The Heart of the Nile - Bunyoro Country

We were slowly getting synchronised to the rhythm of a day in Uganda. With the sunrise just after 6am, one wastes no time to get stuff done before the lethargy of the heat of the middle of the day. We had a large breakfast to put away, final bills to pay, and bottled water to stock up on. I was also getting filled in on the local news that is never without intrigue. My thirst for the Ugandan cultural mood was somewhat quenched by buying a local paper. 

CULTURAL INTRIGUES

The Sunday papers were full of rumours of the president, Yoweri Museveni, planning a coup to overthrow himself. The Sunday Monitor elaborated this incredulous idea by writing that the Defence Minister ''emphasised the possibility if the military stepping back into political control should the politicians continue quote not showing seriousness that they can solve the problems unquote facing the country''. Reasons cited are populist rather than principle-based politics, mysterious deaths and arrests of prominent politicians. Asked about the fact that the Ugandan army is professional and modern, the minister responded that the army is revolutionary before anything else. Straight out of the Idi Amin playbook (watch the documentary in the ''Arrival of Contrasts'' blog entry!). 

The Sunday Monitor also had a book review on Sir Edward Mutesa, the 35th Kabaka (King) of the Buganda Kingdom ( a semi-autonomous kingdom in Uganda) and First President of Uganda. A lot of focus has been on what became of him - he died, allegedly from alcohol poisoning, whilst in exile in England from the Obote regime. Many doubt that he was drunk and others say that he was poisoned. Milton Obote overthrew his government and abolished all monarchies in the country. This precluded the rise of Idi Amin who was army commander at the time. This book, Sir Edward Mutesa: His Life and Politics, sheds more light on the man and goes into depth on the history of his life and times.

                                                             

The coronation of King Mutesa a.k.a. King Freddie - November 19th to 20th 1942. Courtesy of Fraser39

ON THE ROAD

From the historical reverie, we now return to the reality at hand. Another group was leaving the hostel that day, but on a different safari. We had booked the Big 5 Murchison Falls Safari. We met our charismatic driver and guide, Isaac which welcomed us to his ''fly ride''. It was going to be the beginning of Uganda according to Isaac, featuring timeless one liners like ''African massage'' - a bumpy road trip! We were joined by a chirpy Austrian family in the minivan before we took off. The hostel is strategically located in the North-East of Kampala for the quick getaway up North. It involves going through some ramshackle but vibrant neighbourhoods, also busy on a Sunday. Very smart too as most were in their Sunday best, ready for worship. Speaking of worship, perched majestically on a hill to the right of the main road is the Baha'i faith's temple of Kampala, inspired and built under the same motifs as the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel. It is worth visiting, for both followers and interested people alike, but our schedule was so crammed it can only serve these places better to visit another day, paying more attention to them than just a glance. Also the Kasubi tombs, where the last 4 Buganda Kabakas are buried, were not going to be visited. It seems like adventure and culture are a hard mix.

Baha'i Temple in Kampala

Uganda is famous for its matoke (plantain) staple and we must have either landed in harvest season or it is always harvest season! Every market had its matoke corner and there were pickup loads of the bunches with some back bumpers almost touching the ground. Isaac introduced us to the matoke sciences. For constipation he recommends eating the small, sweet banana and for a runny tummy the larger size variety is better. The underlying mechanisms are...well, it works so why break it down, man? We got a lot of rest stops on this journey but some were actually shopping stops. Banana stop. Pineapple stop. Butchery stop. Toilet stop. Roast goat on skewers stop. Souvenir stop.

The Pineapple Stop

Just left the Banana Stop....Emergency runny tummy banana rations (if you believe Isaac)

Isaac was resupplying the Red Chili Murchison Camp with provisions such as fruit and some manufactured foods. We got to see him in action bargaining with the street side vendors. I also learnt that to keep prices down, tourists should not show interest in buying a product from inside the van whilst the driver is outside. Retail price suddenly becomes mzungu (White, European or Foreign) prices in a split-second when the objective is a good price! I was craving for those sweet, baby bananas so had to prolong my drooling until Isaac was back inside the van. The hustle is hard as the vendors are not blind and could count 5 tourists with sizable wallets, and their margins for the day can double or even triple without a tourist dropping a bead of sweat from parting with excess cash. This is not to mention the complications of a highly inflated Ugandan shilling ($1 = USh2,600) giving a tourist a false sense of security on the value of things. Isaac bought a lot of pineapples that he confidently stacked on the roof rack, without any harness! And yes, all were intact on arrival. I started thinking of cheeky monkeys and baboons in sniper positions to take out those juicy fruits, but later I was told that the primates on the north side of the Victorian Nile are shier and more docile.

