Queen Elizabeth National Park

                After spending several days in Kampala, my parents and I made our way out of the city and drove about six hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Uganda’s most visited national park.  Along the way, we crossed the Equator, saw a few zebra, and enjoyed the lush rolling hills of Uganda’s countryside.

Proudly displaying the Hooker Advance at the Uganda Equator so we will make have our picture in the next issue.

Zebra near Lake Mburo National Park

Being a Colorado native, I am continually amazed at how green some places are

                  Since my parents traveled so far, I decided to splurge and booked accommodations at Kingfisher Lodge.  The lodge is modeled after an African village with quaint white bandas with thatched roofs.  The bandas are built into the hillside, giving a stunning view of the park below.

Although we packed a lot in while we toured Queen Elizabeth, we did manage to take advantage of Kingfisher's beautiful setting, relax, and play some games.

There were tons of lizards at Kingfisher and around Queen; however, this one was by far the best



                  Our time in Queen consisted of several game drives, a boat ride on the Kazinga Channel, a tour of Katwe Crater Lake, and chimp trekking through the Kyambura Gorge.

Ugandan cob mating grounds - because the lions prey on the cob, you can often find lions around.

Warthogs were often seen roaming around the entire park.  Did you know that when they are being chased by a predator, they run backwards leaving the predator to deal with its tusks? 

Baboons were often seen on the road near Kingfisher Lodge.  Since they are fairly large and not scared of people, they are actually quite intimidating.

Water Buffalo

Our driver, John, trying to scare the water buffalo.  John won.

Vultures in Ishasha - seeing them and the lions definitely made me want to watch the Lion King

While in Ishasha, we went to the Uganda-Congo border.  Across the river is the Congo.  The little island in the middle is No Man's Land.  I should have claimed it while I had the chance...

                  The animal we saw most often during our game drives was the elephant.  One day we probably saw over 200 elephants.

Everywhere we turned, we saw a new herd of elephants

Note the herd of elephants crossing the road behind us

One of the elephants decided to follow us

Elephant family with a 2-week-old baby

There's even an elephant named Mary in a village just outside of Queen that has become a member of the community and hangs out with the villagers and tourists.

Mary about to eat my dad's camera

About to board the boat for our ride on the Kazinga Channel

We saw tons of hippos on our two-hour boat ride

If I were a birder, I might know what these birds are, but as I am not, your guess is as good as mine...

Uganda is a bird-watcher's paradise

                  The most exciting part of the boat ride (and maybe even the entire safari) was our leopard spotting.  As we were motoring toward the dock to end the tour, I saw something move in the brush and immediately began yelling “I see a cat!  I see a cat!”  We slowed down and watched the leopard for 10-15 minutes as it thought of stalking some cob.  Ultimately, it just decided to get a drink of water.  

You should be thoroughly impressed by these photos.  Our safari guide, who has been on more safaris than he can count, has only seen the leopard nine times.

                  Next on the agenda was a visit to Katwe Crater Lake where the locals collect salt.  On our way, we stopped in the fishing village on the way and met some of the local fishermen.

During dry season, the lake is 65% salt and is able to be harvested by the villagers.  Each family has a plot they tend - kind of like a community garden - for salt.

                  The final excursion in Queen Elizabeth was chimp trekking through the Kyambura Gorge.  We had excellent luck in not only finding the chimps, but also viewing them at a fairly close distance. 

Kyambura Gorge

Aren't they adorable?

Peering high into the canopy looking for the chimps

This is what we found

                   Near the end of our viewing, several of the chimps decided to come down from the trees.  Against our better judgment, my dad, Sebastian (a friendly German we met), and I decided to run after them through the jungle.  Only two weeks later did I find out that our guide thoroughly disapproved of this decision.

Every time the chimp turned around, my heart would skip a beat as I feared he would come rip my face off.  Yet I continued following him...

All in all, we had an amazing trip to Queen

Nsibuka Okubalaba Maama ne Taata

                Translation: Welcome to my life, Mom and Dad!  For nearly three weeks, my parents stayed with me in my house in Kampala.  During this time, I was able to show them what my life is like here and we were able to travel around the country and do and see some amazing things.  Despite traveling across the world, they came well prepared – not only dressed in green for St. Patrick’s Day, but also toting a freshly baked lemon cake for my birthday, which was the next day. 

