The old Entebbe airport, scene of the debacle in July, 1976Karibu Guest House – a lovely little hotel near Entebbe Airport, on Lake Victoria and my first night’s stay in UgandaLake Ndali – one of many crater lakesThe lush Ugandan landscapeMy first shop in UgandaA Ugandan Kob – the national animal There was a line across the road indicating the Equator – presumably it will get repainted following the resurfacing. Standing in the Southern Hemisphere looking back from where I have come from in the Northern Hemisphere. Oh, and only 8km from the DRC border… Queen Elizabeth National Park
Kibale Forest
My cabin, “Bulbul” at the Kibale Forest LodgeA cheeky baboon (aren’t they all?)Poor chimpanzee seriously outnumbered – and don’t be fooled by Evelyn and her AK47 – it is to scare away animals, when necessary, and control stupid touristsA ChimpanzeeWild Man of the forestA Grey Cheeked MangabeyA Shiny Blue KingfisherColourful beetlesPapyrus
Kazinga Channel
This bridge across the Kazinga Channel is made from one of the 5 temporary bridges built to span the River Thames in London during WW2Martin from the DRC, who runs his own tour company – he insisted on being in the photo! I’d never seen a vehicle from the DRC before – nor had I met anyone from there, eitherCape Buffalo and Nile Crocodiles chillin’The Kazinga ChannelThe Kazinga ChannelThe Kazinga ChannelLooking back at the channel entrance to Lake Edward. Uganda has lots of lakes including: Victoria (68,800sqkm); Albert (5,300sqkm); Edward (2,325sqkm) and George (a mere 250sqkm) – come on Uganda, ditch the colonial-era English names and make the native names official
Ishasha
Early morning game drive in IshashaHyenaTopiCape BuffaloThe River Ishasha forms the border here between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo – so the other side of the river is the Virunga National Park in DRC – not all of it, clearly. The DRC is the second biggest country in Africa and the 12th largest in the world. It was known as Zaire for a while. A useful website for country info: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/Happy HipposIbis congregating in a treeIshasha is famous for its tree climbing lions but the only cats I’ve seen are these sweet little cats at the lodge – chair sleeping lions…
On the road
Panoramas:
Winston Churchill referred to Uganda as “the pearl of Africa” – you can see why – the landscape is astonishingGoodbye Uganda
Rwanda
Hello Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park
Baby gorilla tumbling through the bushes…Baby gorilla tumbling through the bushes…Baby gorilla tumbling through the bushes…Baby gorilla tumbling through the bushes – landed happily and scampered offThere are now just over 1,000 Mountain Gorillas in the wild in DRC, Rwanda and Uganda – up from a low of around 200. The Volcanoes National Park is home to 12 “tourist” and 8 “research” families but the forest cannot sustain any more – so there is a 10-year programme to expand the park and plant new forest with native trees. It will take a further 50 years for the forest to mature but will still provide a safe place for more gorilla families in the meantime… www.gorilladoctors.orgThis Silverback is 32 years old. Apparently, we share 98.4% of our DNA with gorillasHe was hoping we’d let him sleep in peace. A maximum of 96 tourists are allowed into the park each day; split into 12 groups of 8: one group per designated “tourist” gorilla family. The permits cost $1500 – the Rwandan government uses this money to maintain the park; employ rangers, guides and vets as well as involving local communities to support and protect the gorillas.Each group of tourists is allowed to spend a maximum of one hour with their allotted gorilla familyIn order to expand the park, the government is in consultations with the designated communities whose land will be incorporated in the extension. Discussions regarding compensation are underway. Although the land was originally part of the native forest, families have farmed here for a few generations…The 8 “research” families have no contact with touristsSome of the Sabyinyo gorilla family in the Volcanoes National Park…On a walk to see Gold Monkeys. There are about 4,000 Golden Monkeys in the wild, spread between DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. They are listed as endangered. They live in groups of between 70 to 80, which can increase to around 100 in mating season. Females only give birth every 3 years, so population growth is fairly steady. The Golden Monkeys in Rwanda will obviously benefit from the expansion of the Volcanoes National Park. Mount Sabyinyo, an extinct volcano, is the point at which the borders of DRC, Rwanda and Uganda meet
Kigali
The Hotel des Mille Collines (a thousand hills, not a thousand Colins) – it was the real Hotel Rwanda as depicted in the film, albeit that the filmmakers used a South African hotel in the film…Designed with all the style and grace of a 1970’s Novotel – it was built in 1973 and owned by Sabena, the former Belgian airline (aka: such a bloody experience never again)The view from my hotel roomKigali – built on a thousand hills – is a big, bustling city. There’s not much character – probably as it is changing so fast…Visiting the Kigali Memorial Centre is a must while you are here – but it is grim. The exhibition takes you through several 20th century genocides: Herero; WW2; Balkans; Cambodia and, of course, Rwanda. The term “genocide” was coined by Raphael Lemkin, in the aftermath of WW2, who joined the Greek and Latin words “geno” (race or tribe) and “cide” (killing). The astonishing thing for me was to learn that the killing, by the majority Hutu, of Tutsis started in 1959 supported and financed by the Belgians and French (see an article in The Times 26.01.94). This does, of course, mean that the UK government was fully aware and so complicit by abstention. So, to see Rwanda today: peaceful, safe, happy, prosperous, evolving is all the more remarkable. So: come and visit Rwanda, if you can https://www.aegistrust.org/learn/mass-atrocities/rwanda/
