Ethiopia to Uganda

2 weeks since the last update and the last real internet opportunity in Addis. The past couple of weeks have brought us out of Ethiopia, through Kenya and into Uganda – with lots in between. Our journey south from Addis Ababa through the northern regions of Kenya took us through some long tough days of hectic drives, basic facilities and very bumpy roads (250km in 11hrs!).

Our first night in Kenya we camped in the grounds of the police station – could there be a safer place? The road south from Moyale is extremely corrugated, no tar, and not much in the way of human habitation. But fantastic never-ending horizons. Eventually we reached Samburu, where we stayed in a basic camp run by a local Samburu women’s group, and visited the National Reserve from there. Samburu is renowned for some weird and unique animal species that we won’t find elsewhere on our trip. These are the Grevvy’s Zebra (with very fine black stripes and a white belly), the reticulated giraffe (which is your classic geometrically marked giraffe), the Somali ostrich (with blue-ish legs and neck), and the gerenuk, a particularly long-necked antelope. We also saw lions and ellies and looots of dik-diks. Apart from the animals, morning tea at one of the larney lodges in the park was a highlight (and having picnic lunch within sight of a lion).

Sunset

Reticulated giraffe

Samburu women from the women's village that runs the camp

From Samburu, we crossed the equator and moved on to Nakuru. A great entrance into camp as we walked the last 900m to the bar while Rogan, Nick, Jason, Kevin and Di changed a tyre... But what an awesome camp to arrive at. After some fairly basic facilities in the previous weeks we reached our first ‘luxury’ camp – hot showers, a cosy bar with fireplace, and a 3-course meal prepared for us by the camp. Here we’ve welcomed Sean to our team of expedition members, joining us for 3 weeks of our journey. Some opted for tours into Nakuru National Park, probably most famous for its flamingo population on the lake – but also great for waterbuck, rhino and even lion sightings for some.

Up close and personal with the lions

Juvenile lion, still has spots on the legs

Rhino seeking shade under a tree

We then headed towards the Ugandan border, stopping at another beautiful and well-equipped campsite just outside Eldoret. Thus far in Uganda we have spent a couple of nights in the capital, Kampala – lots more to gawk at – big supermarkets, good meat, wifi at camp, and pizza night!

Nope, not a supermarket, but one of the fantastic fruit and veg markets along the way

We then journeyed to the south west of Uganda, crossing the equator again (the 7^th or 8^th time?) and based ourselves at Lake Bunyoni (a rift valley lake said to be 6000ft deep – but did they confuse this figure with our altitude?).

One of the many equator crossings!

Camping at Lake Bunyoni

Not a bad view from the tent...

A boat trip to an island with some of the remaining pygmy population living on it was on the cards for some (with a hectic storm in between), others paddled dug-out canoes (or tried to), or psyched themselves up for a jump off the high diving board.

Boat trip on Lake Bunyoni

Stunning views

Colleen & Glenn dancing with the pygmies

Sue and Claire

Glenn

Village kids

Carrying heavy loads, African-style

But the big thing about Bunyoni is that it is from here that gorilla tracking/trekking happened. There are only about 740 Mountain Gorillas left in the world and they are only found in this region, on the border between Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC. There are very strict rules as to how many people can visit and observe these great primates each day. Numbers (of both gorillas and spectators) are limited, which makes it an even more special experience. The different habituated gorilla families and groups all have their own story and history, and it really is a fascinating and magical experience to observe these creatures feeding and playing. All the more special after a steep trek in dense rain forest.

Gorilla trekking

Unforgettable to see them up close in the wild

Remarkably human-like

Jason plus ancestors

Hazel

Baby gorilla

Kevin with his gorilla trekking certificate and one of the trekking guides

Bruce & Sue

Caolan

Now we are off to Jinja, to a campsite overlooking the White Nile. This is a major kayaking and white-water rafting region, but if you prefer this as a spectator sport, there is a great deck to watch the river from! Also a few other adrenalin activities on offer, as well as visiting and working with the local community on a volunteering project called Soft Power, or just plain R & R...

Oh, did we forget to tell you about the chickens? Meat was in short supply on our early days in Ethiopia so we decided to do it the local way and buy a couple of live chickens while we were in the Simiens and do it ourselves. Well, to pluck all 5 would have been time consuming so our scouts on the Simiens did most of it for us and left us one chicken so we could learn how to do it for next time. Rogan was a bit forceful and the whole head came off... where did that ‘running around like a headless chicken’ phrase come from?!

Plucking