Horseback Riding in Lake Mburo

At the weekend, Alex and I took ourselves to Lake Mburo. We completely underestimated the distance suggested in the guide book ("just three and a half hours from Kampala") and set off in the late morning from Kampala. Sadly, we organised (and I use the word "organised" very loosely) ourselves a bit too late and so all of the affordable accommodation in Lake Mburo National Park had been booked up. The Park also hosts a number of high end resorts and although being actually within the park is probably the best option... $420 per night, really is not. We found somewhere in Mbarara (about 45 minutes drive away) for 25 UGX (about £8) with a clean bed, shower and satellite TV (America's Next Top Model was on!). It was good to get a taste of Mbarara as there a rumours that I will be spending a great deal of time there next year!

So we travelled down Masaka road at top speed, alot of the roadwork that were going on are largely complete now, and the road is just waiting for its Traffic Signs and Roadmarkings. Otherwise though, the quality is pretty good. We saw this nice rusty "End Corruption" sign by the equation crossing on Masaka road, that I really liked, warning Africans against the corrupt nature of the "long nosed, white faces". Haha! nice!The National Park was wonderful, plenty of zebra on show!!

Then we did something a bit different. We took a horseback safari from a place called Mihingo Lodge. It was really fantastic. The animals aren't so scared of you when you're on the back of a horse, and we were able to get really close to the Zebras and the Waterbuck. Such magnificent animals!

Look at that red skin! and I was wearing two coats of factor 30!

There was a small incident on the horse ride... We were just walking along, nothing fast, looking at some buffalo, when suddenly a little warthog came running out from under a bush and complete spooked my horse. It went completely mental and then threw me off! It all happened so fast, but I was terrified of being stamped on by the hooves! Fortunately the horse ran off, far away, so I didn't get trampled.

What does falling of a horse feel like? EXACTLY like falling off a bucking bronco, without the inflatable ground to catch you!

Then we took a boat ride and saw for baby crocodiles! can you spot them on the picture below?

St Andrew's Ball, Kampala

So today is St Andrew's Day, but on Saturday Kampala held their annual St Andrew's Ball. I was very reluctant to attend - but with some support from Alex (who I dragged along), I reluctantly agreed, and the actually had a wonderful time!

The ball was held at the Serena hotel in Kampala, a really beautiful location.

We arrived into a foyer full of kilts ("In Uganda, we call them skirts...") and were handed a strangely looking white-milky stuff with bits in... My Scottish friend told me that it was Atholl Brose, a drink made from whisky, cream and oats...mmm! it actually went down pretty easily, as did the second, and by the time we were escorted to our table, I was ready for a big night.

That's when I was confronted with another strange looking drink, waiting for me on our table... also cloudy and lumpy... I took one tiny sip and exclaimed loudly to Alex:

"Blimey, I dunno what the hell that is, but we're gonna have to neck it! It's Jank!"

It was then that a polite Scottish man informed me that it was - infact - the appetiser, a chilled  leek and potato soup. Oh dear! If only I had studied the menu first! how embarassing!!

But the night was just warming up, and the band were so brilliant leading everyone in the Scottish dancing - I must confess, I did do a little gig myself!

They brought in the Haggis to bagpipe music and it was completely delicious. Here's a picture of me enjoying it. Yes, I am that red. I am sunburnt all over. I have given up on trying to stay out of the sun... it's waaaay too hot!

Brilliant night. Lots of fun - could've done without the whisky hangover!

Happy St Andrew's Day!

Mabira Forest, Big Matooke Bottom and Thanksgiving

Oh my goodness! How does this keep happening to me? I get so behind and thought of trying to catch up and not miss out on any of the adventures that I've had fills me with dread and then the problem just gets bigger and bigger... and now a face a 5 week update! and not just any five weeks... five super-busy weeks. Okay. I will do my best to summarise the key moments, and naturally punctuate with suitable photos.

