An African Odyssey

My most serene moment in Africa to date and the most scary all happened within a couple of hours of each other in the Serengeti…

We bush camped in the Serengeti and another very early start in the dark for me as had decided to fulfill childhood dream of ballooning in the Serengeti. Hilarious beginning to the flight with all 16 passengers having to climb into the balloon sideways to take off, so was very much like a fairground ride. We gently floated over the plains, watching the sunrise light the trees and animals come to life below. To start with we were so close to the ground we could just about tickle the giraffe's ears then we rose up to several hundred feet for a full vista across the park. We saw antelope, foxes, giraffes, hyenas, loads of hippos, a baby vulture in the top of an acacia tree and heaps of antelope and impala bobbing around. It was so peaceful and worth every cent of the small fortune it cost (for those in the know, it cost the same as the insured value of my car!!!). Afterwards we had champagne (as you do), followed with a full English breakfast. It was a completely surreal experience to be sipping on champagne in the middle of the Serengeti and feeling quite nicely by 10am!! Got a certificate of survival and then hooked up with the rest of the gang on our Fun Safari (name of company) adventure.

We did a bit more of a game drive, packed up the tents and then we were up for a 6 hour trip back through the Serengeti, then Ngorongoro and back to Arusha. However we didn’t make it too far… we all thought we were going to die as our driver completely lost control and we careened off the road and into a small ditch. Thankfully we didn’t flip but it was definitely a close call. The reason for the crash was that crazy Eric had been driving way too fast – over 100km on roads that should be done at around 50km- and the front left hand axle shaft had snapped, which meant we were really rather err… shafted and stranded in the middle of the Serengeti. Loads of vehicles passed us and we were like animals on display… it was funny at first but really Fun Safaris became a whole lot less fun after an hour or so of waiting around and hoping not to be eaten by passing animals.

We were eventually dropped back to the visitor centre by another company and told that they would fix the car and use it to take us back to Arusha which we were seriously unhappy about. While none of us are mechanics anybody could see that the landcruiser would be out of action for some time and not safe to drive. However in the day and age of mobile phones (I hate that traveling has changed so much that everyone is always connected but was deeply grateful at this point in time!!) we eventually managed to get hold of Oasis and they sorted it out with Fun Safaris that we got another vehicle… the only thing was that it was now late in the day and you have to be out of the national parks by 6pm as they lock the gates. The next driver was great but still experienced a completely surreal video game drive home as we had near misses when zebras leaped out in front us, some masai goats, a car door at the wrong time, then a few guns and arguments at the locked gates in Ngorongoro (but they let us through)… was definitely an adventure but so pleased to get back to Snake Park and crash out into the safety of bed!!

Passed through from Kenya into Tanzania and enjoyed watching the scenery change from quite lush vegetation to the vast open plains, with a few acacia trees scattered about the place (think 'Gods Must be Crazy') and the Masai people dotting the landscape in their colourful kangas, herding their livestock from one place in the middle of nowhere to another. Border crossing was crazy and we were swamped by bejewelled Masai woman selling all kinds of adornments and getting back on the truck without purchasing something was mission impossible. Passed under the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro, but so hazy actually didn't even get a peek at the famous mountain.

Our camping stop was at Snake Park in Arusha, where as the name suggests there are a lot of snakes.. thankfully the only ones that we saw where behind glass... still enough to give you bad dreams and jump 10 feet in fright when certain members of the truck tickle the your ankle!! The park was chock full of overland trucks which meant a busy bar and cold showers. The next day we did a village walk, some of us atop camels where we saw inside one of the huts, with walls cleverly built out of cow dung, dirt, ash and water. It is the woman who build the houses and in fact do most of the work in their society, men seem to only attend livestock and rest on their laurels. The Masai people are polygamists so of course had to ask all the questions of how many wives our guide had (two but looking for a third) and how much it costs to get a wife (anywhere between 12-15 cows).. definitely glad that I am not living in that society, or if I did would definitely come back as a man!!

