Uganda, part II

October 30th, 2007

Happy Halloween, everyone!

This has to be one of the most amazing days of the trip so far.

Today, we went on safari. The entire day was spent driving in Queen Elizabeth game park and taking a boat tour on Lake Edward, and the whole experience was spectacular. We didn’t have much luck in the morning, only some water buffalo, antelope and bush buck, but being out in the Rift Valley at sunrise was reward enough. There are few words to describe how beautiful the landscapes are here. There is something primal in the connection you feel with them – your bones pull. People often conjecture that the Rift Valley is where homo sapiens first stood on his legs and began to walk north, and I can entirely believe that’s true.

The highlights of the trip came in the afternoon. Before we got on the boat for the lake tour, we had the great luck of seeing a mother lioness and her two adolescent cubs lounging in and under a tree, no more than 20 feet from us. It was absolutely incredible – there was no reason for them to hang out there as long as they did, but we were able to get some great pictures. So that was sweet. The boat tour also had more water buffalo, plenty of birds including some huge strokes, but my favorite of the water creatures, HIPPOS! There were so many of them! And when they walk on land they’re so cute! They’re so fat and waddley! I wanted to take a baby one home.

The best part of the whole day, however, came as we were leaving the park. Serendipitously, when we had given up on seeing any, we came across the tembo – the African elephant. And not just a couple elephants. We saw a herd. Of at least 30 of them. Again, about 20-30 feet away.  They were chowing down right next to the road, and I climbed on the roof of the matatu and took pictures of the elephant herd with the mountains in the background and the African sunset. There were also an incredible five baby elephants in the herd – most only have one or two at the most – and we saw them play-fighting each other, which may be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. We decided that we were going to steal a baby elephant and name is Odoch. It’s happening.

It’s better for me to provide pictures of today than to write about it, because words can’t compare what it’s like to see such wild game so close to you. So pictures will be forthcoming, I hope.

Tomorrow is Halloween! And tomorrow, we head to Rwanda. I am beyond excited about this fact. Rwanda has fascinated me for a long time, and I’m eager to see how the country is fairing in the wake of the genocide, which is not even yet 15 years gone. The Road goes ever on, my friends. Much love.

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