Friday 8TH April
We have been cleaning and packing clothes today ready for lift off tomorrow. It poured down this morning and we were very glad that we did not have to rush off to work at the hospital. We were meeting Sarah (VSO programme manager) for lunch at a café at Kisimenti later for a de-brief and a farewell. Just before lunch Marise called and collected all the equipment she had lent us over our time here and then dropped us off at our meeting place. We had a lovely lunch and chat with Sarah who thanked us for our hard work and contribution to the SLT course as she is committed to making it a success.
Home to finish packing and have a nap! It’s lovely and sunny now and the children are out playing as usual. This will be our last evening in the Brown Flats and this will be our last posting as we go to Entebbe tomorrow. We have stocked up on some chocolate and are all ready for a DVD evening. Hopefully the power will not go off or else we will have to watch Pride and Prejudice again as it’s the only one we have that does not need the extra plug in speakers!
Can’t believe we have got to the end and are delighted and proud that we have managed to do what we set out to do. This is not the end of our contact with the programme here in Uganda as will continue to support them. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us and supported us in every way. We could not have done it without you.
We've also added some new photos! CLICK HERE to see them.
SEE YOU ALL VERY SOON!!!
LOVE JULIE AND LORRAINE
Friday, 8 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
more Safari and the last week!
Saturday afternoon.
We set off in a very shallow bottomed boat with about 30 people. Fortunately we were able to sit in the shade as the boat moved slowly so we were deprived of a breeze. We were travelling up towards Murchison Falls on the Victoria Nile! We noticed that the multitude of hippos were a long way from the shores but they still had their feet on the river bed. We were continuously surprised by the bird life and we saw 4 different types of Kingfisher. These were the Pied Kingfisher, the Giant Kingfisher (a very rare sighting) the Malachite and the Chestnut bellied Kingfisher. Fish Eagles put in an appearance and many Black headed Weaver birds weaving their basket like nests. Eat your hearts out all you Twitchers!!! We eventually came across an elephant that had come down to the river to drink. Sadly he had also lost the bottom portion of this trunk in a snare. Although our guide kept pointing out crocodiles they were all secreted beneath vegetation with only their snouts visible and actually looked like logs. We were careful not to get too close to the hippos and on one occasion the “Skipper” needed to take evasive action as a group started to move towards us.
Further on still someone shouted “Lion” but when we looked noted that this animal had spots and we realized it was a leopard stalking 2 warthogs. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm had alerted the leopard to our presence much to the annoyance of our guide who told us to be quiet. Consequently the warthogs turned back on the distracted leopard and chased him away. There were a few magical moments when the leopard looked straight at us and we all held our breath. Our guide told us that it was very rare to get such a sighting. We felt very fortunate as did the warthogs!
The boat went about within about a quarter of a mile of the Falls and then stopped in the middle of the river and we were invited to climb off the boat onto some rocks!! The young things jumped off and had their photos taken but Julie and I were far more sensible and quite frankly terrified and so stayed put on the boat. We watched a glorious display from the weaver birds before turning round to head back .
We arrived back at the camp at 6.00pm and shared our evening meal with our fellow travellers and flying bugs. We counted ourselves very lucky that we had not been bitten by tsetse flies. We slept very well but we were both woken by loud hippo roars after all we were only 15 minutes from the river. Needless to say neither of us visited the toilet block that night either!
Sunday April 3rd
After breakfast of tea and toast and plum jam we packed and set off for the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which was part way back towards Kampala. The last native rhinos were poached to extinction by 1983. In 2001 the first rhinos were brought from Kenya and South Africa to Uganda in an attempt to re-establish a colony. These are white rhinos and they presently have 9 animals, having bred three male calves in the last year. We were told that armed rangers guard these precious creatures 24/7 as otherwise they would be poached. They breed very slowly so recovery of numbers will take years. After a short ride and then a 15 minute walk into the bush, Julie and I were privileged to see 4 rhinos, 1 male on his own and a family of mum, dad and baby. We had to stay behind the armed ranger at all times and had to obey his instructions to run behind a large tree should the need arise. We did exactly that! But were surprised to get to within about 30 metres of them and even had our photos taken, Amazing! We had to keep pinching ourselves.
By this time we were very hot and weary and glad to get back in the bus to set off to Kampala. We said our goodbyes to some of our new friends who were staying on at the camp a while longer. We arrived back in Kampala about 2.30 and entered the usual traffic jams that we have become accustomed to. Sula our patient bus driver was very happy to drop us off at the Brown Flats for which we were very grateful and our young friends bid us a fond farewell. Home at last, a welcome cup of tea and a wash in a bucket ------perfect!
