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When in Uganda …
Uganda is a banana republic in the
literal sense of the word. It looks like Uganda has
more banana trees than all other African countries
put together. Most banana trees are of the matoke
type - the bananas are inedible in the raw condition
but cooked as Ugandans' staple food. Although Uganda
is expensive it is not quite the rip-off of its East
African neighbours,
Kenya and
Tanzania, and it
caters especially well for backpackers and overland
travellers. Skin tax is less evident. In the
rainy season expect rain every single day - it is
this that makes Uganda so green. Remember to pack
your Wellies.
Overlanding Camping Accommodation Uganda:
· The Crow's Nest, Sipi Falls
(N01(20'06.3" E034(22'09.7") - situated on the
flanks of Mt Elgon with great views of the three
waterfalls and flatlands below. If you sleep in a
roof-top tent you have to remain in the car park but
there are nice sites for pitching a ground tent,
bandas are also available.
- Red Chilli Hideway, Kampala (N00(19'14.5"
E032(37'50.8") - this is an industrial-scale
backpacker's and overlander's hang-out with plenty
of space for camping. Good bar and restaurant and
lots of info about travelling in Uganda on their
notice board, but other than its proximity to
Kampala it is nothing special. Ush 3500 pppn for
camping.
- Hornbill Camp, Kalangala, Ssese (sic) Islands
(S00(18'44.6" E032(17'23.5") - situated right of the
beach of Lake Victoria this is the kind of place
where you can spend a week just relaxing.
Facilities, including the restaurant and bar, are
very basic. At the time of our visit the campsite
was plagued by a very brazen vervet monkey with a
Ush 20 000 reward on its head. Camping is Ush 3500
pppn. The ferry service from the island to the
mainland is FREE even for M'zungus - this is unique
throughout East Africa. There are three return trips
per day but don't expect them to be on time. The
ferry leaves from Bukakata on the mainland some 37
km east of Masaka.
- Sand Beach resort on the shore of Lake Nabugabo
(S00(20'48.5" E031(52'51.2") - bad choice of name as
there is neither sand nor beach to be seen but it
does have the biggest and best kept lawn in all of
Uganda. We arrived in the dark, after catching the
last FREE but horribly delayed ferry from Ssese
Island, and the following morning the place had a
strong resemblance to a picnic site rather than a
campsite: we suspect the real campsite was a few
kilometres down the road and we took the wrong
turn-off in the dark. Ush 5000 per tent and we still
wondering where the showers were.
- Lake Bunyoni overland camp, Kabale (S01(16'15.7"
E029(56'21.4") - another picturesque campsite
situated on a lake's edge. Situated in the southern
corner of Uganda this is probably a good place to be
based if you wish to visit Bwindi Impenetrable
National Park for gorilla trekking or travelling
into Rwanda. It has the usual bar, restaurant and
bandas as well as canoe and boat hire to visit some
of the many islands on the Lake. A great place for
twitchers. Ush 3000 pppn for camping.
- Amabere camp site, Fort Portal (N00(40'35.4"
E030(13'31.2") - signposted simply "caves,
waterfall, camping." This is a beautiful and quiet
spot 10 km north-west of Fort Portal. Unfortunately
the tranquillity of the place has softened the
manager's head and in addition to the Ush 3500 pppn
for camping he will also charge Ush 2000 pp to view
the caves and waterfall, the waterfall being the
only place where you can get a shower or wash.
Beware the cows that will nibble on your washing if
you leave it out overnight.
- C.V.K. (Crater Valley Kibale) (N00(29'51.3"
E030(19'51.6") - this place lies on the northern
boundary of the Kibale National Park on the edge of
a crater lake. The restaurant is good but for
camping rather try the campsite a few hundred meters
north (also on the edge of the same lake) - follow
the handwritten sign post to "Safari campsite" just
north of C.V.K. entrance.
- Nile Safari Lodge (N02(14'50.8" E031(31'12.9") -
just outside Murchison Falls National Park on the
banks of the Nile River. The campsite has a
magnificent view over the Nile River and some
islands upon which we saw a shoebill. If you are
heading for Murchison Falls N.P. this place is
actually far better value for money than the Park
itself. (When the river runs high the shoebills all
move downstream of the NP and Nile Safari is
downstream.) Ush 10 000 pppn but if the owner is not
around the managers (sensible ex-overlanders) will
concede that this price is way out of line with the
rest of Uganda and may allow you to camp for Ush
3500 pppn (US2.-)
Uganda
National Parks
· Having burnt our fingers in
other East African game parks we decided on visiting
only one National Park in Uganda and this turned out
to be the final straw for East Africa's National
Parks. We somehow cannot reconcile paying over
US$60.- per day to be in a park in which locals walk
about, cycle about, chop down trees for firewood and
poach what little is left of the game. East African
game parks are generally a big let-down: massive
price tags for foreigners, appalling facilities,
shocking roads and all round very little value for
money. We now can only see one reason for visiting
some of East Africa's game parks, namely those parks
with unique
attractions such as gorilla trekking (Bwindi
Impenetrable N.P.), the wildebeest migration
(Serengeti and Masai Mara), tree-climbing lions
(Queen Elizabeth N.P.) etc.
