Kibale Chimps

Today I learned the term African massage.  After 11 hours on the world's worst roads, we wanted to give Richard, our expert driver, a medal for getting us up to Kibale National Forest in one piece. It seemed doubtful at times.  It was wonderful to experience the countryside though and see the wonder on peoples' faces as a car of bazungu (group of white people) passed through their towns.  When we stopped to have lunch in the woods a group of kids found us.  They were both curious and scared of us.  Things warmed up when we broke out our stash of candy to give out.

The terrain turned from Africa hot to cool, humid jungle when we reached Kibale.  The Primate Lodge was made up of beautiful, romantic tents, but lacked all creature comforts. Our goal in the Kibale rainforest is to track chimpanzees. Our Ugandan Wildlife Guide, Alex, gave us a thorough briefing--follow me, I have a rifle, do what I say.  Understood. We slogged through the rainforest and were rewarded with several chimp sightings.  Their mannerisms are so much like us that it's unbelievable. Then we hit the jackpot with three males sitting on a log grooming each other.  We got 20 feet from them and watched them interact for about 10 minutes.  Priceless. They were called by other chimps and went nuts before running off. So exciting!

Our Chimp experience was amazing and has wet our appetite for the gorilla trek!

African Queen

Off at 8am with our driver, Richard, we followed the Nile River for 7 hours north to reach Murchison Falls. The falls were lovely, but the history was even better. Hemingway's plane crashed in 1954 while viewing the falls, Churchill and several royals visited and the African Queen was set here. We checked into the Nile Safari Lodge in Murchison Falls Park in time for happy hour while watching the sunset on the Nile.

We are now learning the lingo--"eco" lodge means limited electricity and hot water. As Kathleen and I tried to trap a man sized lizard in our room, I determined that I was mistaken to think I was "outdoorsy." The bucket shower concept didn't help.  This was by far the loudest night of my camping life.  The hippos were very active as was everything in the surrounding jungle and in our cabin.

Up at the crack and off on our first game drive.  Ranger Douglas joined us when we crossed the Nile ferry.  Nothing can compare to standing in the safari pop-up top viewing elephants, giraffe, buffalo, Ugandan Kob, Hippos, Baboons... Brilliant. I AM outdoorsy!

We took an afternoon cruise on the Nile (channeling Hepburn and Bogart) and saw all the wildlife and birds unobstructed. We even came upon a large crocodile waiting for his close-up. This was a totally different experience than my Nile cruise in Egypt (over 4,000 miles away).  Then I was struck by how the mighty river gave life to the surrounding communities. Now I see how the world's longest river provides life to a continent.

Landing in Entebbe

My 50th birthday present to myself is a Ugandan safari.  Why Uganda? 400 of the world's 800 mountain gorillas live here and I'm going to track them.  It just seems fitting to start a new decade with a tremendous adventure!

The gorilla safari idea was hatched on a girls ski trip last January.  Carrie Worley did the planning and chose Gorilla Tours to make the arrangements. Her friend Kathleen Murphy joined us at the last minute and the group was complete.

13 days, 3 women, 1 driver, 5 Ugandan national parks, 1,500 miles (covering half the country) and 1 Toyota Land Cruiser.

Flying to Uganda from Pensacola takes about 22 hours.  I hit Entebbe very late on Nov. 14.  It seemed surreal to land at the airport made famous by the 1976 hostage situation. The images of the terrorists and ranting dictator Idi Amin kept flashing through my mind as I requested a holiday visa.

The first hotel, The Boma, was the perfect introduction to Uganda.  A garden oasis in Entebbe.  I settled into Africa and visited the wildlife center and arboretum on Lake Victoria, the birthplace of the Nile.  Carrie and Kathleen arrived late that evening and the fun began...