Day 224
Sleeping location: Tourist Information Centre (camping), Katwe, Uganda
Distance (km today/total): 91 / 14228
Estimated climb (m today/total): 400 / 110000
Hemisphere: southern
Distance (km today/total): 91 / 14228
Estimated climb (m today/total): 400 / 110000
Hemisphere: southern
Day in three words: Close to nature
Medium efficiency meant we were away by 10am, and set off down a dirt road along the river valley towards the main road. It was mostly smooth but some bumpy rocky sections meant I had to be on my toes at all times, but it was pretty fun. Back on the main road I ticked off some admin and met Rebecca in Kasese, where we had some lunch involving a cracking juice and average salad/sandwich whilst listening to an early 2000s R&B megamix. On the way into Kasey was a sign for the “Market of Grasshoppers” - is it for them, do they sell them, or is it just the name?
After a surprisingly difficult search for an ATM we hit the road towards Queen Elizabeth National Park, and progressed smoothly along smooth tarmac until we reached a big milestone: the Equator. Since arriving in Eldoret, which is 0.5 degrees north, 6 weeks ago we have essentially been travelling sideways or not all, another example of my impressive ability to cycle long distances the wrong way. We hunted the actual 0.0000 point with Rebecca’s GPS, which amusingly was not near either of the two Equator signs. What it was right next to was an overturned lorry, which seemed to have hit the Equator and bounced off into a ditch. It was a useful, if unconventional, thing to lean Maggie on for a quick chain adjustment.
Back on the road we were straight into the park and started our bike safari. As we were on the main road we didn’t have to pay park fees, but we still could see a lot from the road, including Kob (a type of deer), warthogs, buffalo and, best of all, a couple of herds of elephants off in the distance. We rode slowly and tried to take everything in. At a junction we turned off onto a dirt road towards a town we’d heard good things about. After a slight rise we popped out onto the lip of a huge crater lake, with a view of the Rwenzoris rising high behind it and grassland and forest in between. Down by the lake were some distant elephants. It was a magical scene. There wasn’t much chance for bike safari on this section as the road was bumpy and and we had to concentrate on the road rather than animal spotting, but this led to an incredible experience. I was cruising down a gradual descent, staring at the road, and at the last second clocked a big grey shape on the left. It was an adult elephant, not 5 metres away from me, partially hidden in the bush. I instinctively braked hard and veered right and stopped on the other side of the road, then for a second we just stared at each other. I was terrified it was going to get angry but I think it was as scared of me as I was of it. I realised Rebecca was approaching so I gestured to her and tried to say something coherent, but couldn’t, but she got the message and stopped short of it. The elephant didn’t seem to like the gesturing and turned tail and disappeared back into the bush. My heart was racing and I was in a total daze at what had just happened.
After catching my breath/sanity we set off again, but not five minutes down the road was more fun with elephants. We saw a large group in the bush to the left, close enough to hear their big rumbly noises, then realised that up ahead a big group of them was effectively queueing to cross the road about 20m ahead of us. But they didn’t move because we were there, and we didn’t move because they were there, so the two groups stopped and looked at each other for a few minutes. Luckily (it was a quiet road) a truck full of locals appeared from behind us and offered us an escort, which involved them going slowly, revving and honking a lot. This seemed to annoy the biggest elephant, who snapped some wood he was holding in his trunk and made some angry sounding elephant noises, but they all stayed in the bush as we moved past safely. Immediately afterwards there was buffalo trying to cross the road in the other direction and the truck scared it off with more revving and also by throwing something. We didn’t approve of this approach, but they are dangerous so maybe it was necessary.
Soon after the road reached a lake where lots of hippos were hanging out in the water. We went to have a look and enjoyed their funny noises very much. We had read there was a place you could wild camp near the lake, but it didn't seem that great as it was right in the village and right on the paths the hippos would take after they left the water. We went to explore the village and Rebecca spoke to a man who said we could camp on his land for a pittance, so we decided to do that then heading back to the lake to watch the hippos head out for the evening. Each night they walk several km into the park to munch on grass. We learned this fact, and many others, from a young guy called Derek who came over and started to give us loads of unrequested hippo facts. Some were interesting but he was clearly just touting for guide services. He did tell us that these hippos are very relaxed around the locals, and vice versa, so it wasn’t dangerous to be there. The sunset over the lake with the massed hippos was very beautiful. They got closer and closer to the shore, then when it was almost totally dark the first group of 10-15 came out of the water and started waddling their way up towards the park. As if to prove his point about familiarity the locals calmly walked around during this, then a car came along the road and was held up by them but just honked until they got out of the way. Imagine seeing this wonderful spectacle and, instead of being awed, thinking “not those bloody hippos again”.
After we watched the first group leave we cycled back into town in the dark, and were so engrossed in making hippo jokes that I almost crashed into an actual hippo that was crossing the road. Again it was totally relaxed and just ambled across to join its friends. The place we could camp turned out to be some kind of tourist information centre with additional chalets, but nobody was around so we set up the tent on one of the verandas (level ground + light) and I cooked a strange and unsuccessful meal with spaghetti, tomato, avocado and some “egg plants” which turned out to be tiny aubergines that were so bitter that they essentially ruined the whole dish. There were lots of bats about, but they weren’t working hard enough as there were also LOTS of insects. Enough got into the tent, along with a lot of heat and humidity, to make it an uncomfortable sleeping environment. Still, it was a magical day.
