Storm Chasers

Thunder, lightening, dark clouds and downpours threaten us every day, but so far our incredible luck has meant only one occasion of rain gear and lots of extra viewing opportunities as game is more active in the lesser temperatures of cloudy days.  This morning we rose early to hunt for lions.  Although they eluded us, we did photograph several kobs (a type of antelope similar to impala), some water bucks, a few warthogs and a sprinkling of buffalo.  There is something quite exhilarating about dashing down a dirt road with our heads popped out the top of our jeep, scanning the horizon for the next "target"--trying to steady ourselves against the sides of the jeep while trying to survey the horizon through our binocs.  If we do this too long, we all become quite dizzy, lose our balance, and knock into each other.  We measure our degree of fun by the number of bruises we sport.

Edward, our excellent guide, makes sure we are always the first out and the last back.  Thus we had breakfast at 10:45 this morning and lunch a scant 2 hours later at 1:00 this afternoon so we could be first out on Kazinga river channel for our afternoon game viewing via covered boat.  We spent 3 hours puttering along the river bank, watching brilliantly colored birds darting from bush to shore to tree to reeds to twigs (darn near impossible to photograph!), hippos yawning wide to show us their two-foot long teeth that can cut a crocodile in half, elephants showering in the river, and buffalo sparring with each other for dominance or wallowing in the mud while ox peckers provided a little acupuncture as they picked the bugs from the buffaloes ears and backs.  One big male peed for a full two minutes--right on top of his neighbor who didn't bother to move.  Our turn around point at the fishing village located at the mouth of Lake George gave us the opportunity to watch villagers launch their slender handcrafted boats and paddle in unison toward the open water for an all-nighter fishing expedition.  The rhythmic dip of their homemade paddles resembled some delicately choreographed ballet--almost hypnotic as our own boat rose and fell to the same beat of the incoming waves.

As we turned around to head back to the lodge, we noticed ominous black clouds rapidly descending into the valley and within seconds, the river changed from glassy smooth to 2 foot whitecaps accompanied by a strong cold wind.  Fortunately, we arrived back at the dock just in time to great the next group heading out who definitely got dumped on since it started raining buckets as soon as we ascended the hill to our rooms.  So now I'm enjoying a cushy leather sofa beside a soothing indoor waterfall, admiring the river view out the 10 x 20 foot picture window--while sipping an exotic drink called a crocodile crush.  Go ahead--be jealous!

Kyaninga Lodge, my favorite place so far, overlooks two volcanic craters that merged together.  The lodge sits on top of the tallest hill and the bungalows fall steeply down each side with LOTS of steps connecting them on a long boardwalk.  We, of course, have the farthest cabin down the hill and have to hike about 10 minutes to reach the lodge.  After dinner last night, I decided to answer email and try to post a blog so I trekked to our room to retrieve my computer.  In the short time it took me to get organized, the lodge had turned off all the walkway lights so I grabbed my brand new flashlight that is behaving like a strobe light to hoist myself back up all those stairs.  Once I reached the lodge and got plugged in, I commenced wrestling with the computer to sign on, type and retype my post (somehow I or the computer kept deleting it), and fiddle with my email account.  While working I heard little rustling footsteps across the roof back and forth, back and forth.  I'm thinking, "Oh good, I'm going to experience some nocturnal animals that my friends will miss" when a RAT ran across my foot!  Not being easily daunted, I stuffed my feet under me and continued to work--trying to ignore the little black blobs that kept darting across the floor every few minutes. 

When the night watchman kept peering around the corner to see how I was doing, I finally decide I should turn in--at 10:30--early for me.  I no sooner step out the front door than something (bat?  giant moth?) dive bombs my hair.  Taking a deep breath, I bravely proceed down the first flight of stairs with my "strobe" light into the pitch black night when I notice a long skinny dead leaf starts moving.  That's the SECOND snake we've seen today--the first being a forest cobra.  Being just a little on edge, I let a small scream escape my lips.  The night watchman comes running to assure me the snake is not poisonous.  He gallantly decides to escort me back to my cabin and turns on the walkway lights. 

