Day 51 Game Walk

Wednesday February 2^nd. Up really early for breakfast and then set off in the truck in the dark to an area of the Lake Mburo National Park. There we got out and divided into two groups, each with a guide who carried a gun. The truck continued to the park exit and we walked three or four kilometres to get there. On the way we saw some impala, zebra, safari ants and some warthogs. We also saw a herd of cattle that shouldn't be there at all. This is an example of how people are crowding out animals.

Although we didn't see a lot, it was great to walk in the savannah and see the trees and and vegetation up close. We also saw lots of dung from lots of different animals and footprints as well. Interesting walk, especially if you consider that we were on foot and there are dangerous animals out there, including lions and buffalo! We walked for about two hours and then boarded the truck again.

The rest of the day was a long drive through Uganda. As usual the views out the window were interesting and we passed lots of great things. We stopped a couple of times, including a fancy mall in Kampala that we stopped at a couple of days ago. Again we were scanned for whatever, before we were allowed to enter the mall. Very modern mall with upscale shops and it's only a couple of miles from abject poverty. We had lunch in the parking lot out back.

We arrived in Jinga about six and we are staying at Adrift Campsite on the banks of the Nile River. Apparently we are close to the source of the Nile that David Livingstone was trying to find. It comes out of Lake Victoria.

This is another activity centre camp. They offer white water rafting, bungee jumping, ATV riding and stuff like that. They also offer a village walk that interests me. I'll think about it tomorrow morning.

The Johns and I had a couple of beer before dinner and then continued after dinner. It's the most beer I've had for months. We had a good time and lots of laughs.

John from the Bronx is at the back of the photo, and Matthew from England is laying across us.

We finally rolled into bed about eleven.