Visit to Jinja on the Nile
on Hoggs in Uganda (Uganda), 05/Dec/2009 18:02, 34 days ago
30th November 2009 We had our first trip out of Kampala to somewhere other than Entebbe.We went to Jinja for the weekend to see the source of the Nile and the Bujagali falls. Jinja itself is interesting - it’s on Lake Victoria, 80 km east of Kampala.  It was mainly home toAsians who set up businesses but, under the Amin regime, they were expelled and theirbusinesses generally were given to incompetent Ugandans. There are lots of grand buildings,some colonial and some Asian style, but most are in decay and look unsafe although there wereobviously African families living in them - sometimes many families in one building. So partsresemble  a ghost town while some parts are well maintained. We stayed in a very nice place,Gately on Nile, with our own lodge overlooking the lake in very lush and colourful gardens andthere was also a  good restaurant.The driving was relatively straightforward as Uganda goes. We decided to go a longer scenicroute which the Bradt guide (our bible while we are here) said took much the same time as thedirect road.  However there were long stretches of speed bumps at frequent intervals (corrugatedroad) and the road was very quiet. We thought we had taken much longer than the direct routeuntil we met up with others who had come the direct route and had been stuck in traffic jamsalmost all the way. The Nile is the only major river which flows from south to north. It takes four months to flow to theMed and is 4,000 miles long ( I realise that there are geography teachers reading this who knowit all already -  or may wish to contest this - but we didn’t until Saturday). We met up with someother VSOers for a boat trip on the Nile and then went back for a sundowner sitting on our ownverandah overlooking Lake Victoria. It was wonderful and a nice birthday treat for Bobby. On theway back on Sunday we stopped at Mabira Forest Reserve and had an interesting walk with aguide seeing and hearing lots of birds. During the Amin years it was given to people whodestroyed a lot of the trees which drastically affected the ecology of the area. It is now back insafe hands and boasts over 300 species of birds  and over 300 species of trees and bushes.The main road back from Jinja was fairly clear until entering the outskirts of Kampala. We wereback home about 3 pm. However that night on the stretch in Mabira Forest an MP was killedwhen his car ran into a tractor towing a sugar cane trailer. Typically these trailers are poorly litand, since the accident, there has been a proposal in parliament to ban heavy vehicles travellingin the dark.  We also learned that there was a minbus accident at night on the Jinja Road atNakawa - at the end of the Port Bell road which we live on. Three people were killed and severalinjured.  Night travel is best avoided. Wednesday 2nd December.Hamish and Morven are setting out today for their African adventure, and coming to us on 22ndDecember. We are spending a few days over Christmas on safari at Murchison Falls and Murchison National Park which should be different to ourusual Edinburgh festive rituals.They are meeting up with our niece Becky tomorrow in Nairobi,as she is working there. The three of them are going off travelling together, starting with anovernight train journey to Mombasa. A few years ago Hamish and Becky happened to be inAfrica at the same time, and bumped into each other in a shop doorway in Dar es Salaam duringa downpour so this time round they are more co-ordinated. The family will be well represented in Africa for the next few weeks. Hamish and Morven are coming to Kampala by bus from WestKenya. It makes sense for them to get off up the road from where we are staying as they willpass along that way and the bus station in central Kampala is chaotic and crime riddenespecially just before Christmas. However, I feel we should be meeting them at an internationalairport with a brass band playing in the background, rather than off a bus opposite where we doour food shopping.