So the weekend following the last post, I went to Jinja with Alex and Stevie P, for some intensive R & R and then some even more intensive Jet Boating! We stayed at the Nile High Campsite. I can't help it... I like it there so much. It has lots of affordable accommodation and big groups of backpackers coming in on overlanders - giving it a great atmosphere, plus it's right on the banks of the Nile. So we just chilled out there on Friday night and had some beers. Strangely, even though it's only a couple of hours drive from K'la, the beer is MUCH (like 30%) cheaper because the factory is in Jinja.

On Saturday morning, we got up early and watched the rafters leave (SO glad that I wasn't with them, completely sticking to my "never again" policy) and then we booked ourselves onto a jet boat. From what I can tell, and it's not much, it's just a metal speedboat that has a MASSIVE engine (the boys seemed to want to talk about the engine for ages!), and it just tears up and down the Nile, mega fast, up and down the more shallow rapids, and can do 360 degree spins. It was SO BRILLIANT. Like all of the thrill of the rafting, without the fear of sudden death and the pure exhaustion from the paddling.

I was so sure that I wanted to do it again... until I woke up the next morning. So sore. And I don't even bruise easily:

So I was in Kampala for another week after that, and most of it was spent nursing my bruised body and saying goodbye to people. Then I left Kampala the following Friday (with a stonking hangover) for my other favourite place that begins with a "K", Kent!

I was with my family for a week. Thank you so much for having me. The highlight was probably a pretty traumatic evening (and by evening I mean 3 hours) where I took sole responsibility for my nephew Freddie. This is him earlier that evening.

Trust me, he was no where this nice to me 3 hours later. Poor little guy, Auntie Michelle has no idea even which way a nappy goes round.

From Kent, I went to France, where I was hosted by the Lovely Laura. I use the term hosted very loosely, because she's quite nomadic and we actually only slept at her house once! But she took great care of me, showed me all the sights and never made me speak French when I was afraid (unlike her cruel friends!). Marseille is a beautiful city, even in November and surprisingly warm - especially when you're hiking up MOUNTAINS!

And then I had a brief stint in Southampton, largely at the grace of Lady Mansell (thank you, Angel!), and then it was time to head back to Uganda.

I'm so sorry to everyone that I didn't get to see on this return voyage. Please don't take it personally, and I promise to hit you up at Christmas. 22nd December. I will be back.

Back in Kampala. Same city. Same apartment. Same bedroom even. Starts to feel like home more and more.

On this first weekend back, what is the top priority? Get out of the city, of course! We (Alex and I) went to Mabira forest. We went with two other people, who stayed at PLUSH accommodation. Alex and I went for 15,000/- per night. Oh yes, sometimes, you just get what you pay for!!

But, to be honest, the place was really lovely. They set up a massive campfire for us in the evening, and showed wonderful hospitality all weekend. I would stay there again!!

So we spent lots of time relaxing on the Saturday and enjoyed a beautiful 5 course meal. Then on Sunday we took a little hike in the rainforest. I had all these great vision of playful monkeys jumping down on my shoulder - not so much. The most exotic this we saw was a camouflaged slug!

But not to worry. We still trekked for over 2 hours and the humidity was killing me!

So back to K'la on Sunday night for another week at work.

Then something terrible happened. On Wednesday, I sat on my phone with my big matooke (mashed banana) enhanced bottom and broke the screen! badly. I was so disappointed. I really thought that this mobile was the one that I'd been looking for all my life. That we were destined to be together. Fortunately, Marvin "knew someone" and within 18 hours I was standing in a swelteringly hot phone shop in downtown Kampala with the tiny screws for my intricately designed phone being blown across the workman's desk by rotating fan that was being used to circulate the hot air. Super.

But the screen was fixed none-the-less and by Ugandan standards was quite expensive (just under £20) but I really couldn't be happier. It feels like a reconciliation with an old friend.