In fairness, the National Parks where a mountain is
the main feature rather than game such as Mt Elgon
and Rwenzori National.Park may still offer
reasonable value for money but we did not visit
them. Instead we opted for Murchison Falls National
Park hoping to see the elusive shoebill (which we
saw outside the park).
Thankfully Uganda has an alternative to National
Parks: ecotourism sites. These take the form of
protected forests and wetlands that are being
successfully managed by the local community. Their
guided tours are well worth it and the money you pay
goes directly to the community rather than
subsidising the Government. See www.visituganda.com
(Uganda's Tropical forests)
- Murchison Falls National Park - the main
attraction in this Park is a 3-hour river cruise (Ush
15 000 pp - yes, all this after all the other fees
in dollars) from the ferry landing to below the
Murchison Falls. You will probably see more game on
the north bank of the Nile than anywhere else in the
Park. Apparently the northern part of the Park has
better game viewing than the southern part but this
requires an additional Ush 20 000 per vehicle ferry
crossing (one way only). Contrary to what the park's
staff will tell you Murchison Falls NP south of the
Nile River is riddled with tsetse fly. Entry is
US$15.- pppd and foreign vehicle entrance costs
US$30.- (one-off payment). Prices in all Ugandan
National Parks will be increasing in July 2002
(possibly as an incentive to attract even more
tourists?). Camping is Ush 5 000 pppn at the 'Top of
the Falls' (N02(16'33.1" E031(41'23.1") with no
facilities (we washed in the river with the hippos)
but it has a beautiful view of the river and is
within walking distance of the Falls. In July 2002,
the management of the Red Chilli Hideway in Kampala
will be taking over the running of Paraa's camp
and facilities.
- Bigodi wetland sanctuary (N00(24'22.1"
E030(24'31.3") - south of Kibale NP and approx 40 km
south of Fort Portal. The morning walk through the
forest and swamps (Ush 10 000 pp plus Ush 1000 for
gumboot hire) is a twitcher's paradise. The guides
are extremely knowledgeable and informative and can
identify most birds in the area by their calls.
- Busingiro ecotourism site (N01(42'56.7"
E031(28'13.2") - an ideal forest in which to track
chimpanzees and other primates (no gorillas though)
at a fraction of the cost of Kibale NP. Ush 15 000
pp includes one night's camping and a whole morning
hacking through the forest tracking the chimps.
Although sighting the chimps is not guaranteed, the
walk through the forest is a great experience all on
its own and other primates like the shy red-tailed
monkey, the blue monkey as well as the more common
black-and-white colobus monkey and olive baboons can
also be seen. |
Overland Uganda Tips:
· Exchange rate - US$1.- = 1 780 Ugandan shillings
- Once again travellers cheques are a burden. Not only do they attract an
inferior exchange rate, they also require Ush 10 000 "handling fee" per
transaction (imagine we got paid Ush 10 000 every time we handled our TCs....)
There is one forex bureau, however, about 200 m down the hill from Steers in
Kampala that does not charge the Ush 10 000 and will give you a rate only
marginally worse than that for cash. Shop around Kampala before changing any
foreign currency.
- Fuel costs - fuel is cheapest near the Kenyan border and increases in
price the further you travel. Petrol prices vary from Ush 1460 to Ush 1520
per litre.
- Road taxes - an obligatory charge of US$6.- per 100 km of anticipated
travel is levied on foreign vehicles at the border. Throughout our three
weeks' travels this was never checked by the U.R.A. (Ugandan Revenue
Authorities) and we got away with paying only US$18.- claiming that we were
only travelling to Kampala (which is true, you understand, we just took the
wrong turn ...)
- Visas cost US$30.- pp for South Africans and can be bought at the border.
If you use some of the remote border posts such as Suam near Mt Elgon, the
border officials are so not used to tourists that you may get away with not
having to pay for visas if you spin a good story. You may be caught out,
however, if you leave via one of the major border posts. Ensure you get a
30-day visa as a minimum as there is so much to see and do.
- Uganda's gravel roads are the best in East Africa but many of the tar
roads are badly potholed. You can expect trucks and taxis to claim the whole
road for themselves when they slalom around these potholes in which case you
may need to take evasive action off the road and into the bushes. * White
water rafting on the Nile has its days numbered due to the imminent building
of another hydro-electric dam which will flood most of the currently rafted
rapids. The two companies that raft the Nile are Adrift (US$90.- for the
day) and Nile River Explorers (US$65.- for the day). The routes are not the
same but there is significant overlap. You
get well washed in the grade five rapids.
- Fresh fruit and vegetables are widely available and very reasonably
priced. Shoprite recently opened a store in Kampala and that created a
shopping frenzy that to this day leave the shelves looking a bit bare.
- Rhino 4x4 (N00(19'02.9" E032(37'41.6") is within pushing distance
(downhill) of the Red Chilli Hideaway. Colin Davidson specialises in Series
Land Rovers and will probably be able to help out with any other 4x4
overland vehicles.
Information from
Riff Raff
Overland Expedition 2001 with Thomas and Bridgett |