                                                                         The Pineapple Rack

The density of commerce on the roadside just outside Kampala on a Sunday reflects the  density of the population here. Living on highly fertile land can generate decent income from a small plot of land, whilst supplementing that income with a job or two elsewhere. The break into open bush was gradual but there was still activity. Prominent are the arrays of brick making kilns and charcoal making ovens. Also evident are clumps of commercial forestry, mostly with pine and eucalyptus trees. The asphalt road to Masindi was smooth and well painted ,with UNRA (Uganda National Roads Authority) pillars marking the road reserves which must be a challenge in urban areas where informal structures encroach it. It would be interesting find out if the demolishing of these structures came after agreements on satisfactory compensation for the residents. In Kenya, treatment / eviction of ''squatters'' is quite simply inhumane and in many cases a power play between the masses and the local ''mafias'' under the guise of the law. Our refreshment stop was Masindi, our last oasis before ''leaving civilisation'' in the words of the great Isaac. Chapatis and samosas are the fast foods I could probably eat everyday, and we bought some for later. As we chilled at a restaurant terrace sipping Nile Special (of course!) we observed the goings on. Not much was going on though at the corner of my eye I witnessed a girl curtsying a man with a very deep bow. I wonder if that is Bunyoro (Masindi is a major centre in the Bunyoro Kingdom)  etiquette in action?

Map of Uganda. Kampala and Entebbe skirt Lake Victoria and Masindi is in the centre west, right at the edge of Murchison's Falls National Park. Courtesy of the Belletrista website.

BUNYORO COUNTRY

We entered the Kabarega (Murchison's Falls) National Park mid-afternoon. There are 3 main zones (high forest, low forest and savannah). In the high forest zone the trees grow high enough for spiders to spin large webs across the road, to Daniela's horror and her dad's glee. We didn't head straight to the camp as we were scheduled to do a tour of the famous Murchison's Falls from the top, from the more accessible left bank. Before we did, we had a lunch break in a shady banda. After a top up of sunblock then DEET we were joined by our ranger for the tour. It would take just over an hour to trek (more of a stroll) over a few bushy hills to get a first  glimpse of the falls downriver but from a high height. As it turned out in the end, there is pure genius in this method. 

The Nile came into view and I saw a large cascade that I instantly assumed was Murchison's. The ranger said ''no, look to the right''. In between a very narrow gorge, steam and mist rose and beneath a frothy rush of water emerged. Thoughts of Niagara and Iguazu wide rimmed waterfalls dropping into a deep pool garnished with massive whirlpools were extinguished. The initial disappointment was quickly replaced by awe. This tight cataract of a waterfall, in an explosive culmination of an 80 kilometre stretch of rapids, pushes most of the Victoria Nile through to meet the Albertine Nile about 30 kilometres downriver before heading north towards South Sudan. The remarkable  thing is that the first falls that I saw didn't exist before 1962 (the year of Uganda's independence from British colonial rule). There was a great flood that year that made the Victoria Nile break its right bank just before Murchison's Falls send a stream over a new cliff. The appropriately named Uhuru (Independence) Falls came into existence. 

Uhuru Falls (born in 1962) to the left. Murchison's Falls to the right.

We took a different route back towards where we started the excursion but headed closer to Murchison's Falls. We were greeted with the finest spray you can ever get. It was a welcome soaking as it was very hot. I didn't mind getting soaked at all. The roar of the falls was almost deafening and the hypnosis you get from just looking at it was tantalising. Remember, it is not the rainy season so where we were standing would have felt more like standing in the middle of a thundercloud.

WINDING DOWN

The fun and frolics continued on arrival at the camp where we were warmly welcomed by the staff and the resident docile warthogs who, despite their sheepish antics of walking on their front knees, we were reminded are still wild.  We were also briefed about other grazers that like to share the campsite, such as hippos. We were advised to be careful when leaving ones tent to go for a leak in the middle of the night, as surprising a hippo grazing just outside your tent can have deadly consequences! 

I hit the shower just before the red sunset and just before the bugs decide it is cool enough to venture out and have a taste of my skin. On the dinner menu was ''Drover's Hot Pot''. On asking what is ''Drover'', I was given an incredulous look and a response: ''Driver''. I decided not to press further on spelling, as I might end up in the uncharted territory of ''why the hell are your big lakes still with European names?'' The tents were quite spacious for 2 people: it was truly lazy camping, complete with beds, sheets and a kerosene lantern. There was no nocturnal drama involving the local wildlife that night though a member of the familiar two legged species ventured into our tent. Jason was awake enough to realise that it was someone from a different group who mistook our tent for hers! I just saw a silhouette with wet curly hair that could well have been a newly discovered species from the Nile. There was an air of embarrassment from the silhouette so I figured my giant baboon theory extended from my doxycycline (anti-malaria tablets) fuelled dreams was not verifiable. Later on, after scanning the breakfast table, we guessed who it is was.

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Click here for the ''Kabarega (Murchison's Falls) National Park - Day 1'' photo album.

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