So with my phone fixed, Thursday rolled on and it was Thanksgiving. In the spirit of Thanksgiving - cultural exchange, togetherness, giving thanks and gluttony, Alex and I decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner for everyone in our office. Surprisingly they all accepted our offer, and I was terrified about running out of food. But everyone seemed thankful and full when they left, so I think we can call it a success!

Digger Dancing in Kampala!

Okay, this one will have to be seen to be believed. Yesterday, Alex (here it is Alex, this is your big mention), Steve (similarly for you, Steve) and I had gone to Shop Rite at Lugogo Mall to buy some South African chocolate called 'Top Deck'.

Most of the cars had been cleared from the carpark and BEHOLD! What should we see? The car park cleared for a magical display of art and wonder, where man and machine dance together in perfect unity. 

Incredible. Watch this video, it must be seen to be believed.



Stick 'em up!

So on Saturday we went out of the city and did some shooting! Shooting (like volleyball) is not my sport. Don't ask we what kind of gun it was, or what kind of bullets, or any other questions about range or speed or anything. Not a clue. The gun was loud and the recoil hurt my arm, and I hit nothing. I fired two shots, and then sat down and took out my knitting.

Bunnies, New York New York and the Blog is fixed!

Okay! so, first things first, I am waaay behind, so sorry about that, but I will try really hard to catch up right now. 

I've fixed the blog. The comments feature should work properly now. Something was set up wrong, but I think it's all corrected, so comment away!

So let's cast our minds back two weeks, just when I was casting off this little lovely. A super bunnie hat with tails that protude from the main body. The hat was for my friend Lara, who's heading back from sunny Kampala to winter in the UK later this week. I adapted it from another pattern (aged 2-4) but somehow it came out massive.

I then took a business trip to New York (never thought I'd hear myself say that!!) which was really fantastic. The weather was really strange, quite warm and humid, with torrential showers every now and then. My top priority, getting off the plane to Uganda was buying a coat and some waterproof shoes!

The picture below shows the Empire State Building, look at those clouds! I couldn't even see the top! I spent lots of time just walking around and going into shops, hanging out and relaxing.

 Oh and I checked out the hot Civil Engineering structures too. Including the Brooklyn Bridge. What a beauty.

It was a really fantastic trip, and I had a brilliant time. Lucky lucky girl.

Another one for Freddie

Poor poor Freddie! I think he is the worst victim of my hobby. Behold, another jumper just for him. Size is age 1, Mummy, and the wool is machine washable (not that you would handwash it anyway! haha!)

It's a cute jumper with a checkerboard pattern and NO FIDDLY BUTTONS! yippee!The collar is lovely, just a twisty ribbed collar to keep his neck warm...
...now, after all this hard work, won't someone PLEASE send me a picture of his teeth???

Royal Ascot Goat Races at Munyonyo Speke Resort!

On Saturday it was the annual "Royal Ascot Goat Races" at Munyonyo Speke Resort in Kampala, and organised a big group of us to go from work.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, horses... well they run because there are people sitting on them whipping them, and greyhounds... well they love to chase things so you can see how they'd be good in a race... but Goats? And quite possibly you'd be right. Enter the "Goat Push", a wheelie contraption that consists of a number of mattresses arranged perpendicular to the ground to "encourage" the goats around. Vegetarian Dan is back in the country, and as you can imagine... he was loving it!

It was a really beautiful day and the whole thing felt a bit like a school fete. I bet correctly on the first race and won 14000UGX, but the big winner was our friend Alex (the butcher, not the highways engineer) who owned a goat that won it's race, and was rewarded with 2.8mil UGX! As you can imagine, it turned into a great day!
Although the ladies all went originally wearing hats, our attire and demure deteriorated rapidly as the free booze flowed! None the less, we made it to the after-party, and danced the night (and the stench of goats' poop) away!

Basketball & A Big Fat African Wedding!

Wahoo! I am already SO behind! Okay, panting to keep up... let me update you on my weekend!

