All the Places we Visit;)
Our last stop in Uganda was Jinja and the Nile River Explorers Camp.
Chris had a blast kayaking on the river, Gerrit and I got some practice photographing birds and we all had a great time watching South Africa winning the rugby!
Known as the adventure hotspot of Uganda, it certainly lives up to its name!
Thank you Jeaque and Celia!
Leaving Murchison behind us, we stopped over in Kitgum to garner some information on the road ahead to Kidepo National Park.
Once again, Angie and Johann had organised us telephone numbers of the appropriate persons to call. So we phoned Patrick, the owner of Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp on the border of Kidepo and planned to meet him at a place called Fuglys the following morning.
We arrived at Fuglys late in the morning, had a cup of coffee and waited for Patrick to arrive. When he got there, we were at first not too sure what to make of him. His face covered in a huge bushy beard, long hair with bangs (:-)) and a larger than life personality. Very soon we came to realize that he is a wonderful person with an incredible history.
About 10 minutes after meeting him we had our first of many, many drinks that day. We 
were told in no uncertain terms that we would not be leaving that day and that we would join him and his friends for a braai that night. Admittedly not putting up much of a fight, we proceeded to have one of the most interesting and entertaining days (and nights) in a very long time.
During the festivities we found out that Kitgum is actually known as S**tgum and that Patrick’s friends are an incredible array of people.
Before things got too serious though, we made a point of finding out why Fuglys is called Fuglys. For those not too sure about it, yes, fugly means what you think it does. F***ing ugly. The story in short: a few years ago Patrick took over the possession of a pet goat from a work colleague. This goat (for various reasons) was called Fugly. When the time came to name their place in Kitgum, the decision was made to name it after the goat. 🙂 (The real version of the story is far more florid and entertaining, but cannot be repeated without the atmosphere of Patrick telling the story!)
After a heavy night, we slept very well indeed. Over breakfast and a cup of coffee the next morning, we were presented with a bill addressed as follows: To Astrid, Chris and Uncle 🙂
What a great place and what wonderful people!
We had been given the tip to stay at Murchison River Lodge (MRL) just outside Murchison Falls National Park. And it was a very good tip. This lovely lodge is situated directly on the Victoria Nile, it is filled with bird life and you can watch the game in the National Park on the opposite side of the Nile River, while having a couple of beers at the bar.
We felt so comfortable here we ended up staying for five nights and loved every minute of it, whether we were enjoying the view of the Nile, or relaxing at the pool.
Here we also got our 
first glimpse of the infamous “Piet-My-Vrou”, or Red-Chested Cukoo, which is notoriously difficult to spot. Just to make it worse (or better) this specific pair of Piet-My-Vrou’s were always out in the open, posing beautifully for us and our cameras.
While enjoying a drink at the bar, Chris (the owner of MRL), made sure that we were going to go into the park itself, as we were at that point still weighing up the cost of entering and staying in the park, or saving that money for another day and bypassing the park. Thanks to Chris’ support, we decided to pay up and spend a few days in the Murchison Falls National Park.
So after saying our goodbyes to another great place we headed off to the park. Our plan was to camp at the “Top of the Falls”, and to spend our first night in the park right next to the incredible Murchison Falls.
Although the falls drop a mere 40m, the real mind boggler is that 300m³ a second are forced through a 7m wide gap and that the entire (!) Nile then pommels through 60m of a narrow gorge before becoming once again the deceptively slow moving Nile. Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia left us awestruck and amazed by its beauty, but Murchison Falls made the knees quiver with the amount of power thundering below. An amazing sight and you literally cannot close your mouth when first confronted with their full intensity.
Camping next to the falls, we were permanently surrounded by the sound of the crashing water in the background, and thus decided to have a relatively quiet sundowner further downriver. Off we went at dusk (armed with our drinks) to look for the Bat Hawk, but unfortunately saw none. Just knowing they are there is a very pleasing thought though.
