I must say a few more words about Ndali Lodge; this is one of the most interesting locations in all of Africa. It sits at the top of a ridge and on one side is a beautiful crater lake. On the other side of the lodge is the hillside that slopes down to several more crater lakes. They have created something special as a stop between Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth Park. I’ve included a picture taken from the lodge looking out over the dining deck to the crater lake.
While at the lodge we tracked chimps in the nearby Kibale Forest. This was a pretty easy walk. It took only about 30 minutes of walking to hear the chimps and then it was a matter of quietly walking toward them. They don’t really like people to get too close and getting shots of them while they are on the ground is usually difficult. However, with patience and a good guide we were able to find several on the ground which we followed and got some decent photos. I’ll attach several.
Guests staying at Ndali can choose other activities as well. The lodge owns 1,000 acres so there are guided nature walks on the property. Guests can also choose to take a boat ride on the lake. This is a great way to see some interesting birdlife. Swimming should be really good in the lake however there is a risk of bilharzias. Aubrey’s sister also owns a vanilla producing farm and there are guided visits to see the vanilla making process. Finally there is the school that adjoins the lodge property. Anyone visiting Uganda needs to give themselves an unexpected treat and visit a school. Many times the Head M
aster will allow you to address and interact with the students. This is a must do! They are also adding a spa. I see this as a place where clients should spend at least two nights. Some clients should spend three nights but I’m sure some clients will want to move on to the game parks. This is a great place to relax, unwind, and really enjoy the beauty of this area.
The next day we headed out in our Landcruiser with our trusted driver David. David is a character and probably the best driver I’ve ever had the privilege of using. He is a devout Catholic and he tells the story of his father building a church at his home town near the Kenya border. His father didn’t finish it so David went on a fundraising mission with his church in Kampala. He raised over $4,000 for the church, which is amazing when you consider how little money anyone has. Anyway, he bought the cement, wood and other materials and delivered them to the church. The Catholic Diocese heard about this and questioned why he did not just give them the money and then they would have done the job of procuring the materials. David laughed at this as he said the diocese would have taken most of the money for themselves.
Our landcruiser is equipped with an electronic fridge so we always have ice-cold drinks. The highlight of the day was when David found some people working a “still” making some homemade gin. We stopped and the owner gave us a tour of his “operation”. There was the pit where bananas and molasses were mixed together for fermenting. There was the 55 gallon drum where the “mash” was then put in the drum and boiled. There was the tube running out of the drum, into the stream (which cooled it) and then into a 5 gallon jerry can where it came out clear. I was offered a sample by the owner out of his own cup. I took a sip. It was not too bad! Not too good either, but hopefully it was potent enough to kill and the bacteria on the old man’s tin cup.
At left, the home brew still.
We arrived at the entrance of Queen Elizabeth National Park and David popped open the top of the LC (landcruiser) so we could do a game drive to Mweya Lodge. On the drive we saw buffalo, waterbuck, warthog (many), a hippo on land (unusual), many birds, and a family of giant forest hogs.
These hogs are hard to find as they usually stick to the thicker vegetation so I count this sighting as lucky. We also saw one of the biggest leopards I’ve ever seen. There is no off-road driving in Uganda parks so we couldn’t get close to him…probably got about 65 yards away. This brings me to one of the things about Uganda parks I do not like. There does not seem to be any private areas. All our game drives are on the main parks roads. Usually this is not a problem but everyone uses the same roads so there if very little chance to use the roadway to follow the spoor. On several occasions I saw lion tracks on the road but the tracks played out as usually there was tire tracks over the spoor. There seems to be no attempt to follow spoor in this park.
When we were in Murchison Falls Park we picked up a Uganda Wildlife Services ranger and he was a decent guide. Very knowledgeable about the park but he too didn’t seem too interested in trying to follow spoor.
We arrived at Mweya Lodge late, probably around 6 pm. Just enough time to get the lay of the land before dark. We were put into a room with a king sized bed so that was nice. Rooms were OK with good views across the Kasinga Channel. Food here was excellent.
The next day Gana opted for the spa. I went on an early morning game drive. We were the first vehicle out of the lodge and I used the spotlight while it was still pre-dawn hours. Within 500 yards of the lodge we saw lioness hunting, probably warthog. She continued into the bush and we couldn’t follow her. Today I saw tons of Ugandan Kob , buffalo, warthog, along with a smattering of elephant. The area we drove in today is the mating grounds of the Ugandan Kob. Kob were everywhere. Kob are similar to the Lechwe found in Botswana and Zambia only a bit darker in color and probably a bit smaller. Some of the park had been intentionally set fire as a pre-emptive fire control measure. In the burned areas where it was turning green the game was really congregating on the green shoots. On the newly burned areas it was just black with no real photo ops.
We returned to the lodge at about 9:30 for breakfast. After breakfast I too utilized the spa and got a massage. The cost for the hour massage was about $25. It’s a bargain.
This afternoon we went on a boat ride on the Kasinga Channel. This is a really, really, good boat ride. Can’t tell you how many animals we saw but it was a bunch. Hippo, buffalo, crocs, elephant plus more birds than I could count. The only downer on the boat ride is there are about 25 people on the boat so it gets a bit crowded to take photos. I found out later that there are smaller launches that Mweya Lodge owns and we could have gone on one of them. I did see one of these boats near ours and again this was frustrating as the smaller boat got closer to the game and the pilot varied his time at each spot to give everyone a chance to get hour so clients can actually stay out as long as they want. Our boat ride lasted exactly 2 hours. Not a minute more.
