So there I was…along with about 70 Ugandans on a muddy slope pushing a coach bus up a hill that was stuck in a rut about a foot deep as the sun was setting. I wasn’t going to push but Mike was pushing and since we were the only two white people the locals put it together and figured out that we knew each other and they jovially pressured me into pushing. As darkness set in it was becoming more and more dangerous so after only one push I stood up on top of the bank to watch the scene unfold. In my head I was incessantly praying that no one would get hurt and also completely perplexed by what was going on and how I got there.
To tell the story of how I got there is a daunting task. Mike and I recently returned to Bududa after long, tiresome and epic 10 day journey throughout Uganda. If I had a whole day I would not be able to tell all the stories we have accumulated from that trip. We saw so many crazy things and wonderful places that putting it into words is challenging. Looking back on it I am very grateful that this trip came together. I feel like I have experienced way more of Uganda than I expected to or if I had spent all my time in Bududa.
A few weeks ago Mike and I were contemplating hiking Mt. Elgon, since it’s practically in our backyard. We heard from other visitors that the price for hiking recently went up so we went to the national park office to find out the details. We found out that it costs $90/day/person and that doesn’t include the cost of food, renting equipment, hiring a porter and the campsite fees. After sitting down and adding up the price for both of us on a 5 day hike we quickly realized we couldn’t afford it.
Shortly after this disappointing realization we went on a trip to Lira in the north and meet a lovely Ugandan couple, Soloman and Esther. Soloman is the head master of a vocational school near Lira and Esther runs Children of Hope Uganda, which is an NGO that supports local orphans. While we were there Soloman mentioned that he would like to take his family to Murchison Falls National Park and he was wondering if we wanted to make the trip with them. Of course we wanted to go, how could we turn down seeing a national park in Uganda with a wonderful Ugandan family? We weren’t sure if the timing was right and there were other places in Uganda we wanted to go and see. After consulting a calendar and map we not only decided to join them but also make it the first leg of a journey that would take us on a giant loop around Uganda. The planning came together quickly. Even though we didn’t have all the details figured out we set out to see Uganda, confident we would figure out the rest along the way.
Meeting up with Soloman and his family was the first leg of our trip but it was not our first stop. When we left Bududa we traveled through Mbale and then onto Butebo. There we met up with Henry and his family. Henry is a tailoring teacher at the vocational school and since he lives far away he also stays in the boy’s hostel and looks after the boys there. He is a wonderful man with a big heart and a big family. He is part of the Ateso tribe, which lives in an area north of Mbale. He has 5 brothers and sister and all of his brothers live very close to him since they all inherited a piece of land from their father. Unfortunately we did not meet Henry’s father because he passed away only a few weeks before. We did meet his mother and out of all the Ugandans that I have met she gave me the warmest welcome and longest hug. For most of our visit we were surrounded by a posse of 15 children, only 4 of which were Henry’s and the rest were his nieces and nephews. Henry’s family does not have much when it comes to wealth and material things, nevertheless they were extremely generous and grateful to have us visit. We were surrounded by dirty children and fields of crops, we slept in a mud hut with a thatched roof but the way they treated us we felt like guests of honor.
The journey from Henry’s to Lira was surprisingly uneventful and easy, except that we took a piki ride that was an hour and ten minutes long, which at that time was the longest piki ride we had endured. We got another warm welcome by Soloman and his family. They have three children; Calvin (9 years old), John (3) and Lorna (1 ½). Since Esther runs an NGO that helps orphans they also have taken in about 4 orphans who take care of the cooking, cleaning and digging in exchange for food and housing. By Ugandan standards they are well-off; they have a private car and running water, although they still lack electricity. Before setting off for Murchison Falls the next day they treated us to good food, showers and a cozy bed to spend the night in.
On our way to the national park we stopped at a local place to get food and stuffed ourselves to the brim with matoke, rice, beans and chicken. But the odd thing was that as we were eating we were watching a news report on the television about the hurricane that hit the east coast of North America. It was weird enough to see television but to see our country and the places we lived was crazy and it pulled on our heart string a little bit.
As we drove closer to the park we crossed the Nile where there was a waterfall, Karuma Falls. Mike and I stepped out of the car to take pictures and walk across the bridge. On the other side of the bridge we met up with two unhappy police officers, dressed in full military fatigues and assault rifles. They were talking to Esther in their native language so we were clueless as well as a bit worried. They let us go after a few minutes and Esther explained to us they were unhappy with us walking across the bridge since it was illegal and they thought it wasn’t safe for us to do so. Obviously we are savvy and sensible enough to know what we were doing and be safe, but still the only thing below was a quick watery death.
The drive through the park was beautiful, you could see for miles and everything was luscious and green. Along the road in the park we saw tons of baboons. They are used to the cars and sometimes they sit with their hand out waiting for you to give them food but usually we make to much noise and they run off into the jungle. We also saw buffalo on our drive, and we got a little to close for comfort. Most of them were sitting in a giant mud puddle cooling themselves off but one took on the role of gate keeper and stood in the road staring at us. Eventually it let us pass without causing a scene which we were all happy about specially when a few days later we heard a story of a buffalo getting mad and rolling a car over. It’s always nice to hear stories like those after the close encounter so that the experience is more exciting than terrifying.
About four hours after we left Lira we got out of the car to gaze upon the stunning sight of Murchison Falls and the hike around it. The amount of power, water, and beauty this waterfall had is beyond belief and comprehension. Just before the falls the river is about 150 meters wide then all of that water funnels into a gorge that is 20 meters wide and 60 meters deep which creates a magnificent display of white water. When we went white water rafting a few months ago our guide explained that at Murchison Falls “water goes in and doesn’t come out” and that description is not far off. We took our time taking it all in and getting it captured on camera, which was good and bad because we got some amazing pictures but then our battery died and we were unable to take pictures the following day.
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest park and protected area in Uganda at 3,840 square kilometers. It’s biggest attraction, and namesake, being Murchison Falls, but in addition to that it is also home to many species of mammals, reptiles and birds. The parks history is almost as turbulent as the falls for which it is named. Senseless rebel activity by the lunatics of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in the north spilled into the park, closing it for most of the beginning to the 21st century. Poaching dwindled its numbers but in recent years the rebels have been pushed out into the Congo and the numbers have begun to rebound. The best way to see the wildlife in the park is on a “game drive” or safari accompanied by a local guide. Once we found Sam, our guide, all eight of us packed into the car and we drove around on safari for 4 hours and it was incredible. We saw elephants, giraffes, a leopard, more buffalo, warthogs, hippos, heartbeast, the African kop, and many species of birds including the beautiful carmine bee eater and the African fish eagle. The only things we didn’t see that are in the park are lions and Nile crocodiles, and honestly we weren’t at all disappointed.
After the safari we said goodbye to Soloman and his family. From there they went back to Lira and we had the rest of our journey ahead of us. What happened next is a bit hard to believe but we are both alive to tell the tale and lucky that the build up of adrenaline wasn’t needed for a flight or fight reaction.
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