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I didn't sleep well, coughing most of the night, possibly because of the smoke from the fires on the hill. Around 8:00, shortly after I got up, I had a call from Baker, my driver. He said Catherine was sick and couldn't come, but he would pick me up. I said I would be ready at 9:30, and showered before having a big breakfast, just like I did last Sunday, with eggs, sausage, bacon and toast. This hotel makes great breakfasts. I really like the sausage here. The bright, sunny dining room is very pleasant in the morning, even though it seems not much thought went into the design of the hotel, which always reminds me of a hospital.
Baker was at the desk paying when I arrived. He had already payed my laundry bill. That wasn't supposed to be included, so I said I would pay him back later. (We both forgot about it, though.) Today, Baker was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser. The roads would be too bad now for a sedan. Baker said that the dusty roads coming here had made Catherine ill, so she had to stay in Kampala. I hadn't been expecting her to come the whole way, in any case.
I asked Baker to stop at Rwenzori Mountain Services so I could get some post cards. I had seen some here of the summit of Margherita, which weren't available at the hotel. But they were closed this morning, so I didn't get any. We headed south from Kasese, passing several checkpoints. Security is high since the Zaire rebels have taken control of the border region.
We passed into Queen Elizabeth National Park, and saw numerous bok, large antelopes with big, curved horns. We passed Lake George, and saw lots of strange cactus-trees. There were signs marking the Equator, which we crossed into the southern hemisphere. We turned onto a rather poor dirt road leading into the Ishasha River sector of Queen Elizabeth Park.
A large group of baboons crossed the road. Later, we passed a lake covered with green vegetation that was full of hippos. I was wishing I hadn't packed away my big lens, not expecting to see so much wildlife today. I already had 1600 speed film in my main camera, anticipating the upcoming gorilla safari. Today, I took mostly slide pictures, so I could put 1600 speed film in the small camera as well when the time came.
We turned left shortly before the border, with Zaire visible not far away across the Ishasha River. We stopped for lunch in a town called Kihili. It was now after 1 PM, and Bwindi was still a difficult 40 km drive. The town was sunny and dusty, and it was hot now.
We went into a small cafe called Green Grass Hotel and Bakery. The walls of the small restaurant were bright turquoise, and a thin white curtain hung in the door frame. The menu on the wall was in a Ugandan language, probably Lugandan, and the most expensive item was 1300 shillings, about $1.30 US. Baker said they had goat meat, and suggested some rice and sweet potato to go with it. I received a heaping plate of rice with a whole greenish sweet potato, and three lumps of goat meat in a bowl of fatty broth. It wasn't bad. Baker had a bigger meal, with matooke.
We continued our drive. On the way out of town, we passed a very fancy, large church, which Baker said looked like it should be in Kampala, not a village. Obviously, it was built with foreign donations. Missionaries are very active here. We continued through villages and banana plantations to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Upon going to the Bwindi office near the entrance, we learned that they had no booking for me, standby or otherwise. Baker said a local contact named Florence was supposed to have made a standby booking. The officials apparently knew Florence, but said this was impossible, because standby permits are issued at the Bwindi office only a day in advance, on a first-come first-served bases. There were already six on tomorrow's waiting list, so trying to get on now was pointless. We would have to drive to Mgahinga tomorrow, where I have a definite booking.
I was hoping Jumbo Nature Safaris did a better job at Mgahinga. I had been suspicious of their "standby permit", since I had read the regulations myself, but thought they would have a better understanding of how the standby system works if they were planning to try to get me a permit here. Probably they understand, but do what they can to try to manipulate the system, and to convince customers they have some chance of getting one of the scarce gorilla permits.
We checked into the African Pearl Cottages just up the road into the park. These are rustic but picturesque little houses, with adobe walls, thatched roofs (over tin), and porches. The basic rooms contained only beds and shelves, with a small rug. The beds were rather hard. A small, shuttered window had no glass. The door had no lock, but could be padlocked. I used my combination lock for this.