The next morning after one last view of the falls, we headed for the northern bank of the Nile via the Parra Ferry. In this northern section of the park is the delta, which is formed by the Victoria Nile flowing into Lake Albert and the Albert Nile flowing back out again. This northern section of the park holds most of the water and thus the game, making it ideal for bird and game viewing.
Shortly after arriving at our campsite we spotted a Shoebill right in front of our camp, 
which overlooks the Nile. What a special place! We continued on a game drive and took some spectacular photos of the amazing scenery. Without really trying, we racked up our bird count and even stumbled across the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. The drive through the delta was great and before we knew it, we had spent six hours in the car.
We spent another two nights in the same River Camp, enjoying spectacular sunsets over the Nile with the customary sundowners. Each morning we were woken by the sunrise and the hippos and each day found that the Shoebill was still there, waiting for us. 🙂
Thank you again to Chris for talking us into going and making sure that we knew what we’d be missing! We would all love to do it again!
After our adventurous entry into Uganda we decided to slow down a bit and revel in some island peacefulness. Leaving Masaka and its chaos behind us we made our way to Bukakata and the only free ferry in Africa. We had heard about this free ferry and had expected it to be free to locals and residents, but to our surprise we paid not a cent. Not for us, or for our Landcruiser. What a great start!
Having reached the Islands we were astounded by how untouched and pristine they were. Covered in extremely dense and lush rainforest, we were immediately surrounded by new and exciting bird calls echoing through the trees. Occasionally we got a glimpse of something large and brightly coloured flashing through the undergrowth, but we never seemed to get a better look at whatever it was.
After a surprisingly long drive we reached our destination. The beach. Perfect white sand, palm trees and sunshine. What a relief after our run in with Masaka.
We set up camp at the water’s edge and soon caught up with our birding and R&R.
It didn’t seem that our luck was holding out though, as late on that Sunday afternoon speakers were set up and the lodge started blaring extremely loud party music. It turned out that the Islands are the favourite weekend party destination for the inhabitants of Kampala.
Chris and I made tracks to the far end of the beach and our sought after peace and quiet. Here we sat and watched a spectacular sunset over Lake Victoria and tried to count all the new birds we saw but eventually we were hounded back to camp by the hordes of mosquitos after our blood. Thankfully the party atmosphere had been subdued and we spent our evening in front of a bonfire being lulled by Celine Dion’s love ballads…
Chris and I crossed the Equator for the first time on this trip driving north from Masaka to Kampala in Uganda.It came as a bit of a shock, as all you see is this sign.
If you don’t pay attention you’ll miss it…
Malawi is amongst the poorest nations in the world. We meet people trying to survive on a daily basis everywhere; whether it’s the lady selling woven mats, or the guys in Zomba transporting firewood off the plateau. As beautiful as the country is, life here is tough.
Unfortunately it is often the children who suffer the most.
Tipezananso is a project created and funded by Gerrit von Engelen. It is a kindergarten and playground set in the small fishing village of Chembe, where toddlers and children can safely play on slides and swings, challenge each other in stimulating and informative games such as memory, bao and “Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht” or learn through playing with building blocks. Stimulations that are often impossible to experience for a child growing up here.
Gerrit started the project because he had observed that the 
children in Chembe had no alternative to watching the adult movies full of war, murder and violence. These adult movies are shown in local movie houses, with no regard to preventing children from entering and watching as well.
Gerrit solved this problem by introducing a children’s movie night, with a different Disney movie being shown on a big screen under a baobab tree every Saturday night (an amazing setting). And so he managed to remove the children from the adult movie houses.
