Western Uganda Day 1

The Land Cruiser

It was going to be a LONG drive to Bwindi, but I was glad I had Julius driving us. He proved to be good company because every so often he would tell me some information about where were were. We attempted to leave UWEC at 6:00AM, but JUST as he pulled the truck up to grab me, he shut off the engine... and it would not start. Great. We were not sure how much of a delay this was going to cause. But fortunately he called a friend who brought his truck to give us a push for a rolling start. Success we were moving again. We were making good time until we got to Kampala. Always a congested mess there, but eventually we got through it and out of the core to head westward!

The Equator:

Right in the middle

One of the first stops we had was at the equatorial line that crosses through Uganda. Kind of neat to say that I could walk between the northern and southern hemisphere! One of the interesting things about this landmark was the experiment that a guy can perform for you. He was able to demonstrate the Coriolis effect using water basins. To prove this worked. He poured water in a basin in the northern hemisphere, waited until it was still then opened the bottom to let the water drain. Eventually a funnel appeared and he threw a flower into the water to show which way the water was turning. In the north, water spins clockwise. He the did same for the south, and it spun counter-clockwise. Very interestingly though, when he drained water that was ON the equatorial line, it did not spin! It just emptied straight down. I took a video but it is too large to upload here. Afterwards, I got a little certificate saying I had been there, and signed a guest book. We grabbed some breakfast and continued on.

Really good food

Later, Julius took us to a really nice restaurant just outside of Mbarara. If we did not stop to eat there, there would not have been many places to eat for the next couple of hours in our journey. They had a really good African buffet. 

Not much to comment on about the rest of the drive other than the spectacular scenery. Outside of Kampala, the green mountainous regions began to be more and more numerous. Winding roads to went every which way.

Finally at Bwindi:

Entrance to the camp

After the long drive, we finally made it. I checked in to the Buhoma Community Rest Camp. A very nice accommodation with a spectacular view (from the restaurant AND my room) of the mountains where the gorillas were. I was given a self contained tent with a private outdoor bathroom (toilet and shower). This place also was full room and board. I was served a delicious 3 course dinner when I arrived and was informed that I would get breakfast in the morning and would be given a packed lunch for my tracking in the early morning.

My tent area

Very self contained

Inside my little tent :)

View from my room...