Exploring Uganda

We promised some more details about our Ugandan vacation, so here they are! Our trip started with a quick flight to Bunia and from there across the border to Entebbe, which is adjacent to Kampala. In the airport in Entebbe, we had a wonderful reunion with Nana, Anna's mom. We then drove to the end of a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria. We stayed at Garuga Lodge for 4 days. The service left much to be desired, but the view of the lake, the pool, good food, the birdlife, and time with Nana were wonderful. Here's a few pics:

Luke and Nana playing quirkle

Sunset over Lake Victoria

Impromptu pediatric nude beach on the shores of Lake Victoria

We then went on a 3 day safari to Murchison Falls National Park, where we saw a wonderful variety of wildlife, including lions, elephants, baboons, monkeys, hartebeests, oribis and kops (all types of antelopes/deers), warthogs, giraffes, numerous types of birds (maribou storks, abdim's storks, vultures, red-throated bee-eaters, jacanas, sacred ibises, abyssinian ground hornbills, long crested eagles, several types of kingfisher...the list goes on), hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, etc. The savanna was beautiful and our boat trip up the Nile to see the falls was spectacular. Here's some pics:

mother and baby baboon

2 red-throated bee-eaters

crocodile regulating his temperature by keeping its mouth open

mother and baby hippos

mating night per our guide

Murchison Falls, where the giant Nile squeezes through a 17 meter (?) wide opening

saddle-billed storks

warthogs

Our safari was wonderful but far from relaxing, so afterwards we made our way back to Kampala, stayed the night there, then drove to Jinja, which is situated at the "source" of the Nile (where Lake Victoria drains into the Nile). In Kampala, we stayed at the Samaritan's Purse guesthouse, where we fell in love with our host, Tracy. Whether she likes it or not, she has been chosen to be our unofficial Kampala nanny for all our future trips, as Luke and Miriam loved her. 

Miriam with Tracy at the Samaritan's Purse guesthouse in Kampala

We stayed in Jinja at the Mto Moroni (River in the Heart) Retreat Center, where our good friends and colleagues Willem and Joanne (along with their 9 month old son Lucas) are staying for 3 months to learn Swahili before moving to a more remote hospital in the northeastern Congo. The retreat center is situated adjacent to the Nile. The view was beautiful and the staff were incredibly warm. I had a hard time putting my binoculars down, as there were so many different types of birds (red-chested sunbirds, plantain-eaters, black kites, sacred ibises, African open-billed storks, 2 types of cormorants, fish eagles, mousebirds, 3 types of kingfishers, gonoleks, sand pipers, night herons, egrets...it was amazing). Miriam and Luke loved the pool. Miriam is a life-guard's nightmare as she has no fear of the water! Finally we had time to relax!

Boatride on the Nile with our Dutch friends Joanne, Willem and Lucas Folmer (colleagues from Nyankunde)

view from Nana's porch

giant kingfisher

redchested sunburd

And now we're back in Nyankunde after a wonderful, albeit exhausting trip. I'm not sure if I'm more or less tired than I was before the trip, but we're grateful to get a glimpse of the riches of Uganda--a beautiful country with a very ugly history. 

Nyankunde from the air (hospital complex on right side)