Monday 4th April
We woke up for work the next morning to find that Julie felt poorly with a tummy bug. As Lorraine was leading the teaching, Julie stayed at home to rest and Lorraine set off with Solomon to Mulago. Helen SLT course coordinator had been in touch to say that a local newspaper reporter had contacted her wanting to interview Lorraine as it was International Autism week and Helen was hoping to get publicity for the SLT course at the same time. Unfortunately the reporter did not show up at the arranged time so it was a lost opportunity. Lorraine introduced the students to autism specific approaches and found Julie a little better once she got home at tea time.
Tuesday 5th April
Julie felt it wise to rest for another day and Lorraine went off to Mulago. The students were really missing Julie and came to sit with Lorraine at lunch time to keep her company. Lorraine introduced the students to signing which was enthusiastically embraced but felt that she lost control of the session somewhat as they wanted to make up their own sentences. They were all good signers and enjoyed making up their own signing names!
As Lorraine was leaving Mulago , she noticed a well-dressed man and woman standing in the foyer chatting and the man was holding a live chicken upside down by its legs. Perhaps it was for his tea. We have seen all sorts in the hospital but this was a new one!
In the evening the power went off for 2 hours and we watched Darcy and Miss Bennet AGAIN !To cheer ourselves up further we partook of a small portion of our rationed chocolate and a cup of tea of course.
Wednesday 6th April
This was our last day teaching and the students were delighted that Julie felt well enough to come to work. We did lots of revision and looked at plenty of case studies. We gave the students the afternoon off to do some revision while we treated ourselves to a spot of retail therapy and a nice coffee---Heaven!
Thursday 7th April
Our students sat their LD/ASD exam today and then we finished for the day. This was our last day of all with the students so we invited them to share some lunch with us which we provided. We all took lots of photos and the students thanked us for our efforts and for sharing our knowledge with them. They gave us some presents and a card with some lovely messages. They wanted to sing a “Happy song “for us and we expected some African singing. Instead we were treated to “If you’re happy and you know it…clap your hands” which of course we could join in with. They didn’t know the line “If you’re happy and you know it shout Hurray” but were very pleased to add this to their repertoire! Fredrick gave a lovely farewell speech and we received lots of hugs and requests to come back! We wished them all well and every success for the future. We intend to follow their progress through keeping in touch with Helen.
We retired home to start tidying the flat and to pack. Lots of tea and sitting down was also required. We are feeling tired now and we are both ready to come home.
We set off in a very shallow bottomed boat with about 30 people. Fortunately we were able to sit in the shade as the boat moved slowly so we were deprived of a breeze. We were travelling up towards Murchison Falls on the Victoria Nile! We noticed that the multitude of hippos were a long way from the shores but they still had their feet on the river bed. We were continuously surprised by the bird life and we saw 4 different types of Kingfisher. These were the Pied Kingfisher, the Giant Kingfisher (a very rare sighting) the Malachite and the Chestnut bellied Kingfisher. Fish Eagles put in an appearance and many Black headed Weaver birds weaving their basket like nests. Eat your hearts out all you Twitchers!!! We eventually came across an elephant that had come down to the river to drink. Sadly he had also lost the bottom portion of this trunk in a snare. Although our guide kept pointing out crocodiles they were all secreted beneath vegetation with only their snouts visible and actually looked like logs. We were careful not to get too close to the hippos and on one occasion the “Skipper” needed to take evasive action as a group started to move towards us.
Further on still someone shouted “Lion” but when we looked noted that this animal had spots and we realized it was a leopard stalking 2 warthogs. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm had alerted the leopard to our presence much to the annoyance of our guide who told us to be quiet. Consequently the warthogs turned back on the distracted leopard and chased him away. There were a few magical moments when the leopard looked straight at us and we all held our breath. Our guide told us that it was very rare to get such a sighting. We felt very fortunate as did the warthogs!
The boat went about within about a quarter of a mile of the Falls and then stopped in the middle of the river and we were invited to climb off the boat onto some rocks!! The young things jumped off and had their photos taken but Julie and I were far more sensible and quite frankly terrified and so stayed put on the boat. We watched a glorious display from the weaver birds before turning round to head back .
We arrived back at the camp at 6.00pm and shared our evening meal with our fellow travellers and flying bugs. We counted ourselves very lucky that we had not been bitten by tsetse flies. We slept very well but we were both woken by loud hippo roars after all we were only 15 minutes from the river. Needless to say neither of us visited the toilet block that night either!