On Friday night I went to watch some basketball at the YMCA centre in Kampala. A professional side were playing the Kampala-based UCU (Uganda Christian University), and everyone was cheering for the students! There was a huge crowd and although all of my understanding and knowledge of basketball is based on playing NBA Jam on the Super Nintendo, I felt like I was just about able to follow what was going on.

It was all really exciting, so perhaps baskteball is the sport for me... only as a spectator though, I was dreading the ball coming anywhere near me after the volleyball incident a few months ago. (Okay, that was my first try at a hyperlink).

On Saturday, I attended my first African Wedding. It was incredible! Just so many people. There was no table plan or name cards, you just get ushered to a seat. There were flowers and fairy lights everywhere. I was worried that I would find the whole thing a bit OTT, but I think it was all really tasteful.

The food was delicious and the wine just kept coming. The speeches when on for hours (there were AT LEAST 15) but no-one minded, as the drinks were flowing and all of the sentiments were so sweet. Between the speechs there was Traditional Dance, performed by a professional group. I took a short video, which I will try to attach...

Okay- yep, I think that worked!

But the best dance was one with earthenware pots where girls placed stacks of them on their heads and continued to move around. It was too nail-biting to film!

Best wishes to the happy couple!

Prima Ballerina

So last week (yep, sorry I'm a bit behind!!) I finished a ballerina cardigan for my cousin's daughter, Rosemary. The wool was so lovely and soft that I knit the whole thing in just 9 days! ... and don't get me wrong, this is not 9 days of constant knitting, this is just knitting in the car to work (bad jam), knitting on the way home from work (worse jam) and then while waiting for food in restaurants.

I'm completely delighted with it, and I hope she will be too. She should recieve it anyday now, as I sent it back to the UK with one of my colleagues.

Never again... Right?

Last weekend I totally succumbed to peer pressure and went RAFTING at Jinja AGAIN! Last time we hadn't flipped and we had missed quite a few of the big rapids.

This time- not the case. I still do not enjoy this activity - and HEREBY VOW that I will never ever do this again... and especially not hungover! I kept falling out because I couldn't hang on tight enough and the helmet was giving me the worst headache ever!

Anyway, here's a picture of us taking the waterfall, the one we missed last time.

Lake Bunyonyi Ready!!

When Dan (vegetarian) returns to Uganda next month, he's going to be working down by Lake Bunyonyi. Intending a visit, and hearing the rumours of how cold it is down in Kibale, I've just finished a lovely jumper for myself.

It has an interesting twist stitch that I hadn't used before, but it wasn't too difficult. It's made of an alpaca/wool/silk mix and it's really warm!Yum yum yum...

More baby clothes on the way - 'cos I know you love them!
P.S. Sorry you can't see my face, but it was sweaty as the jumper was just so warm!

Horse Riding at Munyonyo Speke Resort

My Goodness! I just participated in the laziest weekend of all time! I went out with Lara & Steve (only been in K'la 2 weeks!) on Friday, and then Saturday we were just vegetables around the pool! So so lazy. I was very careful with the suncream and so didn't get too burnt.

Then Saturday night we got a curry delivery... I'm starting to get a good collection of take-away numbers on my phone now... We have an office opening party in September and I'll never fit in my dress. I also tried to stain my nails with henna paste. Now that I read that bad, I can see that this is a bad idea... but I was just blided by my enthusiam and optimism. Sadly the result is such an awful mess that I can't even bare to post a picture here... I will be wearing nailpolish until it grows out!!

On Sunday, Lara & I went to the Speke Resort at Munyonyo for a girlie day. I've never been there before, and it's quite something. They have lots of restaurants, a huge pools and gym, a marina and stables! Everyone drives around in golf carts. It's feels a bit like an exculsive celebrity rehad facility. We took a horse ride down to Lake Victoria and it was brilliant!

