First things first, I did not bunjee jump. Gravity has already done enough to my body, I didn't think I should go and spit in its face.
We had a wonderful time this weekend. Murchison Falls National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Pictures and video do not do it justice. It was everything I thought it would be and more. The people here are so warm and friendly. As we drove along, it was about 300 kilometers, kids would wave at us from the roadside. I told Godfrey we were going to miss that, because we did not get that kind of reception at home. One bump it the road was actually about 200 bumps. They have put in speed bumps along a newly paved portion of road to keep people from speeding and tearing up the road. So we crawled, in the van, over every one. It was just the first in many funny and amusing things that happened along the way. Half of the road was a dirt road. It went from smooth to rub board to ruts and back, many, many times. It was our own bucking bronco ride through the park=). Then there were the flies, biting flies to be specific. The filled the van about 80 kilometers from our final destination, so the battle was on. We flailed and hit and sprayed with deet and nothing worked so we just had to laugh about it and go on. We stayed in a $5 a night hostel the first night. We had beds and mosquito nets. We went next door to the swanky lodge to use their bathrooms and eat. It was beautiful there. We had views overlooking the Nile and we could hear the hippos making their way to their feeding grounds. After we went back to our rooms it was lights out, literally. Because we are inside the park the only power they have is from generators. We only get power for a few hours, at 10 o'clock it was lights out!! We were ready for bed anyway. As we laid there during the night we could hear monkeys on the roof, and water bucks, water buffalo, and hippos walking around outside. We even hear a water buck walk down the sidewalk right outside our rooms. The sky was absolutely gorgeous. There were so many stars.
The next morning we were up early to start our game drive. We were out for about 4 hours and it was beautiful. We saw baboons, wart hogs, giraffes, water bucks, water buffaloes, Jackson's heartbeast, oribis(sp?), kobs, elephants, and some of the most beautiful birds in the world. We did not get to see any lions, but they can be hard to find. We went back to the lodge to relax for a few hours and then we set off on our Nile River cruise. We saw hundreds of hippos, Nile crocodiles, and all of the other animals we had seen that morning. Our destination was the base of Murchison Falls. The falls are only 6 meters wide at one point so the power of the Nile rushing though them is awesome. It was the best boat ride I have ever been on. We spent the night at Sambiya River Lodge in a banda. We had to use outdoor showers and it was the second best cold shower I have had in Africa. We had a great meal at the lodge and a great nights sleep on the best matress we have had on this continent.
The next morning we left early for a trip to the top of the falls. To see the power and beauty of the Nile is to know that there is a God. Only a supreme being could make something so breathtaking. We managed to keep the biting flies out of the van on the way out of the park. It just meant keeping the windows up. Thank goodness it was a cloudy morning.
On the way home we stopped at the Ziwa Rhino Sactuary. They have 7 of the 9 rhinos in Uganda. They are trying to reintroduce them to the wild. Two of the rhinos were donated by Disney's Animal Kingdom. They have a new baby, we did not get to see, that was born in June. His name is Obama. We actually got out of the van and walked through the grass for about 15 minutes to reach where 3 of the rhinos were resting. We got to walk within 15 yards of them. It was sooooo cooool!! We went back to the lodge for lunch and then it was back across the 200 speed bumps home. All in all a wonderful trip!! I would not trade the experience for anything in the world.