Sunday April 3rd
After breakfast of tea and toast and plum jam we packed and set off for the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which was part way back towards Kampala. The last native rhinos were poached to extinction by 1983. In 2001 the first rhinos were brought from Kenya and South Africa to Uganda in an attempt to re-establish a colony. These are white rhinos and they presently have 9 animals, having bred three male calves in the last year. We were told that armed rangers guard these precious creatures 24/7 as otherwise they would be poached. They breed very slowly so recovery of numbers will take years. After a short ride and then a 15 minute walk into the bush, Julie and I were privileged to see 4 rhinos, 1 male on his own and a family of mum, dad and baby. We had to stay behind the armed ranger at all times and had to obey his instructions to run behind a large tree should the need arise. We did exactly that! But were surprised to get to within about 30 metres of them and even had our photos taken, Amazing! We had to keep pinching ourselves.
By this time we were very hot and weary and glad to get back in the bus to set off to Kampala. We said our goodbyes to some of our new friends who were staying on at the camp a while longer. We arrived back in Kampala about 2.30 and entered the usual traffic jams that we have become accustomed to. Sula our patient bus driver was very happy to drop us off at the Brown Flats for which we were very grateful and our young friends bid us a fond farewell. Home at last, a welcome cup of tea and a wash in a bucket ------perfect!
Monday 4th April
We woke up for work the next morning to find that Julie felt poorly with a tummy bug. As Lorraine was leading the teaching, Julie stayed at home to rest and Lorraine set off with Solomon to Mulago. Helen SLT course coordinator had been in touch to say that a local newspaper reporter had contacted her wanting to interview Lorraine as it was International Autism week and Helen was hoping to get publicity for the SLT course at the same time. Unfortunately the reporter did not show up at the arranged time so it was a lost opportunity. Lorraine introduced the students to autism specific approaches and found Julie a little better once she got home at tea time.
Tuesday 5th April
Julie felt it wise to rest for another day and Lorraine went off to Mulago. The students were really missing Julie and came to sit with Lorraine at lunch time to keep her company. Lorraine introduced the students to signing which was enthusiastically embraced but felt that she lost control of the session somewhat as they wanted to make up their own sentences. They were all good signers and enjoyed making up their own signing names!
As Lorraine was leaving Mulago , she noticed a well-dressed man and woman standing in the foyer chatting and the man was holding a live chicken upside down by its legs. Perhaps it was for his tea. We have seen all sorts in the hospital but this was a new one!
In the evening the power went off for 2 hours and we watched Darcy and Miss Bennet AGAIN !To cheer ourselves up further we partook of a small portion of our rationed chocolate and a cup of tea of course.
Wednesday 6th April
This was our last day teaching and the students were delighted that Julie felt well enough to come to work. We did lots of revision and looked at plenty of case studies. We gave the students the afternoon off to do some revision while we treated ourselves to a spot of retail therapy and a nice coffee---Heaven!
Thursday 7th April
Our students sat their LD/ASD exam today and then we finished for the day. This was our last day of all with the students so we invited them to share some lunch with us which we provided. We all took lots of photos and the students thanked us for our efforts and for sharing our knowledge with them. They gave us some presents and a card with some lovely messages. They wanted to sing a “Happy song “for us and we expected some African singing. Instead we were treated to “If you’re happy and you know it…clap your hands” which of course we could join in with. They didn’t know the line “If you’re happy and you know it shout Hurray” but were very pleased to add this to their repertoire! Fredrick gave a lovely farewell speech and we received lots of hugs and requests to come back! We wished them all well and every success for the future. We intend to follow their progress through keeping in touch with Helen.
We retired home to start tidying the flat and to pack. Lots of tea and sitting down was also required. We are feeling tired now and we are both ready to come home.
On Safari!!
Friday 1st April
This is the beginning of our trip up to the North West of the country and to the Murchison Falls and the National park. We were being picked up at the Shell garage at 8.45pm but it was rather later than that when the small people carrier arrived. We joined a group of young people all less than 27yrs on our first back packers’ holiday. They were very friendly and we were entertained with lots of chat about where they had been and what they were doing in Uganda. One young man had been in Sudan for 18 months working and learning Arabic. His sister and her friend had been teaching in a Ugandan village school for 3 months. There was a PhD student finishing med school by doing some work at Mulago Hospital and one girl working and travelling. We met more young travellers when we were at the camp with similar stories. We were very impressed with their sense of adventure and all the skills and talents that were being shared around the different countries in Africa. It was very heart-warming.
We did find we were not the oldest packers in town. One retired gentleman had visited 140 countries in is life time and half of them since retiring! It made us feel tired just listening to his tales.
