uganda. The only knowledge any of us had of Uganda prior to going there was that it was previously ruled by the despot Idi Amin and that its capital is Kampala. The first day already we realized that Uganda was going to be an educational eye opener. As mentioned before, our first night we camped along the banks of the Nile in Jinja. It has been proven by satellite that a spring in Lake Victoria is the origin of the Nile and when visiting there, we were quite inspired to learn that some of Mahatma Ghandi's ashes were scattered there.

Our 3 nights stay in Jinja was once again an opportunity to do laundry, maintenance etc, you know, the usual. Our campsite, Eden Rocks, had large rolling lawns, interspersed with trees which we had all to ourselves. A day later there were laundry lines all over, laundry on hedges, chairs and toys scattered around as the Globeriders were in spring cleaning mode. A highlight of our star at Eden Rocks was the food, especially the braai which was served to us in the garden as we sat around a candle lit table under a star studded sky - very special.

After Jinja, we made our way to Kampala which is a huge city, spread over seven hills (like Rome), and has the worst traffic any of us have ever driven in. In the chaos of the traffic, with all the jostling and forcing, with complete disregard of all traffic laws (sometimes even going the wrong way around in a circle), there was no road rage with everyone understanding the complexities of driving in the chaos. Our first stop was at the football stadium called the Mandela National Stadium which of course became a huge photo opportunity for us proud South Africans. We spent 5 nights at a popular campsite called Red Chilli whilst Gary, Jo and the kids headed off to Ssese Islands for a few days.

Lake Victoria's answer to the Caribbean is how the Ssese Islands are described. Even on a rainy day with the usual chaos, the ferry ride and the idyllically beautiful group of 84 islands lived up to our expectations. We had a laid back 3 days on the principal island, Buggala, at the basic Hornbill Camp right on the lake shore.

We managed to tear ourselves away on the 3 rd day to appreciate the beautiful views over the lake and across to the other islands, the lush rain forest and encroaching palm oil plantations. Our taste was highlighted by a Ugandan, Louis, whom Dane befriended. He took us around showing us the fruit, veg, coffee trees and the Malaysian connection with the palm oil plantations which were replacing pristine rain forest. Sad, but that is mankind and capitalism.

Our trip back to Kampala was rounded off by Louis taking us to the Kasubi Tombs and to 'enjoy' real local food – plantain 'matoke', cassava, posho (pap) and tilapia with ground nut sauce. Gary

In Kampala we did the usual city thing, we went to the embassies regarding onward visa's, popped in at the SA Embassy to say hi and alert them to our presence, got Eddy's soccer ball signed by a dignitary of the Ugandan Football Association and did shopping - at Shoprite 'nogal'. At Red Chilli we made a few new friends like Emre and Tobias whom we hope to catch up with in Sweden - Hi guys, 'Stay Neutral'.

After Kampala we were off to Fort Portal in western Uganda . At 100km outside Kampala we realised that we zigged, instead of zagged, at a round about and were actually on a bearing due south. Blaming the GPS at this point, we decided that instead of turning around we would cut across the countryside, using secondary roads to link up with the original road ahead. So, 80km's, 7hrs and some of the worst roads later, we ended up camping at a police road block still well short of our destination.

The road block was close to an army barracks and when they learned there were doctors amongst us, the medic invited Dean and Gary to assist at their infirmary the following day. However, it sadly did not happen because of bureaucratic red tape. The day dawned on Jade's birthday, possibly the most remote place she will ever spend a birthday (she has become such a lovely young lady with endless patience for the ragamuffin boys). On our way to Fort Portal (FP) we drove through miles and miles of structured tea plantations. Uganda is the lushest country we have been through thus far with bananas, casaba, maize and tea being grown all over, even on the steep gradients of the hills.

After a brief stop in FP, we took a scenic drive through the mountains of the moon (Rwenzori Mountains) to Semuliki National Park on the border of Congo (Zaire). We stayed at an extremely rustic campsite where it rained all night (a lot of rain in Uganda ). The next morning we visited a Pygmy Village , the famed diminutive people we had all learned about in school. It saddened us to see a once proud people, now living in abject poverty, desperate to show us a glimpse of their 'culture' and their current way of life.

Thereafter, we travelled back through the mountains via FP to the crater lakes near the Kibale Forest National Park, with all the chimpanzees. We camped on the rim of a crater with breath taking views of the valley to the mountains. At about 10pm, an earthquake rocked the area for about 40 seconds. Quite a scary feeling, camped on the edge of a volcano in an earthquake.

The entire group shouted to one another from their vehicles in excitement and fear confirming, discussing what had just happened. We learned a few days later it measured 5.6 on the Richter scale, that it was felt throughout the country and that the epicentre was about 30km from where we were camped. Amazingly, Waldo and Dane slept through it all. The next morning, after viewing the crater lakes in the area, we left for Murchison Falls, another terrible road and a whole day's driving later, we setup camp at Uganda's oldest hotel - The Masindi Hotel.

At Murchison Falls National Park we took a boat ride along the river to the bottom of the falls, the 3hr trip was fascinating as the river banks were filled with hippos, buffalo, waterbuck, warthogs' and crocodiles, with heaps of birds in attendance. We were also caught in a sudden down pour which added to the excitement. Fortunately, it cleared up by the time we reached the falls. Murchison Falls is where the Nile squeezes through a crevice 6 meters wide making the falls one of the most powerful surges of water on the planet. What an awesome spectacle to behold!!

The next day was Troy 's 3 rd birthday. He has grown up so much these past months that we considered skipping the 3 rd and making it his 4 th. Sadly like Jade, he spent it on the road. After some more horrendous roads and many hours of driving we were back in Kampala, where we met up with Deidre and Eddy who had opted to skip M/Falls. Our last day in Uganda saw us driving from Kampala to Eldoret, in Kenya, where a wonderful surprise awaited us, more in a later update.

Our stay in Uganda saw us criss cross the equator 6 times, celebrate 2 birthdays, found ourselves truly in the heart of Africa with the most beautiful scenery to be had, great food and great people - Thanks Uganda, Big Up!!!!!

PS: Gary has a new name he picked up in Zanzibar , Rafiki, which means friend in Swahili. After being called that so many times before knowing its meaning, he turned on one guy and asked him to stop calling him Rafiki and that as his name was Gary and not Rafiki.

We'll chat later!!

GRC2C