Little did they know that the cake my mom baked was the moistest cake I have had since my arrival and was greatly appreciated

                While in Kampala, they were able to meet several of my friends, see where I work, meet my co-workers, and sit in jam while accompanying me on my everyday errands (which often end up taking about 3x or longer to accomplish than you expect and helped them understand why I appreciate the help I get from my housekeeper, gardener, and drivers). 

Dinner at the Lawns with Darlisha, Britta, and Kara

A few of my co-workers - Miriam, Prossy, and Samuel

They couldn't believe that I still sometimes washed dishes despite having a housekeeper

A show at the Ndere Cultural Centre which showcased the traditional dances of the different Ugandan tribes

A Revolving Door

                Although there are innumerable things about my life in Kampala that make it very different than my life in Colorado, one of the hardest things is the transitory nature of the expat population.  It seems that every two or three months the people I have come to know and who I have begun considering to be my good friends return to their respective countries or continue traveling the world.  My house is especially notorious for this.  Since October, I have had at least 15 different roommates – some good, some bad – but due to logistics, it seems I often end up spending a lot of my free time with these people.  Anyways, here are just a few of the people who have come in and out of my life in the past 6 months.

Ann Vogt

Glen Drobot

The Come Let's Dance Crew - Tiff, Josh, Jonah, Tiff, Ian, Connor, and Morgan

Tihana and Lara

Nate Bahr

Melanie Lo and our Ugandan boss

Kara Lombardi

At least Britta sticks around!

Ward 4A

                Is rounding at the national Ugandan hospital supposed to make you a germophobe?  Well, after rounding on Ward 4A, the Infectious Disease Ward, I definitely wanted to crawl into a bubble to avoid all of the disease and sickness that surrounded me.  On the ward, there are tons of sick people everywhere – lying in a bed, walking around, and sitting/lying on the ground.  As compared to the University Hospital in Colorado which has all private rooms, the idea of private rooms is a completely foreign concept at Mulago.  Instead, there are three partitioned spaces that hold 12-20 patients in each.  The beds are about 3 feet from each other – usually just enough space for their family members to lay out the bed mats they will sleep on as their loved ones hope to be treated.  Even the tuberculosis patients, who would be under airborne isolation in the US, are amongst the other patients with only an open window nearby that the doctors hope will prevent further transmission of TB. 

                Although the entire space is rather disgusting, it was the walls that bothered me the most.  You can see that beneath the peeling yellow paint, suspicious yellow, brown, and green spots cover the walls.  The smell of sickness, body odor, and urine that permeates the ward is only tolerable for so long and the idea that the procedure room is where the dead bodies are also kept, is sickening.  And then you see the patients.  Before when I had gone to the ward, I wasn’t too rattled by the end.  This time, I was bothered a bit more.  I don’t know exactly what changed.  Maybe because my roommate and I had just discussed how many of the patients on this ward die, I saw these patients in a new light and had a better understanding of the gravity of their illnesses.  Maybe it was because we began by visiting a man who was so sick he couldn’t maintain consciousness for more than 10-20 seconds at a time.  Maybe it was the dying patients who stared into my eyes as they were discussing their status.  Regardless, although I really did have much work to do, I happily (and quickly) escaped the disease-ridden hospital to return to the semi-sterile environment of the lab.  I work in the lab with these patient samples all the time; however, it is often easy to lose sight of where they are actually coming from.  Rounding reminds me of the importance of the work we are doing here – and might make me feel a little germophobic.

Random

Asking someone how they are doing is so ingrained that even if you say “hello” to someone on the road, their reply is, “I’m fine.”

People turn off their cars when driving downhill to conserve gas. 

We have a golden bell to ring instead of an automated fire alarm system.

"Africa either makes you better or bitter.”  - Shaunessy

Every room in my house is labeled.

There is a housekeeper and a groundskeeper who come 5 days a week.

We have a full-time guard who makes about $2 for a 12-hour shift.

We have a separate bathroom outside for our house staff – I don’t know what I think about this.

Every day, a new and beautiful hibiscus is blooming next to my papaya tree.

There are over 20,000 mzungus living in Kampala.

Alcoholism is a major problem among expats.

There are three (I think) traffic lights in the entire city even though the population of Kampala is approaching 1.5 million people.

