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.


Places to stay along the route:
* 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.  Reasonable food can be ordered from a limited mWhen
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 ed for
river rafting with either of the two companies that operate from here and
the campsite a few hundred meters up river.  Camping costs Ush 3600 pppn.
This campsite has the rare distinction of having both toilets and showers
with a great view.
* 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.-)


National Parks and ecotourism sites

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.


Other:
* 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 4
x 4 overland vehicles.

Yours in Africa,

Riff-raff