After 3 adrenaline bursts, I have a hard time falling asleep--especially since I hallucinate once I close my eyes.  My eyeballs persist in seeing tiny little ants crawling all over the ceiling--probably a reaction to our morning forest hike when all of us got covered with these little pests as we tracked various troops of chimps through the forest.  Even doses of Pepto, ambien, aleve and hydrocodone can not turn off my overactive brain and I toss and turn all night.  My consolation prize is seeing planet Venus low in the eastern sky just before daybreak.  Appearing huge and misshapen, I take it as one of those evil eye amulets that will ward off any future nightly adventures.  Only time will reveal that answer.

No internet service here so I haven’t written for 3 days and already everything is starting to blur together.  Once we got past the stump storks, the leaf hoppers, and twig lizards and started noticing REAL birds, we competed with each other for the best close ups of each species.  We have identified and photographed over 140 different varieties of birds, not to mention the elephants, hartebeasts, bush bucks, oribis, waterbucks, giraffes (the rare Rothschild), warthogs, baboons, monkeys, buffaloes, hippos (including one albino), crocodiles, and jackals.  The abundant wildlife never ceases to amaze us:  a buffalo herd that stampeded across the road in front of us, two hippos that fought each other--with one losing a huge chunk of flesh on his hind quarters, the vervet monkey that charged me in the botanical garden, and the chimp that picked my nose----ewww!.

On the way to our current habitation (Nile Safari Lodge), we stopped for lunch at a famous historic hotel.  We almost didn’t get past the machine gun armed security guards as the Duke of Kent (Queen Elizabeth’s cousin) and his entourage was also dining there.  He chatted with us on his way out (kind of him since we all stuck cameras in his face).  Little did he know we would be stalking him as we followed him on our boat trip upriver to the base of Murchison Falls and trailed right  behind his jeep on a game drive.  He is touring Uganda as part of the country’s 50th year of independence celebration because he was the formal British representative who gave the country its first flag and took down the Brits’ flag half a century ago. 

Unfortunately, a series of civil wars and 2 punitive dictators (Milton Obote and Idi Amin) wrecked the economy for 40 of those 50 years and the tyrants tortured and killed perhaps a million people (no one knows for sure because so many people simply “disappeared“).  Now everyone is exasperated with the current president’s 4 terms of extremely corrupt service, but they will vote for him anyway if he runs again in order to ensure stability.  To give you some idea of the corruption, about 10% of what is budgeted for any given governmental project actually reaches the its destination.  90% is siphoned off along the way, going into the pockets of politicians, project “leaders” and relatives of those folks.

Last night we had our first “bush” shower--a couple of jugs of water dumped in a bucket attached to a shower head suspended over a stone enclosed stall.  Not being tall enough to reach the shut off valve, I had to partially climb the wall to get any water.  Lesson one:  if you have to climb a wall to reach the valve, do NOT put soap on your face first!  Lesson two:  make sure the bucket is full BEFORE starting your shower as it is impossible to summon more water when you are naked and soapy--not to mention the staff climbs a ladder to dump more water in the bucket and looks right down on where you are standing.  Lesson three:  check the shower for lizards, bugs and monkeys BEFORE locking the door behind you.  Today we used the swimming pool as our “bathtub” and rinsed the chlorine off in the shower--MUCH simpler!

Travel really messes with a person’s sense of time. I left home at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, got to Entebbe at 10 p.m. on Monday which was really 2 p.m. the next day in Dallas.  I figure about 35 hours of travel time but 22 hours of air time. We had a stop in Kigale, so technically I’ve added Rwanda to my list of countries even though the only thing I could see out the window was the full moon.

