Saturday 20th:   We drove back up the steep hills from the valley in which Lake Mutanda and Kisoro lie – and then turned off the tarmac road.

 

Could the “road” be any worse than the one we had turned round on, on the way to Amajambere? Worryingly for Robert’s minibus, the answer was “yes”! Using an old (and not very detailed) map of Kigezi and some help from the woman with a calm voice on Google maps (surprisingly, we had internet and she knew the basic directions most of the time but clearly had no idea what sort of roads she was taking us on), we left the tarmac road and drove north through Mafuga Forest.

Although there was a lot of forestry activity, there was no one actually working – we couldn’t check out if we were on the right track. We did come across a man on a bicycle on one narrow track along a steep hillside who said we needed to turn round. If Robert was going to go over the edge and crash down the hillside, then we were all going to go with him! But he successfully completed a multi-point turn and we tried another track. You get to the point (and time of day) when it seems better to go on into the unknown rather than turn back and try and find another route – which might not be any better anyway! It was very tough on the minibus but we eventually made it back to civilisation on the other side although the track was still bad for some way. There was one exciting moment for me when we went round a hairpin bend in which was nestled a little swampy patch which had obviously not been worth destroying. It was home to scores of giant flowering spikes of the Purple Swamp Orchid (Eulophia porphyroglossa) which used to be so common in Kigezi in the 1970s. So it’s not quite extinct after all!

We eventually arrived at Kisiizi where one of the oldest and best missionary hospitals is still thriving. Just before dark, we walked to the waterfall while Robert went into the trading centre to get the minibus washed. With the background sound of the nearby waterfall to lull us to sleep, we stayed in one of their guest house bandas which volunteers at the hospital use when on electives etc.

 

Sunday 21st:  The first part of the onward journey was on murram roads. It was a surprise to come down out of the cultivated hills into a wild-looking river valley with acacia trees, lots of birds and children playing in the river.

   

    African Open-billed Storks and two Sacred Ibis

 

It was a relief to get back onto the tarmac road as we left Kigezi and drove back into Ankole where the hills are more gentle and, apart from some very extensive tea plantations, not terraced and cultivated.

We stopped at the park entrance into Kalinzu Forest to book permits for tracking chimpanzees the next day. But we got a shock to learn that the cost had gone up from $35 each to $160 on 1st January! This was sadly out of the question. (Searching the internet just now, it seems that the National Forestry Authority have had second thoughts about the exorbitant hike in price and have brought the price down to $50!) Even a guided walk would have been $120 each!

We arrived at “Dave the Cave’s” Eco Lodge, clinging precariously to the almost vertical hillside which drops into Lake Kyema, one of the “twin crater lakes” around Rubirizi (there are another 30 crater lakes in the area.) For the second time, Booking.com had let us down badly and had never sent our booking despite having confirmed it with me several months ago! Dave had a large group in, so and had only one room available which we took. It was newly furnished with a very large rustic double bunk bed made out of a complex of twisted branches, stripped and sanded down. They had to go out and buy a mattress for the top bunk, which Robert and Patrick used.

 

Robert was already aware that there was a problem with the clutch which was getting worse and unlikely to get us back to Mbarara. So he made some phone calls and found a mechanic in Kyambura (on the escarpment above the Queen Elizabeth National Park in the rift valley below) who said he could fix it. I offered to go with him to keep him company, but then the other three also said they would go, so I decided to stay behind and go for a walk with my camera!

I went down to the water’s edge and along to the cave out of which a stream flows into the crater lake. The source has never been discovered but the cave is likely to be connected to a swamp-filled crater the other side of the ridge. It felt quite spooky on my own! I later walked some way along the murram road.

Darkness fell and a barbecue meal was served – but still no sign of my group! I eventually managed to phone them – and discovered they had gone all the way to Kasese: a two-hour drive down the escarpment, across the QENP and the bridge over Kazinga Channel and westwards towards the Rwenzori mountains and the DRC border! This is the area which ADF rebels from the DRC have been terrorising, killing many local people (and two tourists last year). Fortunately, Robert found someone who had the right spare parts and was prepared to fit them – late on a Sunday evening!! I was getting increasingly worried as they still hadn’t returned by midnight and I couldn’t contact them by phone. Eventually, they arrived at 12.30am – and immediately fell into bed! They were soon all snoring while I still lay awake as the adrenaline slowly drained away! At least they did see some elephants and other wildlife from the road – while I photographed more birds.

Monday 22nd:  I was awakened by Vervet Monkeys crashing around and arguing with each other in the trees that overhung our balcony. Kerstin, as was her wont whenever we stayed by water, was already up and swimming in the lake! The men were still fast asleep when I went out with my camera.

I was enchanted by the Vervet Monkeys which were all around – on the ground and in the trees. A few were still having their breakfast. The young ones were enjoying their playtime. Mothers with tiny babies were sitting on the grass “chattering”. One mother refused to let her tiny baby go off and explore, constantly pulling him back and holding him tightly despite all his protestations. “Teenagers” were playing hide and seek and swinging on a sort of hammock.

 

I went to investigate a bird making a very loud noise on the roof of the ‘house’ next to ours, just below the path  – and couldn’t believe my eyes! It was a male Giant Kingfisher, a spectacular but quite scarce bird which measures 17″ long. It had a fish in its beak and appeared to be calling its mate. After about six minutes, it flew off and then returned ten minutes later, apparently still with the same fish, and started calling again for a long time. It seemed quite unperturbed by us watching it. What a beauty!

 

We had breakfast on the restaurant balcony which was on a level with some beautiful birds in the tops of the bushes and trees.

 

We had decided that as we couldn’t go chimpanzee tracking, we would go back to Mbarara today, a day early (thanks to Babu and Peace accommodating our change of plan), so that we could spend Tuesday, our last free day of the tour, in Lake Mburo National Park which is only an hour away from Mbarara. We took our time over breakfast and packing and then set off in the early afternoon. It was lovely getting back to Babu’s home and family, ready for our final adventure.