What is Uganda a beautiful and nice country. Delicious fruits and vegetables galore, beautiful nature from jungle to mountains and savannah, friendly people and beautiful places to stay. The country was captivated by the elections and after local advice we decided to stay longer in the countryside and cross the capital Kampala in the period between the vote and the result (there is a day or 3 in between). Elections in most African countries go hand in hand with corruption and unfortunately this is no different in Uganda. The chance of unrest is greatest in the capital just after the result. Because we had to drive through the capital to Kenya, we decided to take it easy. O that’s true, we already did that 😉
Wandering around in the countryside
Longer in the countryside is no punishment, after the savannah we drove towards the Renzori Mountains. A beautiful mountainous area where we found a cozy community camp. We were invited to the military to see the special chameleons and have been able to wander through nature for hours. Afterwards found a free public road through Kabale National Park. A jungle full of all kinds of trees, butterflies, birds and lots of monkeys. Everything jumped past; Blue monkey’s, red tail monkeys, gray cheecked monkeys, colombus monkey, Red colombus monkey, baboens etc. Then a few days around the crater lakes, a wir war of small roads and beautiful views over the lakes and the villages around it.
We came here again challenging pieces away and even had to turn around because the road was completely knocked away and only accessible for motorcycles. Of course there were no less than 40 people around us in no time who wanted to advise, touch or observe us all. Suus stood outside the car to see what the road looked like, while in the meantime women were secretly sitting on her arms and hair, because they had never touched a mzungu. haha quietly assess the situation is not really at such a moment, so we decided not to try it with so many spectators, but turn around looking for a better way.
Camping at a luxury lodge at the Crater Lakes
We have come across really beautiful places around the Crater Lakes. The nature is interspersed with crater lakes, beautiful views over forests, villages where everything is being rebuilt, people who are busy getting the banana bunches from A to B. After a day of touring we passed a very luxurious but deserted lodge. Under the slogan ‘no we have, yes we can get’ we drove inside to ask if they also had camping opportunities 😉 Of course they did not have this, the rooms were $ 250 per person.
The operation manager found our car so fantastic that she convinced her boss to make camping temporarily possible and go back from 50 euros to 7 euros per person. The car on the beautiful lawn in front of the lodge, a room was opened where we were allowed to shower with huge towels (the bathroom was heavenly !!) and great food! We enjoyed this fantastic spot.
Elections in Uganda
From the crater lakes we drove via Fort Portal (where we were allowed to park at a parking lot with a super cozy guesthouse in Utrecht) towards the capital. We did not last long. At the campsite we were eaten by the mosquitoes (We had 24 in the tent !!!!). It turned out not to be very strange, the campsite was next to the swamp! Of course immediately back to the supermarket and during a delicious cappuccino we were told that the results of the elections would be announced at 16.00 and that we had to be out of the capital before that time.
We left neatly an hour before the possible chaos towards Jinja (close to the border of Kenya), so that we would be out of the country in case of problems. It is a bit strange to see so many soldiers in every village that we encountered. During our last km across the countryside we saw people everywhere around a radio, dancing at the result in skirts made of reeds. Fortunately, it has remained reasonably quiet in the big cities and our camp site on the Nile was far away from any unrest and military.
Enjoy the last days in the Nile Uganda
The paradise was a super nice lodge overlooking the Nile. Because the owner himself was also an overlander we were allowed to camp there for half of the price and use all the facilities of the lodge. It was very difficult to get here again, but after 5 wonderful days around the pool, car dust was made free, was done and route for Kenya selected, we were ready for the next adventure! Via the Mount Elgon pass and the Sipi falls towards the border of Kenya.
Pass the Mount Elgon to Kenya
Mount Elgon is a mountain that lies in Uganda and Kenya. Via a mountain route it is possible to drive Kenya and that seemed like a challenging road. A nice, spicy route that can only be driven in the dry season. The Sipi waterfalls were as good as dried up, but the incredibly beautiful views over the Rift Valley when entering Kenya made everything good. Splashing for 5 hours over 50 km was another challenge, especially because there were occasional large stones around the road we had to maneuver over.
To get stuff from the roof, to get the center of gravity lower, so that he can drive and go over the big stones much easier. What a strong car we have. After 5 hours of fumbling, a small border post indeed appeared. We were the first and probably the only one that day. After a friendly conversation about the route, a suitcase with equipment emerged for the fingerprints and eye scan. Unfortunately, the power was of course gone out again, so we needed a bit of patience until it came back, so we could continue with the formalities. 2 hours later and with the right stamps we were allowed to enter Kenya. On to the adventures in Kenya.