We travelled from Kampala to Masindi which took about 4-5 hours’ drive. Fortunately the main road wasn’t too bad and we stopped in Masindi to have some lunch at a little café. We then had another 2 hours off the beaten track to reach Murchison Falls. The road was very bumpy and Lorraine felt that she had had some skeletal re-arrangement by the time the trip was over. It was certainly hot and dusty and testing of our stamina.
There is a short walk to the Falls and we had great views of the Victoria Nile and the Falls. The water is pushed through a narrow gap with a long drop creating lots of spray and foam with a rainbow appearing in the water vapour. It was an impressive sight. We took lots of photos.
We arrived in the camp at about 6. An hour or so before it gets dark which happens very quickly. We were shown our two woman tent and warned about the night visitors! There are a group of warthogs wandering about but baboons and hippos are also visitors on occasions. We might hear munching noises around the tent. We decided there would be no night trips to the shower and toilet block no matter how desperate.
We slept surprisingly well but we were exhausted and there were no midnight visitors.
April 2nd Saturday.
It was a 6 o’clock start for us that morning with just enough time for a cup of tea and to collect a packed breakfast which consisted of cheese sandwiches and fruit before the transport left at 6.30 to catch the ferry. We were able to watch the sunrise as we waited for the drive on car ferry. On the far bank we could see hippos lazing in the water and the baboons came to see if there were any spare sandwich bags. We had been warned not to have our packed food visible as they have learnt that they are worth stealing. After crossing the Victoria Nile we were met by George our guide. He wanted us to be quick to get on to the bus so we could be first on the Safari trail. The transport we were in had a raised roof so that you could take photos and observe the wild life. The young people started off standing straight away but the road was a bumpy dirt track and it was a challenge to stand up and take a photograph. They did assist us standing up when we felt the need to take a photo. For the first hour we just drove watching on the lookout for big game. There were plenty of deer, antelope and warthogs but no lions! The terrain was a surprise to us as it is not like a flat plain as you might expect but rolling hills and changing vegetation, palms, trees, large cacti and scrub like bush. Lots of places for lions to hide! Eventually the four or five vans in front of us began to slow and converge on one particular spot and the excitement in the bus rose as George got his binoculars out looking for lions. Amazingly as we edged forwards across open land, we were told to be very quiet and there under some cover we spied 2 young male lions. We had to be very quick as they got up eventually and wandered off looking for a better place to hide.
George said we were very lucky to find lions. In the Murchison Park the groups of lions are very small and not the large prides one sees in other African countries.
We continued our journey down towards the Victoria Nile Delta to observe a large group of hippos. There must have been nearly a 100 in groups in a shallow part of the river. They spend all day resting in the water and only come out night to graze on the vegetation and can sometimes be seen in the camp. We were allowed out of the van right down to the water’s edge to take photos! George our guide made hippo noises at them and had a little chat. He had a very interesting story to tell about an incident with hippos. Whilst he was living in some accommodation near the river, one night he heard hippos fighting and he said it went on for about 3 hours. Eventually, the loser backed off and crashed through his door. He left swiftly by the window and went to his neighbour, who said "what are you doing here?" and he said he was sharing a room with a hippo and it was time to get out. When he went back the next morning there was quite a mess and no sign of the hippo!
The local people are allowed to fish in the river to supplement their income and to try and discourage poaching which is still a major concern. Many animals were lost during the conflicts that have troubled Uganda and their numbers are slowly recovering.
We continued to see deer, warthogs, buffalo, water buck, antelope and lots of birds. We saw an elephant in the distance that slowly walked towards us. It was a young male, and George pointed out that his trunk was shortened. The poachers set traps which snares the elephants’ trunks and in their agitation to get away they severe the lower part of the trunk. Surprisingly, many do survive this trauma and can still feed but it does shorten their life span.
We were still on the lookout for giraffe and eventually we came across two feeding but not at a close distance. As we travelled further on to our surprise we began to see increasing numbers of giraffe ambling along over the rolling terrain. There must have been 20-30 of them and it was just like on the telly! There were other animals travelling along with them moving down towards some water. George kept his binoculars trained as this could have been a lion opportunity.
We arrived back for lunch at about 12. We collapsed in a heap before the net part of our safari adventure – a boat ride on the Nile.
This is the beginning of our trip up to the North West of the country and to the Murchison Falls and the National park. We were being picked up at the Shell garage at 8.45pm but it was rather later than that when the small people carrier arrived. We joined a group of young people all less than 27yrs on our first back packers’ holiday. They were very friendly and we were entertained with lots of chat about where they had been and what they were doing in Uganda. One young man had been in Sudan for 18 months working and learning Arabic. His sister and her friend had been teaching in a Ugandan village school for 3 months. There was a PhD student finishing med school by doing some work at Mulago Hospital and one girl working and travelling. We met more young travellers when we were at the camp with similar stories. We were very impressed with their sense of adventure and all the skills and talents that were being shared around the different countries in Africa. It was very heart-warming.
