UK Pit-Stop: Xmas & New Year

Dec 09/Jan 2010: A wintry break in the UK - 3 weeks of flat roads, fast internet, anonyminity & proper bread. Oh, & it was fantastic to see you fine folk as well!

Happy New Year!

Dutchie + trip to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

The latest jolly with the Dutch bunch saw us wading through swamps and ripping limbs in the tall grass, all in pursuit of the elusive rhino. The sanctuary - which occupies 70km of land - also plays host to vervet monkeys, orphaned bushbucks, hippos and crocodiles. We managed to spot an amorous couple, but sadly, not the latest addition to the rhino herd: baby Obama (his father was donated by Disneyland & his mother from Kenya...)

The main aims of the sanctuary are to promote the re-introduction of rhinos into Uganda, run breeding programmes, educate communities on poaching and rhino conservation.

Spooky

Another year in Uganda, another chance to celebrate my favourite festival...

Little Face

This photo - of one of the kids on my street - was my entry into a recent VSO photography competition. The children follow me home every day, shouting 'Muzungu, bye'! as I pass. Often, they'll peer through the compound gate, eagerly waiting for a biscuit or a piece of pineapple.

Rhino Raft Race, Jinja

November 2009: With high spirits & a mighty effort, the VSO rafting team paddled into 6th place (/20) in the annual Rhino Fund Raft Race, in aid of Rhino Fund Uganda (http://www.rhinofund.org/). The route took us along 4km of the Nile River, finishing up at the spectacular Bujagali Falls. The winning team were the 'Rhino Rangers' - none of whom could swim!

Cheerio VSO - Lonely Planet here I come

October 2009: I bid farewell to my do-gooding & started a new job with The Far Horizon (http://www.thefarhorizons.com/), where I will be working in the not-too-shabby role as a Tour Manager. The job involves visiting and photographing hotels & lodges around the country & 'researching' the various activities & safaris available for some new websites. White water rafting & quad-biking here I come - whoop! The office is in a pretty compound which has a resident cat called Simba; it's across town, so in order to minimise my time spent in the 'jam', I am now also the proud new owner of a little Suzuki jeep, Suki.

Chopper Chimps

It’s the ‘Year of the Gorilla’ in Uganda & Rwanda. There have been a host of events (a most notable one being 50 people in gorilla suits distributing conservation leaflets in the centre of town; this resulted in an outcry from some Kampala residents, who were convinced that the chimp population had escaped from the national parks). This weekend, saw the launch of the ‘Friend-a-Gorilla’ campaign (http://www.friendagorilla.org/) & a ‘Gorilla Gala’.

On Thursday night, my friend Dave (a pilot) & I hatched an idea for a little publicity stunt - to fly over the gala venue dressed as gorillas, waving from the chopper. All we needed were the gorilla suits… I really didn’t think we’d pull it off… but we did!

If seeing the mountain gorillas of Uganda wasn’t enough, actually being one in a helicopter was chopper'tastic!

Zanzibar

Beautiful Zanzibar - the land of coconuts & cloves, mazes & mosques, beaches & sunshine divine. My friend Al joined me for a fortnight of sun dhow'ners & a veritable marine safari, which included some scuba diving, dolphin spotting & a get together with a band of giant tortoises. Stone Town is a maze of alleyways & mosques, with rich Swahili & Arabic architecture; hawkers selling dates on street corners & children scampering though the streets on their way to school. The beaches are beautiful & often populated with locals, swishing their kangas, harvesting sea-weed, or preparing their dhows for the afternoon's fishing. I recommend!

Hairy Lemon

A weekend at the Hairy Lemon with the Dutch bunch - a little back-to-basics island on the Nile (in eastern Uganda). A perfect spot for relaxing & risking Biharzias... The place is named after a pub in Ireland, I believe.

This just says it all...

