It was a calm-weathered Friday morning and, readily excited to set off for the long-awaited tour, I was already enjoying the cold zephyr that usually blows serenely during Kampala’s morning hours (Kampala is Uganda’s capital, just in case you knew not). As my ears were continuously being treated to the mellifluous twittering of the morning birds which undoubtedly spiced up the entire moment altogether, I couldn’t help but reminisce back on the legendary tunes of the late Michael Jackson. After all, a Bwindi gorilla safari was just about to start.
As soon as the 7 O’clock hour landed, our bus set off right away for what I’d imagined to be a full day’s journey to Buhoma – Southwestern Uganda. I was more than excited, hell-bent on “real” adventuring.
Just as you exit Kampala, at the edges of the city, what welcomes you is the green-endowed natural growings that stretch out on both sides of the road. This, coupled with the cool breeze of fresh air that gushes rapidly through the moving vehicle’s open windows, and into the receptive nostrils, didn’t spare giving me a thrill, that Uganda is indeed a pearl! No one would wonder where from the rain in the area would so much emerge, for it is green everywhere!!
Everything you find along the way seems interesting, tempting you to get out of the vehicle to walk and let your eyes inquire around. The settlements so seen around the roads seem compellingly undisturbed, looking comfortable with their serene way of life, after all, the best they know is to be alive. With simplicity, they carry out agriculture, proof enough of the motherland being a naturally-gifted food basket. All this would already seem too great, yet you’ve perhaps just witnessed the peak of the iceberg. There’s just much more ahead.
Just because it is magical, it doesn’t mean it’s not real; the tales of a Bwindi gorilla safari.
As we continued driving at a steady speed, the journey got us deeper into Mpigi District. It is in this district and a few others on the outskirts of Kampala where a certain sense of the traditional magical tales seems to come to life. This is where the human sense of mere imagination wanes out and is instead replaced by bewilderment at what really is happening. It is where both biology and mathematics cease, and geography and physics begin explaining the wonderous mysteries of nature in real life. All these explanations begin to occur at the equator, a phenomenon that makes Mpigi town in Uganda and Bogota in Colombia share a whole lot in common. Both cities are crossed by the equator_ an imaginary line that arrests two parts of the earth into half, inherently giving rise to the dynamics involving the direction from which the sun rises and sets, something that threw me off permanently.
Only here at the equator lies the possibility of living in both hemispheres at the same time, an experience that I wouldn’t risk missing out on. It is also in the same place where magic becomes reality, when one considers experimenting the water drainage in the place. The sight of water swirling clockwise in the Northern hemisphere, counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere and downwards at the equator is a paradigm of a mystery that biology cannot explain. These are part of the tales of a Bwindi gorilla safari.
Economics; a theory that’s tasted everywhere.
The equator experience is not the last and only thing to behold and encounter. Further travel ushers you into the exploration and witness of utterly another dreamlike region in Uganda, in which you taste the magnificence of towns like Mbarara, Ntugamo among others. In this region, you might find yourself rubbing shoulders with, or elbowing your way through large herds of cattle, as well as enormous gardens of banana plantations that are commonly owned by the countrymen. It is some of such experiences that convince people that money is an inspiration to many in diverse places, tailoring activities of economics with the overall aim for their life being underlined by one relative denominator: happiness.
Nature continues to show up splendidly alongside the roads as you continue to go deeper, welcoming you with sweet sways brought about by the cool breezes. Somewhere along the way in a place called Kiruhura, just before Mbarara, the edges of lake Mburo National Park which stretch to almost kiss the roadside, throw you in a completely different world altogether. You just cannot help but accept that Uganda is, indeed, the pearl of Africa.
Terrible, anti-positional, incredible; strictly speaking this is a challenge!!
As the driver advances towards the Southwest, hills and meandering roads begin dancing ballroom with the vehicle. And most of this seems a little bit normal, until one approaches a place in Kanungu district that is locally referred to as Enengo, translated “the gorge”. It is in this place that one proudly gets to experience both fear and joy interchangeably and simultaneously. Such an experience is, to some, comparable to a 3-dimensional horror movie! This arises from the presence of the very steep escarpments of the Western Rift valley, between which a small river called Munyaga passes. Therefore, the fear of falling off the road is a disease that itches many. Although that happens, the sight so encountered is altogether spectacular and picturesque, such that the fear is also worth the fun. Gorges are some of the few features that are hard to find, so you wouldn’t want to miss a moment such exuberant!!
Nevertheless, passing through this area requires no mistake, otherwise the horror that usually only witnessed in movies would top the news headlines here too.
Finally there, finally home for a Bwindi gorilla safari.
The drive to Bwindi took several hours but getting out of the vehicle in Buhoma village, I gladly realized that I had made it, “I am finally here!” I said to myself. I had been waiting to make it here for almost over 12 long agonizing hours, but the adventure and exploration so experienced, was indeed worth the long wait. The thought that I had finally reached Buhoma in Bwindi was a dream come true. The Bwindi gorilla safari would be starting the next day.
The local people and communities were very friendly and hospitable. The artistic impressions fashioned in the images of the mountain Gorillas could not spare reminding one of the undisputed styled perfections of the legendary Leonardo da Vinci.
To sum it all up, the journey was altogether lovely, something that one would wish to forever embark on. And for sure, the more you traverse Uganda, the more you get inclined to agreeing that she’s indeed a diamond among the silvers! You can navigate the area through a 3 day Bwindi gorilla safari.
Very nice write-up.
I certainly love this website.
Keep it up!