Into the last quarter
on Hoggs in Uganda (Uganda), 19/Jun/2010 19:00, 34 days ago
Well we are starting to count the weeks (13) until we return home– we are due back in Edinburgh by 18th September. We are assessing what we can achieve before the end of our placements and what more of Uganda we can explore in the next three months.We have had a frustrating six weeks at work relieved by a most welcome and enjoyable visit from our son, David. We are enjoying our stay here but as the time to return draws near we are increasingly thinking of resuming our lives at home and thinking of the things we have been missing– our friends and family, concerts and theatre, a good power supply and hot showers . We will miss the friendly Ugandan people, the warm temperatures and the bird life but the vulnerable lives, chaotic traffic belching black fumes, and crater-like pot holes we will be glad to leave behind. I think I will need to be careful to modify my driving behaviour – I’ve forgotten what “Give Way” means and learned to push my front bumper into any small gap with the potential to develop. After another encounter with the police last night I will have to avoid inappropriate reactions if stoppedin the UK and keep my wallet in my pocket.Although our placements have been successful and rewarding, the last 6 weeks at work have been hampered by a number frustrations. A computer virus knocked out network connections for a week and I am not sure if all PCs have completely recovered yet. Our power supply at work has been fragile with maybe up to 20 hours lost due to power failures. I don’t fully understand it but invertors (back up battery supply) seemingly require at least 180 volt supply to charge and the main supply seems to fall beneath this frequently. When the main supply fails the invertors can’t meet the demand while the generator kicks in and on one occasion the generator could not kick in until someone fetched the fuel. On top of this I discovered a faction at work who had changed data capture procedures without discussing the implications with me and jeopardising some of the work I was doing. I think this got resolved on Thursday. This all leads to the growing gap in Reach Out’s expectations of me and what I will achieve before September.David has posted entries in our blog covering his time with us…….. As he remarks our stay at Katara Lodge, just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park, was exceptional.I think it was the best place we have stayed in Uganda. The food was fantastic and the staff were wonderful - very attentive and fun with their cheeky banter. We can recommend a stay in you are traveling in this part of the world. Uganda kob - the country's national antelope. An encounter with a 12 foot python causing us to reassess the risk of going behind a bush!Grey crowned crane - the emblem on Uganda's flag. We saw a good selection of game in the park but were disappointed with our chimp trekking in Kyambura Gorge. I think we disappointed our guide when we refused a tree trunk crossing over a 30/40 foot river allegedly hosting hippos (some people were eaten by a hippo in Lake Victoria near Kampala a couple of weeks back).  This is the bridge we diverted to when we refused the log crossing!We traveled down to spend one night at Ishasha Widerness Lodge near the Congo border but failed to find the famous tree climbing lions despite the efforts of our guide/driver.