There is time to contemplate how far we’ve come, from Cape Town to Kenya, to the beaches of Mozambique. Jim asked me where I thought we’d be without the Garmin and Traks4Africa – I said “Back home and divorced by now.” We are happily long past the point when every other minute brought on another decision. Tension ran high; that’s what comes of the being way outside your comfort zone. What would we change, now that we have time to think about it? Nothing, really. We couldn’t have taken this overland trip any sooner in our lives and the best time to go is when you go. The route has been successful – we calculated we’ve been on beaches of some sort since November, can’t 
complain about that. Neither of us has been sick. We’ve been through four different coffee presses, five decks of cards and one iPhone as well as countless cans of Peaceful Sleep insect repellent. We will not miss 
the mosquitoes.
There are places to return to and some gaps to fill, next time. Driving Namibia for months gave us a full view of that endless country. Botswana needs another look, hopefully before this trip is over. We’ve already been to Zimbabwe twice and will go back again later this month, so much to see there. Zambia is a favorite, where I am positive we waved to every single person in that friendly country. Tanzania nearly broke the 
bank but with its iconic parks it could not be missed. Zanzibar showed us our first taste of the slavers coast plus powered-sugar white sand beaches. The side trip to Ethiopia, that exotic place, was perfect. Camel 
caravans hauling salt into the sunset – what a scene.
Rwanda – a sobering lesson in humanity. One day we came to a nondescript village and it was time to get out of the truck. A large Genocide Memorial stood out, as in every single town and village. Only this one wasn’t quite finished yet. The very young security guard called an older gentleman to show us around this newly built but empty building. And the blank walls spoke as loudly as any placards. The hollow hallways echoed the footsteps of everyone who would never walk t
here. Finally we found ourselves in a basement containing 38 coffins, displayed neatly as if in a show room. Some had framed photos propped upon them, others had snapshots scotched-taped to them. To our undying surprise, the guide opened a coffin and handed us a small human skull. All these coffins have skulls, he said. At this location a church was bulldozed with thousands of people in it. His children are here, in one of the coffins. He shared his photos of them with us. We thanked him, signed the guest book and drove away. Rwanda; a country where everything is new because there was nothing left.
The primates in Uganda revel in the simplicity of life. We camped, all alone, in the Kibale forest and had a troop of 50+ baboons invade the clearing; they played, groomed each other and goofed off all morning, just having a good time being together. On the eastern side of the country we came to one of our better decisions – we really wanted to drive a certain road to enter Kenya. On the map it looked totally doable. But it was raining. Hard. And pondering the options,
we bypassed that road only to later meet a couple who had taken it; a heart-stopping track, they said “like driving on butter.” We spent a few minutes patting ourselves on the back for not going there. Of course that was prior to being desperately stuck in the mud twice in one week.
Kenya, that most organized of countries, gave us so many new friends. Eldoret town, Lake Turkana, the National Museum, JJs in Nairobi, Samburu Park, the fabulous Twiga and Barefoot beaches, Malindi town – I would go back to Kenya tomorrow. It took days for me to get 
over leaving Twiga; I kept asking myself why we left. But leaving there led us to Malawi and to time spent with our friends Jen and Jared. And on we go; more of Mozambique to see, more Zimbabwe, South Africa and camping with Adrian and Rentia, Swaziland, Lethoso, Botswana . . . where will it end?
There are more than twice as many people in Uganda now as when we visited 13 years ago. The population has doubled. Doubled, as in every person times two. It is almost inconceivable. Where do they live? What do they eat? Crops are grown on every surface that can be farmed and no slope is too steep. Agriculture keeps much of the population busy, but it is not a high paying industry unless you own the farm. We spoke to local people who told us teachers are poorly trained and rarely paid and the local paper’s headline said a high percentage of children cannot do sums and subtraction. From Rwanda to here, it is out of the frying pan into the fire. No wonder so many people ask us if anyone can make it in America.
We enter Uganda at the crumbling Katuna border post where the trucks are 
stacked 10 long and three deep. It is surprisingly efficient and we quickly adjust to driving on the left again – Rwandans drive on the right. Best to drive sober in all these countries. A few kilometers from the border, Lake Bunyonyi has facilities for us at the edge of lake – we are the only campers on this steep and lovely piece of property. There’s bandas (rooms) and a restaurant and since it is Sunday the local folks are making an outing of it, visiting the lake and having lunch. A group walks into our camp and exclaims, “look at the white people” to their children. They whip out their phones and pose for photos with us; they have me hold the baby and take photos, all the while chatting in their local language. What a hoot.
Uganda is a former British colony and to honor the visit of Queen Elizabeth back in the day, they renamed the Kazinga National Park – it is now Queen Elizabeth National Park. I find that charming for some reason. Queen, as it is called, is the second largest park, consisting of rivertine areas, huge grass-covered plains, and the remnants of volcanic explosion craters. Large mammals are a bit scarce, decimated by poaching in the ’70s but coming back slowly. Lions, elephant, elusive leopard, and prodigious bird life make it interesting. Here we scouted for the famous tree-climbing lions – their favorite fig trees are marked on the map! 
We did not see them, the weather was quite unsettled and much rain came down so likely they were wet and miserable under some bush. However, I did not feel skunked as I spotted this bird – the Ross’s Turaco – 
and it was kind enough to sit still for photos. I’ve seen it twice before, both times at Kapishya Hot Springs, and it was so twitchy I could never get close. These shots don’t do it justice – on the wing it has gorgeous magenta feathers that flash like neon. It is one of few birds with that color feather. Isn’t it adorable?
Other species spotted include this African Blue Flycatcher and this Fan-tailed Widowbird. The Black headed Gonolek has become quite common, I don’t go all primate when I see one now. Fire finches and Fine
-spotted woodpeckers are lovely. They are not on the “Ugly Five” list – not to be confused with the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo
). This Marabou Stork qualifies, in fact I think it is on the top of the ugly list. But what can you do when you’ve evolved this big air sac for flying high and it happens to be pink? Deal with it.
Recent Comments