In the afternoon we headed over to the Ngorongoro Crater campsite ready for a few days of game driving. Upon arrival, the vehicle carrying our gear had a flat tyre, so we retired to the bar, only to discover when it did turn up that our tent bag was missing all our tent pegs. Managed to beg, borrow and steal enough to hold our tent up for the night. Pretty quiet evening due to the early start the next morning, though everyone enjoyed having food cooked instead of doing our own cook groups and eating our beloved truck food (actually food has been surprisingly good, just that cooking and shopping for such a crowd is a real effort).

Striking camp in the dark was pretty easy since our tent pretty much fell down of its own accord and then into 4X4's for the game drive into the crater. There were six per vehicle and one crazy driver - our group landed driver named Eric who was intent on training for some kind of African Formula one doing 100km plus on gravel, potholed track. After a lenghty delay at the gates sorting passports and travellers cheques (things always done the most torturous, lenghty way here) and avoiding the marauding baboons, we finally made it into the Crater. It was a bit of a traffic jam situation going on at the bottom with up to 30 odd vehicles all kicking up the dust and jostling for position around the animals, however having said that it was amazing, we saw lions, cheetahs, elephants, hippos, wilderbeast and the usual line up of antelopes, gazelle and zebras.

While passing some of the most amazing wildlife around, our group made the awful realisation that we had not got lunch as none of us noticed the lunchboxes at breakfast (to be fair it was dark and 5.30am)... so it was a mad scramble in the back seat to find the elusive Maryland cookies which took on the utmost priority when faced with the prospect of not eating for another 8 hours. Was hysterically funny and confused the heck out of our driver... hunger does strange things to people. Thankfully we did get some food at lunchtime as someone had noticed our error and brought the lunchboxes for us. Then with lunch in hand went outside to eat only to be divebombed by a hawk, so ate in the car.

Following all the drama and craziness, we headed back up out of the crater (about 600m deep) and onwards into the Serengeti. A crazy 3 hour drive with Eric at the wheel, speaking of which we actually lost one of the spares off the back due to travelling at such crazy speeds. Had an evening game drive in the Serengeti, though didn't see anything too spectacular, the actual park itself was the most interesting part with the rolling grass going on for miles and miles around us and successfully hiding the elusive animals.

After our gorilla adventures, had a great few days in Lake Bunyoni, going for swims in the cold water of Uganda's deepest lake, chilling on the loungers, eating crayfish for lunch, catching up on washing while listening to some African music from a conference nearby... was really peaceful and could definitely have stayed for longer. Had a few long travel days back through the lush Ugandan countryside passing through the equator and watching the water go down the plug hole different ways (for your info it goes straight down on the actual equator line!). Even when the roads are rough, dusty and long, travelling on the truck is pretty good with time to read, listen to music, chat with people and hang out the sides watching the villages and countryside whisk by (not good for any type of hairdo other than windswept look though!!). The truck has an open air 'beach' at the front where you can go up and actually spread out on the cushions, sunbathe and get a really good view of passing scenery.

Made it to Kampala the capital of Uganda and looked around the town and markets. Experienced a very important cultural highlight of having a stylish pedicure in the markets for less than a cost of a beer!! Was the envy of all the girls and set a dangerous precedent for spa treatments on the road. Took my posh feet out on the town that night, as Gabi had a friend living in Kampala to show us the renowned nightlife. We started at the mzungu hangout of Bubbles O'Leary (you guessed right from the name that it is an Irish pub!), then we bopped on down to the Sheraton Hotel and onwards to a club called Rouge which had a good local flavour. Really enjoyed the night and spent all the next day doing cultural wasteland activities of nothing much at all - reading, watching movies and to catch up on diary entries.

Drove from Kampala back to Kenya and into the Nakuru national park for a night of bush camping where we were set upon by baboons. Seriously have to have everything tied down otherwise they will steal it with surprising speed and aggression. This applies even to yourself as saw baboons make off with a girls shower bag and empty half the contents!! Using a bush toilet option also comes with its own dangers when mooning the baboons is not a good idea. The park was great, really enjoyed the soda lake with the millions of flamingos on shore. Got to see rhino, buffalo, antelope, zebras, giraffes, elephants, dik dik and luckily a leopard lazing under a tree. Quite amazing to see the animals so close and mostly they are completely oblivious to passing noisy yellow truck with 24 cameras clicking frantically.