Medium efficiency meant we were away by 10am, and set off down a dirt road along the river valley towards the main road. It was mostly smooth but some bumpy rocky sections meant I had to be on my toes at all times, but it was pretty fun. Back on the main road I ticked off some admin and met Rebecca in Kasese, where we had some lunch involving a cracking juice and average salad/sandwich whilst listening to an early 2000s R&B megamix. On the way into Kasey was a sign for the “Market of Grasshoppers” - is it for them, do they sell them, or is it just the name?
After a surprisingly difficult search for an ATM we hit the road towards Queen Elizabeth National Park, and progressed smoothly along smooth tarmac until we reached a big milestone: the Equator. Since arriving in Eldoret, which is 0.5 degrees north, 6 weeks ago we have essentially been travelling sideways or not all, another example of my impressive ability to cycle long distances the wrong way. We hunted the actual 0.0000 point with Rebecca’s GPS, which amusingly was not near either of the two Equator signs. What it was right next to was an overturned lorry, which seemed to have hit the Equator and bounced off into a ditch. It was a useful, if unconventional, thing to lean Maggie on for a quick chain adjustment.
Back on the road we were straight into the park and started our bike safari. As we were on the main road we didn’t have to pay park fees, but we still could see a lot from the road, including Kob (a type of deer), warthogs, buffalo and, best of all, a couple of herds of elephants off in the distance. We rode slowly and tried to take everything in. At a junction we turned off onto a dirt road towards a town we’d heard good things about. After a slight rise we popped out onto the lip of a huge crater lake, with a view of the Rwenzoris rising high behind it and grassland and forest in between. Down by the lake were some distant elephants. It was a magical scene. There wasn’t much chance for bike safari on this section as the road was bumpy and and we had to concentrate on the road rather than animal spotting, but this led to an incredible experience. I was cruising down a gradual descent, staring at the road, and at the last second clocked a big grey shape on the left. It was an adult elephant, not 5 metres away from me, partially hidden in the bush. I instinctively braked hard and veered right and stopped on the other side of the road, then for a second we just stared at each other. I was terrified it was going to get angry but I think it was as scared of me as I was of it. I realised Rebecca was approaching so I gestured to her and tried to say something coherent, but couldn’t, but she got the message and stopped short of it. The elephant didn’t seem to like the gesturing and turned tail and disappeared back into the bush. My heart was racing and I was in a total daze at what had just happened.
After catching my breath/sanity we set off again, but not five minutes down the road was more fun with elephants. We saw a large group in the bush to the left, close enough to hear their big rumbly noises, then realised that up ahead a big group of them was effectively queueing to cross the road about 20m ahead of us. But they didn’t move because we were there, and we didn’t move because they were there, so the two groups stopped and looked at each other for a few minutes. Luckily (it was a quiet road) a truck full of locals appeared from behind us and offered us an escort, which involved them going slowly, revving and honking a lot. This seemed to annoy the biggest elephant, who snapped some wood he was holding in his trunk and made some angry sounding elephant noises, but they all stayed in the bush as we moved past safely. Immediately afterwards there was buffalo trying to cross the road in the other direction and the truck scared it off with more revving and also by throwing something. We didn’t approve of this approach, but they are dangerous so maybe it was necessary.
Soon after the road reached a lake where lots of hippos were hanging out in the water. We went to have a look and enjoyed their funny noises very much. We had read there was a place you could wild camp near the lake, but it didn't seem that great as it was right in the village and right on the paths the hippos would take after they left the water. We went to explore the village and Rebecca spoke to a man who said we could camp on his land for a pittance, so we decided to do that then heading back to the lake to watch the hippos head out for the evening. Each night they walk several km into the park to munch on grass. We learned this fact, and many others, from a young guy called Derek who came over and started to give us loads of unrequested hippo facts. Some were interesting but he was clearly just touting for guide services. He did tell us that these hippos are very relaxed around the locals, and vice versa, so it wasn’t dangerous to be there. The sunset over the lake with the massed hippos was very beautiful. They got closer and closer to the shore, then when it was almost totally dark the first group of 10-15 came out of the water and started waddling their way up towards the park. As if to prove his point about familiarity the locals calmly walked around during this, then a car came along the road and was held up by them but just honked until they got out of the way. Imagine seeing this wonderful spectacle and, instead of being awed, thinking “not those bloody hippos again”.
After we watched the first group leave we cycled back into town in the dark, and were so engrossed in making hippo jokes that I almost crashed into an actual hippo that was crossing the road. Again it was totally relaxed and just ambled across to join its friends. The place we could camp turned out to be some kind of tourist information centre with additional chalets, but nobody was around so we set up the tent on one of the verandas (level ground + light) and I cooked a strange and unsuccessful meal with spaghetti, tomato, avocado and some “egg plants” which turned out to be tiny aubergines that were so bitter that they essentially ruined the whole dish. There were lots of bats about, but they weren’t working hard enough as there were also LOTS of insects. Enough got into the tent, along with a lot of heat and humidity, to make it an uncomfortable sleeping environment. Still, it was a magical day.
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