The drive to Kampala was broken up by a stop at the equator. Jaap was convinced (due to Dutch tv) that water did not spin in opposite directions when draining, either side of the equator. Now convinced, we continued. The streets of the city were surprisingly in good condition. Perhaps the visit of the Queen in November made them tidy the place up a bit. The usual chaos was missing, replaced by order! A planned night on the town turned to nought. Most were not particularly interested, so a visit to a local restaurant and bar was the compromise. Fried chicken and chips were becoming a little tiresome!
On to Jinja, the source of the Nile, where some white water rafting was enjoyed. Also some local sights were taken in, such as Owen falls dam and the Speke memorial. (Victorian explorer).
The campsite was beautiful, overlooking the river and the first grade 3 rapid, complete with a 20m bungi tower, strangely no one had a go! Onwards to Kenya, where we stopped at Eldoret at Naiberi river. The next day saw us traversing the Eldama ravine with spectacular views of the rift valley. The road, though, leaves a lot to be desired. More pot holes than tarmac and bone shaking to the max. A night was spent at Kembu campsite in Njoro, before another park. This time it was Nakuru NP, famous for its flamingo population. The park is also home to white rhino and is one of the best places to spot Leopard. Alas, our luck had not improved on that score! Next on the itinerary was Naivasha. Another large rift valley lake, where our camp for two nights was beneath huge Acacia trees right on the lake shore. Hippos visited in the evenings to graze, fortunately there is an electric fence to separate us from them, so they could be viewed in safety.
Whilst in Naivasha, Elsamere (famous from the born free film) was visited, mainly for the sumptuous afternoon tea. Only problem there is the Colobus monkeys, who insist on crashing the party, Denise lost a large slice of cake to one!
Our last few days were spent visiting the Maasai Mara, where yet more terrible roads were encountered. The game drive itself was very nearly a complete washout. Initially barely anything was spotted. Then a fleeting glimpse of a Serval, some Hartebeest and Giraffe. A close encounter with an Elephant brightened the mood, then we got a tip off about a Lion with a kill.
After around half an hour with the Lion, I heard over another vehicles radio, that 12 more Lions were heading our way, then we saw them.
They came in quite fast and after a greeting with the Lioness with the kill, they proceeded to surround it and demolish it within 40 minutes. Being that close to raw savagery was incredible. I’m sure most ran out of space on their digital cameras!
An attempt to leave the area via the ‘back’ way nearly got us in trouble. It had been raining on and off and some black cotton soil appeared. This stuff is bad news, so after sliding around a bit, we turned around and left via the normal exit.