The Wild West!

On Friday afternoon we made our first family trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP), using our new annual National Park entry passes that we recently purchased since officially becoming East African Residents (much cheaper than "foreign tourists").  At the park gate we picked up a local technician who needed a lift into the park headquarters and who helpfully spotted an elephant for us in the thick bush just a few minutes later!  Having dropped him off we got to the campsite where there was a neat horsehoe of green tents and a massive truck belonging to one of those across-Africa safari companies.  We spent some time choosing where to pitch our tent, eventually choosing a spot on fairly high ground, quite close to the toilet block, with the back close to a hedge, one side blocked off by our car and the front facing a fire-place - (the reasons for such caution will become clear).  Sam had never camped before so he took great delight in charging in and out of the tent before it was properly up, helpfully collecting up tent-pegs from where we'd just put them in the ground, and developing his own unique style of Maypole-dancing with the guyropes!  As we finished pitching camp we saw a group of elephants in the bush on the far side of the campsite, and by sitting on top of our car were able to get a good view of them.  There were also warthogs around the campsite and beautiful yellow weaver-birds.  Although staying on the cheap in our tent, we treated ourselves to a slap-up dinner at the adjacent luxury game lodge before turning in for the night, with a large fire burning outside the tent, lit by the campsite ranger (who, having lit the fires then disappears until morning).

Eventually Sam realised that tents aren't just for playing in, and that this was where he had to sleep and settled down inside his mosquito-proof travel-cot inside the tent.  We read for a while, and then faced that inevitable dilemna of being in a tent after a big meal and contemplating the trip to the toilet block; but in this case the short route to the toilet block, was also part of the larger route from the bush where the hippos eat at night, to the lake (Lake Edward) where they live.  Luckily no large eyes were reflected back in my maglite beam and no animals charged me from behind and I made it safely to and from the toilet block in the otherwise pitch dark, taking just enough time to notice the fantastic panalopy of stars above me - stars such as I haven't seen since my time at sea.

We didn't get much sleep on our thin foam roll-mats with the swishing and munching sounds of hippos grazing outside.  I know that sound travels far in the dark making distance perception very difficult, but at one point, at about 4 or 5 am (by which time the once blazing fire was now a far less scary mound of glowing embers), I was convinced that there was a hippo right outside the tent.  On getting up an hour later at 6am the presence of a pile of fresh hippo poo 1 foot behind the back of the car confirmed my suspicions! 

We started our morning game-drive a little after 6.30 with the pink/orange glow of sunrise shining over the Kazinga channel which links Lakes Edward and George, passing some waterbuck as we left the campsite on a route suggested by a ranger.  A little over an hour later we saw the tell-tale signs of two other vehicles stopped on the side of the track with cameras and eager faces protruding from windows/sunroofs.  Sure enough, there in a clearing to the right, about 25m away was a single adolescent male lion!  In order to understand the significance of this sighting to us, I have to explain that Bethan has been coming to Uganda regularly since 2004, had been to QENP once before and to Murchison Falls NP a few times and NEVER previously seen lions!  As this fine specimen of God's creation stood up and walked away from us we followed it and came upon a group of three lions, including a fully adult mane with a resplendent mane that immediately reminded us both of Aslan in that BBC classic "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"  - which I'm sure was the staple Christmas viewing of most British children born in the early '80s!  We stayed long enough to watch this male have a bit of a tussle with its younger companions and emit an impressive roar.

We drove around for another hour or so, enjoying the fantastic scenery of QENP which is on the floor of a rift valley and so looks very different from the hilly/mountainous farms, villages and towns (including Kasese) which surround it.  Heeding the excellent advice from the ranger that between 9 and 10am the growing heat would drive elephants down to the water to drink we turned back along the track which parralels the channel, passed the same lions again, although at more of a distance, and then rounded a corner to see a group of elephants crossing the road to go and drink, flapping their ears and swinging their trunks as they went.  They really are magnificent creatures and one even treated us to a loud trumpet before lumbering off through the bush.  Sam got very excited at seing the elephants and pointed and squealed appreciatively, which was a relief, because when we were awe-struck by the lions he had seemed just as interested in playing with a mango-juice carton!

Having struck our tent and left the park we returned along the scenic route past the "Katwe explosion craters", which are enormous relics of some meteorites or volcanoes of past millenia.  The driving here was extremely challenging even in the dry, and it took almost 2 hours to cover 24km so we're unlikely to take that route again, but the scenery was truly awe-inspiring.

We feel very blessed to live so close to such natural beauty and returned to Kasese exhausted, but very inspired, in time to get some sleep before I preached my first sermon in our church on Sunday morning (which went well).

NB. If any of you come to visit us don't necessarily expect to see lions on a first visit, it can take years before you see them!

For those who pray:

This week (Thurs 29th) there is a big meeting to determine which BMS development projects are given funding, and ours are up for consideration, along with others from all over the world.  Please pray that we get funding so that we can proceed straight away with the much needed skills training centre and daycare projects for the people of Acholi Quarter, Kasese.

Pray/Give thanks for our continued health, safety and well-being.  Bethan had her cornea scratched by Sam whilst up in Gulu, which was very painful, but has now healed; Sam has cut some painful new bigger teeth, and I seem to be incapable of putting any weight back on, despite having taken precautionary de-worming tablets, but otherwise we are all well!