The horses were in excellent condition and the ride was very eventful. We rode along a main road with cars and bodas tooting at us! The horses weren't even bothered, but it was strange for me as a rider to experiance other road-users having so little respect for the horses. Certainly not like in the UK!

At Lake Victoria

After that we hung out at the sauna and spa and by the pool... as all this lazing around suggests, you can expect a BIG knitting update tomorrow!!

Lake Mburo National Park

This weekend we went to Lake Mburo National Park, close to Mbarara in Western Uganda. It's the only place in Uganda where you can find zebras... and I think we saw them all!

After a big night out on Friday night, we set off with a full car (everyone seemed to have relatives, girlfriends... etc that needed a lift to Mbarara... the more the merrier!!) at 8am Saturday morning.

It took about 3.5 hours to get there... it would have been quicker but we had to keep stopping to be sick (not me!!), buy dirty meat from the side of the road (the only true cure for a hangover) and take pictures at the equator (I won't bore you with them here... but I took a tonne!)

The first port-of-call at the park was a boat trip! Again plenty of Hippos and birds, it was really just nice to kick back and be by the water.

There are actually 5 lakes in Lake Mburo National Park, with the namesake being the biggest. It was teeming with fish, and so my friend, Marvin, insisted on leaning out of the boat the whole time with a stick and a hook (his fishing rod!), I was just worried that he might catch a hippo!!

Anyway, Marvin's patience was rewarded and late in the afternoon, he finally made a catch. He threw it back declaring it was far too small to eat!!

We were staying in really basic accomodation (thanks to me! oops!) , but I thought it was quite sweet. There were clean sheets, towels and mosquito nets! what more could you want??

And at least it had heated water!! Yup, that's the watertake with a fire underneath!

On Saturday ight we had a FIERCE game of Ludo. I never knew it could be played with such raw passion! Friendships were made and broken that night.

On Sunday morning we did the 6:30am Hyena walk, but we didn't see any hyenas! So disappointing! I really loved being so close to the animals though. We saw lots of zebra and waterbuck, and without the sound from the car engine, they were much less timid.

There were lots of impala too, and our guide told us about how they lend their name to the country's capital. Apparantly, during the time of colonisation, British "explorers" who were writing reports avbout the country of Uganda back to the Bristish government, refered to the area of the current capital as "Kampala" when they misheard it being called "Ka impala" ("Place where the Impala are" in Luganda)
Anyway, I LOVED being so close to the animals... but it was not so fun when I stood in the way of a trail of African Safari Ant and they all went up my trousers and bit my bum!! I have bites all over! fortunately they're not itchy... pheweeee! Small mercies!!
We headed back to K'la after the nature walk. Marvin decided to buy some fish on the way, and I protested about the smell, but he assured me that he would hang them outside the car... 200kms later, only one dust-covered fish remained!

Last Picture: A zebra crossing!! hehehe!

Kampala Snake Park

Yesterday we finally made it to Kampala Snake Park!
I had been after a guarenteed smile for quite some time now, and this place sure did deliver! Construction is still not fully finished, but they already have plenty of snakes on show, as well as tortoises. They also intend to host some crocodiles in the future.
The best part is that the guide who shows you round, knows everything about the snakes on show and even climbs in with most of them and pokes them with a stick so that they move for you. I have some videos of this... I'll try to upload them, but I'm still learning how to use all this stuff.

After this the weather was quite grim, so we just went to the beach resort in Entebbe and ate a big mama (deep fried tilapia) and chips.

Yum Yum!! There were lots of those nasty Storks hanging round too... yuck!

Kyenjojo part 2

Sorry!

I just realised that I didn't actually talk about Kyenjojo like I had intended to, in the earlier post.
For me, the most exciting and interesting thing in Kyenjojo is a large pilgrimage site, about 3km from the town centre. It's not clear exactly what it commemorates. It's a mound of large rocks with the names of Saints carved into them. I can find any information about it, so for now, I'll just show a picture.
It's really impressive though!