Over the next few years, he then proceeded to establish the kindergarten and the playground. The manager, Lingson, is proud of what has been achieved. Children now spend their days learning new skills and playing fun and educational games under the watchful guidance of Lingson, Mathilda, Stanley and Boyson. The basic skills learned are also beneficial to the community directly. For example the children learn not to litter, something that is
sometimes taken for granted in African culture. Plastic is often just thrown into the streets. And
Visiting the playground is wonderful. You join all the children playing games and having fun. But you probably won’t be able to beat them at a game of memory or bao. Amazing experiences are the movie nights, which now screen children’s movies on Tuesdays and Saturdays. You’ll experience anything from two to three hundred children applauding and cheering Rafiki’s arrival in the Lion king or Simba’s victory over Scar. Totally amazing!
Tipezananso is funded by the proceeds of Gerrit’s wine sales in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. He equipped both the kindergarten and the playground, and also supports the community with various projects. He has an annual “Drink for Africa” collection, which highlights Tipezananso and the work being done here to his client base.
Further details (in dutch) can be found on Gerrit’s website www.tipezananso.nl , or you can contact him directly via e-mail on gerritvanengelen@gmail.com.
Gerrit, Lingson and his team have built a very special place, something that is not often found in Africa! Congratulations and we wish you all the best for your future!
The Zomba Plateau rises dramatically behind Malawi’s previous capital and is covered by lush forests and bubbling mountain streams. 
After our hiking on Mount Mulanje we opted for some serious R&R and decided to stay at the Ku Chawe trout farm on the plateau, the only trout farm in Malawi!
Unfortunately the previous owners had let the farm run down, including the small hotel and the camping area. With the new ownership things are changing and there are definite improvements already visible. New ablution blocks are being built, the hotel is to be renovated and a restaurant is to be set up. Even the two beautiful log cabins are to be reopened.
Here we spent five days enjoying the richness of the beautiful area around us. The farm has huge potential and we wish the new owners all the best of luck!
For any more info on the farm please contact us.
Even though we had 
always known that we would not be spending vast amounts of time in Zambia, we also knew that we would definitely go to see South Luangwa National Park.
Before we even got to Wildlife Camp, which was to be our home for the next few days, we 
were treated to a herd of elephants busily browsing the Mopani Forest.
Wildlife Camp is situated on the banks of the Luangwa River, directly across the Reserve. As there is no fence either around the Reserve or the Camp, all animals are free to roam as and when they 
choose.
This proved to be very cool indeed, as hippos were happily roaming through camp during the day and were replaced by elephants both young and old at night. We even had the elephant herd ‘s matriarch and calf silently pass not two meters 
from the car in the middle of the night. Needless to say, midnight trips to the bathroom were not undertaken lightly and when Chris “stumbled” across the matriarch and the calves, he had to detour to keep the car between himself and the ellies!
As the Luangwa boasts over 40 000 hippos it’s not surprising that we spent our days watching them from the pool overlooking the river, as well as racking up our bird count.
Having spent a wonderful few days getting our wildlife cravings satisfied, we were to have one more bonus: we had the opportunity to watch a group of three ellies shepherding their very young calves across the river right in front of us. What an experience!
Every full moon the Victoria Falls displays the most spectacular sight: A rainbow created 
by the moonlight filtering through the spray of the falls. Despite what you might expect – there really IS a rainbow and yes, it is quite beautiful!
To make the occasion even more meaningful, we toasted Patrick’s 30th birthday with a Windhoek Draught each 🙂
A few years ago we had seen the Vic Falls from the Zimbabwe side with Karin, Renate, Patrick and Grant. During our stay we had an epic rafting trip on the mighty Zambezi River. (The photos of that rafting tour are on our Facebook profiles.)
Back then Renate and Patrick had continued north into Zambia and on to Malawi, while the rest of us turned around and flew home to Johannesburg. Now with Chris and me in (almost) the same place as we all were back then, it’s our turn to head north further into Zambia and on to Malawi.
We shall do as Dr. Livingstone did: take a look down the Victoria Falls, be awed by their power and beauty, turn around and go north! 🙂 
Having fun exploring the largest single meteorite in the world…
