So, here we are last week at Sambiya River Lodge in the Murchison Falls National Park, around five hours north–west of Kampala. We travelled up here last Monday and back on Thursday, which gave us two days exploring with the help of a friendly tour operator.
The Lodge felt like a tropical paradise with forest around and most buildings having thatched roofs. The main building consists of a spacious reception area and then a long curved bar, lounge and dining area on 2 levels open to the elements save bamboo screens in a spiders web shape on top of a low wall spanning the considerable length. At one end one could see the pool and in front the large garden heaving with weaverbirds and nest chirping their hearts out, outdone only by the extraordinarily loud Cicadas. As ever the countryside was eager to shed its reputation for peace and quiet. Our Banda accommodation was basic but good: concrete structures with thatched roof and a gabled porch. Showers, basins and loos were communal like one might find on a campsite. Set a little apart from the main building it was strange to think that as we slept all manner of beasts might walk past, especially once the security lights went out. At supper (a delicious Thai chicken curry) the waiter spotted a hyena he claimed. Certainly lions, buffalo and even leopards have been found right up to and even in the Lodge. Warthogs are a common sight in the garden. Unfortunately the combination of rain and sunshine that day, or days, conspired to encourage what seemed like the annual initiation of the flying termites. Thousands of them gathered in clouds around the lights in the dining room. Their wings like petals of Michaelmas daisies shedding in a carpet over the floor below. Fascinating and foul simultaneously, but the geckos were thrilled and were out in droves too, not to be outdone by the resident colony of bats. Supper was certainly not dull.
The park itself extends to the north and south of the Victoria Nile as it makes the last stage of its journey from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert. In the centre of the park is the Murchison Falls – a spectacular cataract unknown to the outside world until discovered by Sir Samuel Baker (and his intrepid wife) on 3rd April 1864, promptly naming it after the then president of the Royal Geographical Society, his expedition’s sponsor. Here the mighty White Nile - hundreds of yards wide above and below the falls – thunders 45m down a cleft no more than 8m wide.
As well as walking to the top of the falls and the next day up to their foot, we spent two long mornings on game drives north of the Nile and in the direction of the Nile as it flows out of Lake Albert and towards the Sudan. Lucy Alastair and Tom are keen to post a report of these drives – suffice it to say at this point that we felt very fortunate indeed to see all the ‘big game’ which the park has to offer, including distant sightings of a leopard in the fork of a tree and the ‘shoebill’ – a rare stork-like bird.
On the return journey to Kampala, close to a small town called Masindi (Wootton readers might be interested to know that Masindi is where John Kirkby spent a month last year), we paused for a rare treat and ‘first’. Around three km out of town, we were met by a young government vet, Tonny Kidega, who had persuaded the local village that instead of razing one of the last remnants of forest in their area, they should preserve it as a Community Forest, generating income and employment for the local economy from tourists. We learnt that there were five species of primate still living in the forest, including two families of chimpanzees. So, for an absorbing hour or so, we were conducted round the (fairly small) forest by Tonny and his team, spotting abandoned chimpanzee nests, observing colobus and red-tailed monkeys, being observed closely by a troop of baboons from the trees (part of the fascination was that the nosey baboons had never set eyes on mzungu – white – children!), and eventually but sadly at a greater distance than Tonny had hoped, spotting four chimps, anxiously watching us from the trees.
We returned to Mukono (accompanied as far as Kampala by Tonny – who turned out to be a shining Christian and ex-Prayer Secretary of Makerere University CU) with eyes opened wider at the wonder of the natural world, the poverty of many rural areas here, and the dedication and love of many Ugandans for their country and its heritage.