People tell you anything when they think they won’t see you again.  My seatmate Jimmie was returning from the USA after spending 2 months there as a guest preacher for churches all over the states.  He has 3 children, the youngest only 7 months old.  He has been gone for nearly 1/3 of that child’s life!  Although his father has many wives (and many children), he can afford  only one.  With 127 brothers and sisters, he says his own family feels quite small.  His stories about Uganda under Idi Amin and Obote terrify me, but he admits that even though conditions are much better now, the government is still corrupt.  He is hoping that the elections next year will oust the 26 year president who is serving his 4th term in office--the last 2 illegally.  Jimmie has many of the same complaints that we do--too many kinds of taxes, government jobs going to friends and cronies, tax money paying for ridiculous things when the country needs better schools, roads, hospitals, and so forth.  Aids, drugs, and unemployment top the list of general problems, so large families stick together, share their money, take care of others' children, work farms communally, and divide up resources and chores on an as needed basis.  In small villages, if the drums announce a community work day, one is expected to drop everything and run to the town center to help out or face a heavy fine.  Conditions are changing and some children who are sent to boarding schools in the bigger cities decide never to return home.  Parents complain of modern influences such as cell phones, TVs, and computers that divert children's attention from strong family values.  Sound familiar?

After a short night at the Lake Victoria Hotel, we boarded a long boat for a choppy 1 hour ride across a tiny portion of the lake to Ngamba Island to the Chimp Sanctuary--home to 48 orphan chimps rescued from wire snare traps, the illegal pet trade or accidents.  Because the small island can support only 3-4 chimps, the care-givers supplement nature's pantry with a morning and evening feeding in the lock-down  area and 2 feedings through the electrified fence during the daytime when the chimps can choose to go into the forest.  Our first experience was watching the morning forest feeding.  The chimps have acquired an internal clock and know just when to show up to catch the vegetables and fruits that the rangers throw to them through the fence.  Tempers flare when one chimp invades another's territory or a bigger chimp steals goodies from a smaller one who has been hoarding whatever he could grab in 2 hands, 2 feet, 2 underarm areas, between the legs and piled on his belly.  Quite entertaining to watch the hoarder's stash go flying in all directions accompanied by raucous screams when a thief approaches!  Some grab a goodie or two and head for cover in the forest to eat in peace while others use tools (long sticks) to rescue food that didn't quite make it through the fence.  Some stand on their hind legs holding a hand up in the air as if to catch a fly ball and the rangers try to lob a tomato or banana into the waiting paw.  Still others clap their hands to draw attention their way.  At this particular feeding, one chimp that showed up late received nothing and sat there looking so forlorn, staying long after the others went back into the trees--perhaps hoping someone would take pity on her.  After our  lunch a second performance similar to the first took place.  We began to recognize 48 different personalities and styles.  One really big guy (taller than me when erect) swaggered on two feet, distinctly separated from the others by size and shape (very thin instead of stocky and solid).  Summersalts, bluff charges, courtesy bows to elders, wild gallops across the field, and other antics kept us entertained.

Between feedings we were free to roam the 2 acre compound dedicated to the "humans" on the island:  visitors (max of 8 any given night in 4 canvas tents), volunteers, researchers, and camp staff (no such thing as a single job--the cook also ran the bar and gift shop plus provided part of the evening's singing and drumming entertainment along with other staff).  Our explorations yielded a pair of Egyptian geese with 10 babies, a gigantic tree covered with neon yellow weaver birds and their pendulum nests, several large monitor lizards that persisted in digging large holes in the path in which to lay their eggs, a trio of yellow billed ducks, devoted pairs of spur winged lapwings that jealously guarded their nests containing eggs that looked just like the stones upon which they were laid (built right where guests were likely to step on them so we had to be very careful), and many other species of birds.  Although the space was small, it seemed every square foot yielded a different critter, bug, or flower to capture our attention.

At 5:30 we headed to the lock-down area, praying that all the chimps would choose to come in for the night so we could have our forest walk the next morning.  Apparently the millet gruel the rangers offered for supper worked as all 48 showed up screaming and scrambling for space at the bars.  48 hands stuck through the fence, each grasping a metal bowl into which the gruel was rationed--chimps stacked on top of each other to the top of the cage--looking for all the world like some giant pinball game.  My favorite was watching the staff help the "baby"--the only chimp born on the island because her mamma removed the "implant" that was to prevent pregnancy--learn to drink from its bowl.  After the clanking of 48 bowls being thrown to the ground, each chimp received a melon or squash or avocado that was too large to fit through the bars.  It was hilarious to watch the various antics as each chimp tried various methods to retrieve his produce.  Some juggled the thing to the top of the cage where they could bite it into smaller pieces while others simply crushed and squeezed their prize till it fit through the bars while still others smashed theirs upon the concrete and retrieved the various pieces. 