After the park, a great Indian lunch in Nakuru town in a spot we had discovered the day before. Unfortunately by taking up our recommendation several people then got food poisoning... luckily we escaped that fate! Took the opportunity to buy a few souvenirs and bargain hard, as they always start with outrageous tourist prices. Tagged along with Phil trying to get a charger for her mobile.. Shopping here is crazy as if you ask for something in a shop that they don't stock then they will often tell you to wait and go off in search of it themselves! This applies to restaurants as well - you can never be entirely sure if your food is cooked in the kitchen there, next door or somewhere down the road.

Headed back to Nairobi and having already spent a few days exploring the Kenyan capital on arrival, used the few days to relax. Most excitement was going into Karen town (suburb on the outskirts of Nairobi) for food, internet, leg wax and a bit of shopping! We lost 6 of our people in Nairobi and picked up another 7 heading out. Travelling on the truck is comparable to living in a big brother house and the changeover of fellow like minded travellers in Nairobi, was a little like big brother eviction/invasion. While we all missed the ones who had left, the newbies have all settled in well. Now down to 10 nationalities, 6 couples, 2 new couples (courtesy of night out in Kampala!) and the rest of us singletons making up the balance. In fact there has been so much tent changing for various reasons, think that my diet coke obsessed tent buddy and I are the only ones still in original pair!! Nevertheless everyone gets on surprisingly well and when the opportunity arises to do our own thing, we mostly stick together.

From Jinja we headed to Lake Bunyoni where we spent the night. Another great campsite with views over the lake and a relaxed atmosphere. My tent buddy, Phillipa (from Scotland) and I have gotten pretty good at putting the tent up and down and already settled into routine like an old married couple with own sides of the tent and all!!

Had a swim in the lake just as a thunder and lightning storm hit which was hysterical and very wet as the rain was bouncing off the water into our faces. Early start the next day to head to Kisoro in the south-western corner of Uganda near the border of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The road was outrageously bad and nobody really enjoyed the 5 hour trip. Nothing much to say about Kisoro, it is a dusty border town and the campsite pretty average (but good hot shower!), however everyone was pretty hyped up as it meant being close to seeing the gorillas. Another early start and we did our border processing and through into DRC. Laughed at the border security – an old tire on the Ugandan side and two bamboo sticks on the DRC side, all aided by a tired looking guard with an ancient gun. Had to walk the no mans land in between.. must say it was the most unique border crossing I’ve ever done!!

As soon as you got into DRC could see that it was much poorer, and funnily enough the Congolese people also looked different, a bit shorter with rounder faces. We crammed into 4WD drive vehicles (9 to a car) and if we thought the roads the previous day were bad, we revised our opinion, as these were potholed beyond belief and we sashayed and side-winded all over the road with complete abandon. While we didn’t feel too safe it was the unfortunate people walking along the road that were really in danger as our driver seemed to completely disregard the fact that they had leapt to safety on the verges… in fact we did actually hit one person with the wing mirror and then we also crashed into a fence post when heading into the national park… not very inspiring!! The worst part was that we had to travel for 3 hours like this… each way… banged my head who knows how many times!! It was definitely a Grade 5 road! Almost forgot that we were in a country with a travel warning out and very fragile peace until we passed 3 UN vehicles, the last of which was carrying a massive gun mounted on the top…

Finally we arrived at Parc National des Virungas and were introduced to our guides and then off up the hill. Voted to go in the medium level group instead of trying to be a mountain goat with the fast and fit among us. In groups of 8 we headed over farmland then into the jungle, where they slashed way through to find the gorilla families. The one our group saw was the biggest with 31 gorillas, including some babies and a giant silverback watching over it all. Got amazingly close and they were very curious and if not for the guides ah-hemming their communication am sure they would have touched us. Quite a humbling experience. Only allowed one hour with them as they are sensitive to human disease and also they don’t like to stress the animals either – the time really flew by and then it was down the jungle path again to the waiting vehicles. Hideous trip back (hit head numerous times again!) and was relieved to get back over the border before dark. Then too late I realized that I had left my Nordic walking poles in the 4WD in the Congo… I was certain that I was going to be singularly responsible for starting the trend of Nordic Walking in the Congo but amazingly I actually got them back as after a huge stuff up two of our group didn’t get to see the gorillas that day and had to go back again the next day, so they rescued them for me.