We did find we were not the oldest packers in town. One retired gentleman had visited 140 countries in is life time and half of them since retiring! It made us feel tired just listening to his tales.
We travelled from Kampala to Masindi which took about 4-5 hours’ drive. Fortunately the main road wasn’t too bad and we stopped in Masindi to have some lunch at a little café. We then had another 2 hours off the beaten track to reach Murchison Falls. The road was very bumpy and Lorraine felt that she had had some skeletal re-arrangement by the time the trip was over. It was certainly hot and dusty and testing of our stamina.
There is a short walk to the Falls and we had great views of the Victoria Nile and the Falls. The water is pushed through a narrow gap with a long drop creating lots of spray and foam with a rainbow appearing in the water vapour. It was an impressive sight. We took lots of photos.
We arrived in the camp at about 6. An hour or so before it gets dark which happens very quickly. We were shown our two woman tent and warned about the night visitors! There are a group of warthogs wandering about but baboons and hippos are also visitors on occasions. We might hear munching noises around the tent. We decided there would be no night trips to the shower and toilet block no matter how desperate.
We slept surprisingly well but we were exhausted and there were no midnight visitors.
April 2nd Saturday.
It was a 6 o’clock start for us that morning with just enough time for a cup of tea and to collect a packed breakfast which consisted of cheese sandwiches and fruit before the transport left at 6.30 to catch the ferry. We were able to watch the sunrise as we waited for the drive on car ferry. On the far bank we could see hippos lazing in the water and the baboons came to see if there were any spare sandwich bags. We had been warned not to have our packed food visible as they have learnt that they are worth stealing. After crossing the Victoria Nile we were met by George our guide. He wanted us to be quick to get on to the bus so we could be first on the Safari trail. The transport we were in had a raised roof so that you could take photos and observe the wild life. The young people started off standing straight away but the road was a bumpy dirt track and it was a challenge to stand up and take a photograph. They did assist us standing up when we felt the need to take a photo. For the first hour we just drove watching on the lookout for big game. There were plenty of deer, antelope and warthogs but no lions! The terrain was a surprise to us as it is not like a flat plain as you might expect but rolling hills and changing vegetation, palms, trees, large cacti and scrub like bush. Lots of places for lions to hide! Eventually the four or five vans in front of us began to slow and converge on one particular spot and the excitement in the bus rose as George got his binoculars out looking for lions. Amazingly as we edged forwards across open land, we were told to be very quiet and there under some cover we spied 2 young male lions. We had to be very quick as they got up eventually and wandered off looking for a better place to hide.
George said we were very lucky to find lions. In the Murchison Park the groups of lions are very small and not the large prides one sees in other African countries.
We continued our journey down towards the Victoria Nile Delta to observe a large group of hippos. There must have been nearly a 100 in groups in a shallow part of the river. They spend all day resting in the water and only come out night to graze on the vegetation and can sometimes be seen in the camp. We were allowed out of the van right down to the water’s edge to take photos! George our guide made hippo noises at them and had a little chat. He had a very interesting story to tell about an incident with hippos. Whilst he was living in some accommodation near the river, one night he heard hippos fighting and he said it went on for about 3 hours. Eventually, the loser backed off and crashed through his door. He left swiftly by the window and went to his neighbour, who said "what are you doing here?" and he said he was sharing a room with a hippo and it was time to get out. When he went back the next morning there was quite a mess and no sign of the hippo!
The local people are allowed to fish in the river to supplement their income and to try and discourage poaching which is still a major concern. Many animals were lost during the conflicts that have troubled Uganda and their numbers are slowly recovering.
We continued to see deer, warthogs, buffalo, water buck, antelope and lots of birds. We saw an elephant in the distance that slowly walked towards us. It was a young male, and George pointed out that his trunk was shortened. The poachers set traps which snares the elephants’ trunks and in their agitation to get away they severe the lower part of the trunk. Surprisingly, many do survive this trauma and can still feed but it does shorten their life span.
We were still on the lookout for giraffe and eventually we came across two feeding but not at a close distance. As we travelled further on to our surprise we began to see increasing numbers of giraffe ambling along over the rolling terrain. There must have been 20-30 of them and it was just like on the telly! There were other animals travelling along with them moving down towards some water. George kept his binoculars trained as this could have been a lion opportunity.
We arrived back for lunch at about 12. We collapsed in a heap before the net part of our safari adventure – a boat ride on the Nile.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)