Mwana Mugimu - painting weekend

The VSO Kampala cluster spent an industrious & artistic weekend at the Mwana Mugimu (‘healthy child’) unit of Mulago Hospital, painting one of the wards. We hired a local artist to produce the designs & spent two days sanding walls, cleaning windows & brandishing paint-brushes. The result was, erm, bright & colourful… (!) & a much cheerier environment for some very young, sick & vulnerable children.

The next phase of the project is to design a new playground, but we are also still collecting toys & clothes for the unit – so if you would like any info on how to send some over, please do let me know.

Moonlighting

Having recently joined to Iguana 'team' (I will be working there once a week from October), I spent the day with them at the cosy offshore, Lagoon Resort, on Lake Victoria. Beautiful place for a relaxing Sunday, with kayaking, bbq, volleyball & a campfire. Yes please!

USDC field trip

A small series of pit stops 'up-country' for a work field trip. First a dash from Kampala to Soroti in the east, & then north to Lira & Arua, on the Congo border. The purpose of the trip was to visit some of the construction projects we are funding - mainly resource rooms and dormitories for blind & deaf children.

The trip was also a chance to see rural Uganda up close. We drove through several bustling towns – little hubs of traffic & trade; clusters of thatched mud-hut homesteads & farmland. Amongst all of this, life really seems to take place on the roadside. We passed groups of women with their jerry cans at the water pump, men on bicycles, laden with pineapples, sticks & chickens, about to topple over; children being bathed in plastic tubs or running naked through the bush, chasing old tyres & goats; people carrying all manner of things on their heads; women selling heavy bags of charcoal; palm, acacia, & papaya trees on a savannah landscape.

& I even saw an elephant!

Semliki

A recent public holiday allowed the crew to pack up the camping kits & spend a long weekend at the remote Semliki reserve, in the Western Rift Valley. Situated on the shores of Lake Albert (opposite the Congo) & at the base of the Rwenzori mountains, it's a beautiful mosaic of habitats - grassland, savanna, forest & wetlands, a haven for the ornithologist & a revealing snapshot into the daily rural lives of Ugandans.

We whiled away the time wandering through the local villages, haggling with fishermen for fresh tilapia, spotting Ugandan Cob & the occasional elephant, cooking over the campfire & waking up to honey coloured dawns.

Kampala Street Festival

Music /Art Festival, with drumming from the Kika Troupe, up & coming Ugandan artists & lots of beer.

Pedicure Prerogative

Amidst the buzzing of boda-bodas & the heavily laden hawkers, weaving between dawdling cows, goats & pot holes, there are small havens for the vain on the streets of Kampala. Hair-braiding, shoe-shining, manicures and pedicures are all on offer – just about everywhere in fact. On Saturday morning, Marlies, Elena & I decided to splash out with 1,000 shillings (about 30p) & give our toes some treatment. Everything started out well – our feet were cleaned with an old toothbrush & the polish of our choice was applied… that is, until the chap decided to get creative. Step forward, 30 sparkly & luminous toes; add some wind swept dust & you have quite the speckled effect. Just as well we had late night dancing on the agenda!

Nightlife

Kampala reportedly hosts some of East Africa's best nightlife & my local is no exception: the Dutch-owned, breezy Iguana bar, with its plump couches, cool & daring-do DJ & soul-beat atmosphere, it's chock-a-block on both Friday & Saturday nights. By peering over the balcony, you can spy boda boda drivers waiting for passengers, late-night snack sellers & the whole of Kisementi. Fortunately, K'la's current hot-spot is also a convenient 10min walk from my house!

Mt Elgon

Nine VSOs donned their crampons for a 4-day trek to the summit of Mt Elgon, in eastern Uganda. Everyone was on ‘peak’ form (get it?!) & made it to the top of the mountain’s Wagagai peak (4,321 metres), from which you can look out across to Kenya. From bamboo groves, rugged slopes, spectacular waterfalls & caves at the base, through to almost sci-fi landscapes of giant lobelia & heather, followed by crater lakes towards the top, the trek was stunning. Though my feet have yet to forgive me, it was definitely worth it! Next stop, Kilimanjaro…