January 17, 2011
Next morning, I set out to find transport to Mwyea. The book said it was really easy: just “ask around for a pickup going to Katwa. They usually leave around 11:00am”. Little details like who and where I guess were not important. No one I talked to knew anything about pickups going directly to Katwa. Actually, no two people seemed to agree on how I could get to Mwyea and no explanation bore much resemblance to what the guide book said. I settled for a mutatu to Katunguru and, eventually shared a taxi with some locals into the park.
Once inside, I learned that I had to pay $30 park fee for every day I stayed even if I wasn't on a game drive. I also found out that the $15 per person night game drive mentioned in the guide book didn't exist. The latter was deeply disappointing. It is the nocturnal animals that I really wanted to see on this trip. Booking a whole vehicle for me was clearly affordable and the village seemed to be devoid of budget tourists that might be open to sharing.
I spent the afternoon wandering around looking for animals. There were abundant wart hogs, Kobs (a type of antelope), and water buck but nothing big, spectacular, and potentially dangerous like elephants and lions. I did see a herd of buffalo at the far end of the runway near dusk. Perhaps the most interesting residents were the banded mongooses. These little guys move in vast “herds” probably fifty strong. Individuals would pause briefly to root out whatever grubs seem to be at hand but the group as a whole never seemed to stop.
Sometime in the dark hours before dawn, hippos stomped their way past my window. Still, I felt the hostel wasn't as wild as I was hoping for. 'Too much human activity at this end. On the next day, I pitched my tent at the deserted camp site where hippos, and sometimes even lions and hyenas are known to roam.
Unfortunately, the camp site didn't stay deserted. Two overland trucks pulled in supplemented by several independently arriving 4x4's. The site was now perfectly safe and perfectly boring. Even the hippos stayed clear that night though I could still hear them in the distance. I'm pretty sure the brushes against my tent were from a small ground dwelling bird. If I wanted excitement, I would need to go elsewhere.
Fortunately, I had this option, although not as a place to sleep. Olf, a relatively high budget Swede that I met at Kibale had hired a well respected taxi driver to take him to Ishasha, home of tree climbing lions. Expensive, but not outrageously so when split among two people and I hadn't seen lions in trees before.
At something past 7:00am, I set out on what I expected to be the only classic game drive of this trip. It wasn't up to Masai Mara standards but we did the usual kobs, topis, elephants, and.. and.., (oh yes) some overly large kitties hanging on to tree branches.
We were actually the first ones to find the tree. Several lionesses and one large but still spotted cub were yawning their way through the late morning. A proper safari vehicle followed as we were about to move on but I think no other tourists shared the experience. A couple that we informed at Ishasha Camp were not so lucky. When they arrived at the tree, the lions were gone.
When I arrived back at my tent, the camp site was empty again. I was tempted to pay the extra park fee and spend another night. I opted to take Olf up on his offer of convenient and cost effective transport back to Kasese.
On the drive out, I got an unexpected bonus: my inventory of leopard photos tripled as one cat crossed the road in front of us. This time my camera was ready but the window stuck and wouldn't go down in time to catch the approach. I had to settle for a couple of shots as the spotted feline moved away. Still full body, but no eyes.
That largely concludes the Uganda adventure. I spent the night in Fort Portal and then in Kampala. It was a bit rushed but I wanted some breathing room for the final chapter. I'm headed for Watamu on the Kenya coast. This little village packs a triple play. There is diving, possibly with whale sharks. In bicycle range are the mysterious ruins of Gedi. Finally, the nearby Arabuko Sokoke National Park is populated by the wonderfully weird elephant shrew. They also do night walks so I may get another shot at those bush babies.