I would have gladly paid at least double the price to be in the other boat. Our clients will want the better viewing from the private launch. These launches are also available for charter by the hour and I could have easily taken my time and spent the entire afternoon on the channel. The viewing is actually that good.
Today is our anniversary. Hope we have many more. The lodge had prepared a happy anniversary cake but the spelling on the cake was “Happy Anniversery”. It was a very nice jesture. We had a nice dinner and went to bed. And in the famous words of Forest Gump “and that’s all I’d like to say about that”.
We wake up on the morning of the 28th, have breakfast, pick up our packed lunch, and then take a tour of the lodge. They have three private suites that are stand-alone and probably would work well for Ker & Downey clients. There is the “Queens Cottage”. This is the largest and the best. Then there is the Presidential Suite which is similar and adjacent to the “Queens” but a bit smaller. Then there is the other private suite (can’t remember name while I am typing). So first choice would be Queens, followed by Presidents, then “other” suites, and then finally the lodge. The lodge also has rooms that adjoin so that could be an option for families on a budget.
We left the lodge at about 7:15. There are two routes we could use. The shortest route is paved road but if we take it then we have to miss Ishasha Park and the tree-climbing lions. The short route is about 6 hours and the long route is about 8 hours. We opt for the long route and the tree-climbing lions. It actually worked out to about 10 hours driving. I’ve noticed that Uganda’s do several things; they are rarely on time, and they underestimate driving times. Our driver David is never late, but don’t listen to him as to the driving times between lodges. They are never accurate.
The drive, though long is rewarding as we did see the tree-climbing lions. Some pics are included.
We stopped for lunch at a town and went into the upstairs portion so we could have a good view of the surrounding area. Starting this afternoon, our drive takes us on some dirt roads that traverse mountains. There are no bridges here so the roads go around the mountains. The sights are interesting as well. None of the kids wear shoes, and I doubt they own any. Everyone here has a plot of ground where they can grow corn, potatoes, bananas, sorghum, cassava, melons, carrots, onions, and other things. They live day to day but live in a region where they have fresh produce daily. David tells us that the children standing on the side and waving at us are asking for bottles. This is unusual as they are not asking for money. He says they like the water bottles as they can use them to urinate in at night so they don’t have to go into the cool night air. And then they can wash them out the next day and put water in them to take to school or into the field to tend cattle or goats. From then on we start saving out bottles to find some needy-looking kids to give them to.
We arrived at our destination, “Clouds” at about 5:30 and all I can say is, it is heaven on earth. It is run by Gary and Tamarra; South Africans who have the client service thing down pat. They introduced us to our private butler and private house attendant. Our butler would wait on us hand and foot.
Our first dinner was in our suite. There was a large group of American women in the lodge and Gary thought we might feel uncomfortable sitting at our private table. After our long drive a private dinner was welcome. To our amazement our attendant had written with flowers on our bed “happy anniversary”. Spelling again wrong but what a great first impression.
The staff here are obviously happy as they all smile and greet you like long lost friends. Food was superb. Everything here is 5-star plus.
They just built a spa so Gana makes an appointment for a post gorilla trek full body treatment. We went to bed ready to get up early and begin our drive to the park headquarters for the gorilla trek.
We left in the morning with a packed lunch, gloves and water at 7:15 since it is a 45 minute drive to the park headquarters. The lodge gives you the gloves so that when you grab vines to pull yourself up you don’t get stuck by the vines that have thorns. We also took our gaiters as I thought they would come in handy (they did).
Upon arrival at the park headquarters we met our guide and fellow trackers. The 6 others on the track were all Europeans in their 20’s making Gana and I the elderly couple. We were asked if we wanted a porter and both Gana and I quickly accepted. The porter rate is $15 per person. Only one of the youths hired a porter. At 9 we headed off in the direction the apes were last seen the previous day. It took us about 1 ½ hours to get to that point only to discover the apes had moved. So off we went, cutting a new trail. This was arduous with the guide slashing brush, climbing up and pulling yourself up with vines, and then holding onto vines as you sled down the slope. We crossed a stream and then headed back up the hill. Finally, the guide made contact with the spotters who were sent out at daybreak to find the gorillas. The gorillas were just up ahead. With renewed vigor we pushed forward. Cutting the new trail took 2 hours but we were there. The gorillas heard us coming and vocalized to let us know they were there. Finally we found them. This group is 34 strong but in the thick jungle it would be difficult to see more than a few. Fortunately we were rewarded with good viewing of several large males, several females and a youngster. Photos attached.
One of our party made a move that was too quick and one of the big males made a mock charge with teeth bared. I missed the photo op but the sight if engrained in my mind.
After an hour with the gorillas we left and started the assent to the top of the mountain. By this time the sun was hot and this made the trekking difficult. But we were now only 1 ½ hours from our starting point; the park headquarters. Back at the park headquarters we all exchanged email addresses so we could share photos.
This was a great experience.