After our own dinner, we retired for the evening.  I looked forward to a night of restful sleep in a comfortable cot-like bed, but the chimps squabbled off and on all night, birds tweeted out their love songs, frogs croaked their lullabies and other unidentifiable critters added to the cacophony.  Not much sleep that night!

Red River Detour

With little over a week before I head to Uganda, of course I have to stress myself out by agreeing to help with work weekend at my townhouse in Red River.  The dogs and I are loving the respite from Dallas heat--below freezing at night!  I'm burrowing under the blankets and refuse to turn up the wall thermostat.  As the day progresses, I peel off my 5 layers of clothing till about 4:30 p.m. at which point I begin putting them all back on again.

Last night a bear showed up at the dumpster not 50 feet from my front door--in broad daylight!  My dogs went crazy.  Apparently, the bear or his buddy showed up again about 2:30 a.m., and once again the dogs went crazy.  After yelling at them to be quiet, I rolled over to go back to sleep, but they came bounding up the stairs to jump in bed with me (a BIG no no) as if to say "Mom, this is really, really important."  So we all crept onto the porch to investigate.  Every dog in the neighborhood was either howling or shrieking like he was being mauled by a mountain lion.  Even the 50 or so ducks in the nearby pond were all in a dither--such a quacking racket!  Something was out there!  My dogs growled and paced until I finally made them come inside.

Several people today told me of other recent bear stories.  Those brazen bruins are grabbing as many last minute calories as they can before they go into hibernation next month.  They'd better not grab my dogs, or I will act just like the navy seal who was guarding the goats as Rayado--Kit Carson's old historic trading post.  Last summer he awoke to the sound of a goat screaming in pain, saw it was being attacked by a bear, and promptly punched the offender in the nose!  I interviewed him the next day to find out what possessed the man to attack a bear with his bare hands, and he told me he just didn't think about it at all.  I suspect if any old bear (or person for that matter) decided to attack my babies, I just might react the same way!

After more than a year of planning, I soon head for Uganda (and Tanzania) to cross a "biggie" off my bucket list:  gorilla trekking through the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Inspired by Dian Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist and being a huge lover of animals, I decided to sign up for a private safari with a small number of friends--a very small number.  Quality over quantity--as long as I can afford it!

In less than a month, I'll be winging my way to Entebbe-- a major town (so says Wikipedia--only 80,000+ people, but I guess that qualifies in Uganda) on a peninsula of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake.  The President of Uganda resides there, even though Kampala, the capital, is some 23 miles to the northeast.  The Entebbe airport was the scene of one of the most daring counter-terrorism operations in history when soldiers from an elite unit of the Israeli army freed over 100 hostages following an Air France hijacking by a group of Palestinian and German militia in 1976.  I'd just as soon skip that experience!

Wikipedia says many tourist attractions will compete for my attention.  Among the most promising are the National Botanical Garden (located a short distance from our hotel), the Uganda Virus Research Institute (which began as a research center for Yellow Fever and has done work on the West Nile virus, HIV, and the Ebola virus), and the Uganda Wildlife Education Center--which is also the national zoo.  

My second main objective, The Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, allows me the opportunity to stay at an eco-friendly 4 tent camp where I will take a baby chimp on a forest walk.  This expensive experience has come with MULTIPLE visits to a travel clinic for a long list of injections (to protect the chimps or me?) and the signing of a comprehensive release that says if the chimp hurts or kills me, no one but myself is to blame.  Am I crazy or what?  This place is supported by the Jane Goodall Institute, the Born Free Foundation and several other reputable organizations, so what can possibly go wrong?  Well, wait for the next installment to find out.  This is our very first adventure once we arrive!