From Kenya we headed into Uganda and straight to Jinja which is the source of the Nile and one of the best places in the world to go white water rafting. The campsite at Bujagali Falls was great with the best view out over the river. So all keyed up, off we went to get wet and wild on the Nile. Day started innocently enough with instructions on how to paddle and how to swim through the rapids. The first couple of rapids were great – got though a Grade 4 and 5 no problems and then flipped on a Grade 3 called 50/50 (your chances of staying in the boat!). Then we hit a rapid called Total Ganga (madness) and we really lost the plot, flipping right at the start, paddles and people flying and hit the worst area of rapid, affectionately known as the G-Spot, at a good swim drinking a good portion of Nile with it. Was actually really scary and got picked up by one of the safety kayakers a bit further downstream. Must say that most of us were a little subdued after that!! There were quite a few long calm stretches where you almost forgot that you had to do it all again… then the distant roar of the water would fill your ears and your heart with trepidation! However we made it through all the next rapids okay, though the next one only 3 of us managed to stay on the boat which we thought was awesome, as the temptation to pike on the whole adventure was still quite high!! The last rapid you have to walk around a Grade 6 waterfall and then paddle through ‘The Bad Place’ – a lot of people voted not to get back on and walk to the waiting truck, but put on a brave face and did it – holding on very tight I can tell you!! Quite a few people got some bad bumps and bruises from rocks, rafts and paddles but all I had to show for my efforts was a broken fingernail which was almost a little disappointing!! On return to the camp discovered showers had no water hot or cold, so had a bath in Nile (checking for crocs first!) which was fantastic – felt very Africa!! Afterwards had a bbq and all you can drink nite – messy.

Next day we did a volunteer day for an organization called Soft Power Education which helps paint and develop schools throughout the district. Visited a pre-school first where we were literally overwhelmed by children running at us, holding our hands and climbing all over us. So cute - yes, this is from the person who doesn’t really like kids but there is something about the kids here, they really are just so cute you can’t help but like them. They sang us a song and we were required to sing one back – ended up an embarrassingly bad rendition of E-I-E-I-O!! Then we bundled off to the school, greeted by a wave of blue uniforms and proceeded to paint a classroom inside and out. They have no textbooks so they paint maps and textbook stuff on the walls and use that instead. Also the classes have up to 100 children in each – hard to believe. In the afternoon we had the option to go to an opening of a deaf unit at another primary school where the kids would do some entertainment – what a bad idea that was!! The most long-winded speeches whose only interesting feature was the translation of English and Swahili into sign and almost no entertainment from the kids – they got shooed off in favour of more long winded speeches… three hours later… anyway, it was an experience and the unit great idea as children with disabilities here are very often neglected and locked away, seen as useless by society.

Uganda seems a friendlier place somehow than Kenya and all the way, whether by car, foot (actually anywhere, anytime) we are always greeted with cries of mzungu, mzungu (white person) and at times a hand out but mostly friendly waves. The kids get so excited and run after the truck down the road – it is a little like being a celebrity at times. The people in both Kenya and Uganda are really beautiful, in their colourful clothes and graceful movements – quite how they manage to balance stuff (and how much) on their head I will never know. The people here also seem to have a natural dust repellent as always look so clean and well dressed, while we get grubby in about 5 seconds flat.

One of the girls on the truck, Lou had developed a blood clot from the plane so she was resting in Jinja but after several doctors visits it didn’t get any better so she had to go to Kampala and eventually get a flight home – very disappointing as seeing the gorillas was her childhood dream.