Emnail from Uganda Apr 04

Hi to all!

Well we have been working and traveling in Uganda for the last few weeks and we will now give you the latest update on our adventures.

Two weekends ago we went to Lake Mburro to see the zebra population. They were many and lovely. The lake is about a 4 hour drive from Kampala and then we stayed in a very basic banda (cottage). The day we arrived we went for a boat ride with 6 other people and a ranger/guide. When we were only about 15 minutes out the ranger said he thought it was going to rain so he would take us to a shelter and then after the rain stopped, he thought it would last for about 10 minutes, we could resume our ride.

As we arrived at the shelter the heavens opened up and it rained, rained and rained. The wind blew and the sky remained dark. The rain kept up for two hours. Then the ranger said, "I will take the boat back and come to pick you up with the car". He then left. After approximately half an hour two cars came roaring in to the shelter. It was still raining. Everyone at the lodge was very worried about us, especially our driver who could only think about what he would tell his boss if he had to go back to Kampala without us. Luckily, we returned safe and sound. We did see many zebra and they are delightful.

Last weekend we flew to a national park in the northest corner of the country right on the Sudan border. It was gorgeous, open savannah with a great deal of wildlife. We saw lions, elephant, buffalo, wart hogs, giraffe, many different kinds of antelope, jackels, and a great number of interesting birds. We flew in a 16 passenger twin engine plane and before take off the pilot announced that he might have to circle the runway at the park before we could land because there were usually wildlife on the runway. Sure enough, when we got there we saw animals on the runway. We circled around scared them away and landed. Just like in the movies. We unloaded the plane and a big 2 and a half ton truck arrived. In the bed of the truck were 15 armchairs tied to the sides. We all clamored aboard, loaded the luggage and food and took off for the lodge.

We arrived at a lovely lodge with several cabins on either side. The cabins were on the edge of the savannah with small porches where we could sit and look over the savannah. The lodge had a great veranda and a large living room and kitchen. Food was served buffet style and we ate on the veranda. There was a water trough at the edge of the veranda and after we filled it up many animals showed up to drink, elephant, zebra, water buck, etc. What a thrill to be so close to these wild animals. In the morning we woke early and went for a game drive, we saw lots of elephants, zebra, giraffee, water buck, buffalo. Came back for a nice big breakfast and shower. The hot water was made by lighting a wood fire under the tank that the water was stored in so when you took a shower you could smell the fire in the water but it was hot and it did feel good. Relaxing and another game drive filled up the rest of the day. Then dinner on the verandah. It was great. The next day was the same with game drives and relaxing.

On Monday morning, the day we were to leave, we went on what we thought was our last game drive, the ranger/guide that was with us got a radio message the a tribal group called the Karamajong. Had raided some cattle the night before and anyone in their way would be shot. We quickly began to head for the lodge. As we were driving we spotted an elephant which we were all looking at when we also noticed a long line of people walking on the savannah. The driver saw them, he made a sharp fast uturn and got the hell out of there. We headed back to a ranger outpost we had passed earlier and waited for about two hours until the Karamajong had passed. It turns out that the Karamajong believe that all cattle belong to them and when they want some they just go and take some from anywhere and anyone they want. They also are a warring tribe who are very dangerous. They used to have only bows and arrows but now they have guns and so they are really dangerous. We later found out, that night the park rangers arrested 36 of them, killed 4 and rounded up all the cattle. We were all relieved but by then the weather had turned bad. There was a sandstorm in the Sahara and it was blowing thin particles of sand in our direction. Due to this the plane could not land to take us home. We heard it overhead Monday afternoon but the pilot could not see below 8000 feet so he could not land. We all unpacked our bags and prepared to stay another night. Thinking we would surely leave the next day. Guess what, the weather stayed bad and we ended up staying until Wednesday afternoon.