At the end of every day, my Ugandan co-worker tells me “well done.”  It’s small, but somehow it makes everything a little better regardless of if the day went smoothly or was a total nightmare.

Of 18 participants enrolled in one of the studies I am working on, 10 have already died.

Instead of peanuts, they have g nuts.

I came expecting the Ugandans to be the ones who would be unorganized; however, it is my American employers’ disorganization that tests my patience every day.

I’ve learned more about office politics in the past few months than I would have liked.

I never knew the meaning of dusty until I moved here.

I have always been told that if you pee in the middle of the road you will get a sty in your eye.  I’m surprised every Ugandan man doesn’t have a permanent sty.

The World is My Playground

                Although I am now grown up (relatively speaking, of course), the thrill I felt  as I was tracking the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest reminded me of my childhood when I spent  the majority of my time curiously exploring the world around me.  As I was slashing my way through the dense growth of the jungle, I was reminded of how awesome, diverse, and surprising the world really is.  Although we had to drive nearly 12 hours (which meant stopping by the equator, randomly encountering a herd of zebras, and passing through a region that is known to be the home of tree-climbing lions – which unfortunately were hiding) Kara and I finally arrived in Bwindi National Park.  Upon our arrival, we had a quick dinner and got ready for bed so we would be fully rested to track the endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda.

We were planning to enter Lake Mburo National Park to see the zebras; however, the zebras were waiting for us outside the park entrance along the highway.

Ishasha - Home of the tree-climbing lions.  After several hours of driving around looking for lions in fig trees, I began to wonder if tree-climbing lions was just another term for snipes.

Our lodging in Bwindi



We stayed in the "Gorilla" banda - how appropriate



                After eating breakfast and being briefed of what to expect upon encountering the gorillas, we were ready to begin our game of hide and seek with the gorillas.  When I saw that the majority of the other trackers were middle-aged Westerners, I assumed that I would have no problem with the ensuing hike.  I was dead wrong.  We immediately began hiking straight up the mountain, testing my endurance and fitness.  No other hike I have been on has been steeper - unless you count my rock climbing sessions.  Also, I have never been responsible for cutting through the dense plants to make my way up the mountain.  The combination of these factors made for the most adventurous hike of my life.  Needless to say, I loved it.  After hiking for nearly four hours, we arrived at a relatively flat space, left our bags, and were led to the gorillas.

Mzungu, Bye!  Have a nice hike!

Before we began our ascent up the mountain

These bananas will be used to make waragi, a type of Ugandan gin

Beginning our hike on a well-maintained trail.  Still thinking it would be pretty easy.



Where did the path go?

BABY GORILLA!  I think this one was my favorite.

The silverback - he was huge!  Definitely wouldn't want to make him mad...

Wrestling

These ones kind of look like midget stuffed animals wrestling

The little guy is swinging from the vines

This is how far you are supposed to stay from the gorillas

This is how far we actually were from the gorillas

Although gorilla tracking is by far the most expensive excursion in Uganda (costing $500 for a day permit); for the girl whose pharmacy school personal statement compared her life to the Denver Gorilla Run - which involves dressing as a gorilla and running a 10k in order to raise money for the mountain gorillas in Uganda - I think the cost was justified.

Courtesy of Kara Lombardi - nice shot!



Receiving our Gorilla Tracking Certificates from our guide



            In order to maintain a semi-normal life for the habituated gorillas, tourists are only allotted one hour each day with the gorillas.  At the end of the hour, Kara and I were both sad to say goodbye to the gorillas; however, our adventure was not quite over.  As we were driving back to Kampala the next day, we again tried our luck at finding the tree-climbing lions.  This time we were a little more successful.  John, our driver, finally spotted a lion nearly 200 yards away.  Because there is about a $50 fine for driving off the track, we first listened for approaching cars.  Having heard none, we quickly made our way across the tall grass until we were 15 yards from the lion.

Notice the lion in the tree - John probably shouldn't have been out of the car at this point...

Isn't she beautiful?

Booking it back to the track before we were fined

Colobus monkeys just outside of Queen Elizabeth National Park

Perfect spot to view the herd of elephants - surprisingly, they are one of the most dangerous animals you can encounter while on safari

The herd of elephants we passed on the highway on our way home