I asked Baker to check into the times for the forest walks, which provide an alternative to gorilla tracking for those awaiting permits. The man at the cottages said they go any time until 5 PM, according to demand, but that if you want to take the popular waterfall walk, you need three hours, and must leave by 3 PM to be back by dusk. It was already 3:30, but this was the most attractive walk, so we walked to the park office and asked for a guide. They said it was too late, and it would be better to do it early in the morning. But Baker said it was a five hour drive to Mgahinga, and we must arrive by 4 PM there to sign in for the permit. To be safe, we need to leave early tomorrow.
The office agreed to let us do a quick waterfall walk with a young guide from the village who "knew nothing" but could get us there and back. There would not be time for a full nature tour before dark. Baker paid $22 for park entrance and a guide, and the official went up the street and brought back a barefoot teenager who spoke little English and wore a brightly-colored iridescent nylon jacket.
Baker came on the walk too. We started out following the road past the park gate and African Pearl Cottages, then entered the forest and crossed the shallow Munyaga River several times on crude wooden bridges. There were fern trees along the river, which reminded me of the ones in New Zealand's rainforests. This was a stroll in the park compared to the Rwenzoris, and we kept a fast pace, exhausting Baker, who is no walker.
![[bwindi]](../images/ugasafari/bwindi.gif)
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| Waterfall at Bwindi |
We took a different route back. The guide pointed out a path crossing the trail, and said gorillas had crossed that way recently. Further on, we saw several black monkeys high in a tree. By the time we got back to the cottages, we were quite hot and sweaty. The teenager looked at me like he wanted a tip, but I didn't give him one. I probably should have, but had no idea what was appropriate, and he didn't speak English.
Baker suggested a drink, and I got a Pepsi. A man from the cottages asked if I would like a shower. It takes a few minutes to load the bags above the shower stall with hot water. I showered, and then sat on the porch a while, watching people on the street. A man offered three boys 1000 shillings ($1) to pose for a picture. I thought that was a bit excessive, considering local pay scales. You can get a porter for a day of gorilla tracking for that, and my Rwenzori porters only made about 2000 shillings.
At dusk, oil lamps were brought for the porch and the room. There was also limited electric lighting from a 15 watt bulb high on the room's ceiling. Dinner was served around 7 PM. There was a fixed menu, and all five guests were seated together in the small dining room dimly lighted by candles and an oil lamp. Hand-carved images plaques of gorillas and other animals decorated the dining room and guest rooms.
The others would all be tracking gorillas tomorrow. They included a couple from Alaska, an elderly Australian lady, and a young Dutch lady. The Alaskan man was the one I saw photographing children earlier. He and his wife had been to Africa a couple of times, and now they had been traveling since December. They have been camping a lot, and have climbed Mt. Meru in Tanzania, a volcano not far from Kilimanjaro. They said that in Ishasha, hippos would wander around their tent at night. The Dutch lady said she was also looking forward to visiting "Sinsinbar", which meant Zanzibar. She asked if the animal plaques on the wall were for sale, and was surprised to find they were not. The idea of selling crafts to tourists hasn't caught on here yet, though there are a few place where you can find some, including the Bwindi office.
Dinner consisted of some spiced meat with a couple mounds of lightly spiced rice and vegetables. The Alaskans were vegetarian, and they had a double serving of vegetables. A soup was served before the meal, and a sweet pancake with jelly was served for dessert. I had a Ball Beer, another Ugandan beer, with the meal. Like the other Ugandan beers I tried, this was a rather uninteresting American-style beer, but was not as bland as the Nile Special. It came in a big bottle. I had coffee afterward, but unfortunately, it was instant. I had become accustomed to excellent coffee in Uganda, so this was disappointing.
A man said breakfast would be served at 7:15. That would give the trackers time to report by 8 AM, and me time to depart for Mgahinga around 7:30. I went to bed shortly after dinner.
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