safari time

7-26-09
I just got back from one of the best trips ever! Safari: Murchison Falls. We got to see White Rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, kobs (like gazelles), hippopotamus’, elephants, baboons, Ankole bulls, Nile crocodiles, Jackson’s Hartebeest, and Oribi. We also saw lots of warthogs. Turns out, they aren’t as friendly as Pumba might be. However, total blast.
Bryant, Meagan and I went to Kampala and met with the rest of our safari group at this hostel/safari company called Red Chili. Getting to Kampala was interesting to say the least. (Matatu ride to Mbale, then a 6-hour bus ride to the city. The bus ride involved an angry mob in the bus park, overcrowded middle seats, no bathroom stops, sales men walking up and down the isles and chickens roaming the floors all the while in sweltering temperatures.) Anyway, we finally made it to Kampala, and went straight to the hostel.
It was great to be at a hostel and meet other travelers. It reminded me of my Australia days, traveling all over the country and meeting people from all over the world, one dorm room at a time. There were a lot of Europeans traveling by bus. These huge 4WD busses packed with camping equipment go up and down the entire coast of Africa. The “Cape Town to Cairo route” was the most typical. Most people I met just met were taking a gap year in between school, of in between jobs. Always interesting conversation!
Our safari group was 24 people, but 8 people in each bus. Our bus consisted of Danish, Canadian, English, and Americans. We had some great conversations about politics, traveling, health care, Africa, poverty… You know, typical light conversation with strangers.
Day one, we drove for hours and hours and hours out to Masindi and then into Murchison Falls National Park. The “park” is the largest protected area in Uganda (some 3,800 km2). At one point, our guide pointed over some hills and said, “That’s the Congo.” So I can almost say I’ve been to the D.R.C.!
We hiked to the top of the Murchison to the waterfall and took some amazing photos. Murchison is part of the Nile River falling into Lake Albert. The fall is only a few meters wide, but fierce- high volume in a small opening. It was absolutely beautiful.
We wandered around the park for a while, and headed to camp. The campsite was totally what you would picture an African Safari to look like: A small ring of tents set in front of an oversized grass roof hut and eating area, with the Nile River in view. The eating area had some big comfy chairs, perfect for journaling. Not to mention some of the best food I’ve had in Africa!
Day Two: we went on a game drive around the Nile Delta region. I was probably acting like a 5-year-old child at the Zoo for most of the game drive. I was jumping up and down in car (picture that) when we saw a small pack of elephants form a distance. About half way through our drive, we stopped to watch a family of elephants bathing in the river. All of a sudden, one comes running out of the trees and almost ran into our van. Luckily, the driver noticed and jammed the car into forward. Continuing on…
The giraffes were amazing too. They seem surprisingly accustomed to visitors watching them eat out all day. I wish I had a better camera/the ability to take better photos so that I could capture the amazing scenery. Mental picture: rolling hills, spotted with oversized acacia trees, pods of kob running around for as far as the eye can see.
When the drive was over, we had some time for lunch at the camp. Then we went on a boat ride up the Victoria Nile to see the waterfall from the water level. I think the hippopotamus’ are my new favorite animal. Our guide was very informative, and was sure to point out the social structure of the river. We learned that the “loser” end of the river is occupied by lonely hippos without mates, next to the hippos whom are good fighters with mates. Waterbulls are apparently very dangerous and not friendly, so they have their designated watering holes. Baboons also frequent the riverbank. They get along with everyone accept for people with cameras who try to photograph their babies. Then you add in crocodiles into the mix and you get some high quality National Geographic footage. Birds also manage to join the animal social circle, usually sitting on hippos backs. Side note: Hippos kill more people per year than any other animal.
After a fully educational and entertaining ride up the river, I had a Nile on the Nile. (Nile is the most popular Ugandan beer, conveniently brewed in the Nile region.)

Day Three: Rhino Tracking. Picture this: trekking through tall grasslands mixed with trees, in and out of thorny bushes, baboons racing through the trees overhead, chasing an animal on the brink of extinction.
I hate to admit, it wasn’t as cool as it sounds. Our caravan stopped at the gift shop to pick up our guide, who had a GPS device with the rhinos exact location, by his side. The rhinos were actually considered extinct in Uganda in the early 80’s, so Disney Animal Kingdom in Florida sent over a few of their Rhinos to put in the wildlife park. They are complete with GPS dots, and some type of electric device that makes them sit whenever they are directed too. Safety precaution I guess…
We did walk for a while before we came to the Rhinos. Once we found them, we took some awesome pictures. There were three laying down next to a tree, sleeping. We got about to stand about 20 meters away. Close enough to hear them breathing, but far away enough to run if they woke up!
Overall, it was an amazing experience. I was sad to leave, but I think 3 days was sufficient to see everything we saw.
Meg, Bryant and I headed back to Kampala to meet up with some other volunteers for the night. Most of the volunteers left on Sunday or Monday, so everyone was in the city before their flights left. We had a great dinner, stayed in a nice hotel with real showers, and had a great night on the town.

7-27-09
Monday Monday Monday
Today, Emily and I went to visit some secondary schools in Tororo. I am working on writing some profiles on Arlington students who have done well in school. USAid has provided a lot of funds for us, so they require us to submit reports about students’ progress. Before I left for safari, I spent the week interviewing some of our primary students. Today I got to interview students in secondary school who are AAH alumni. Overall, I was so impressed with the schools and the kids. I am happy to report that most of the kids are performing very well academically, so AAH must be doing something right!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on putting together some research on how Arlington and the Clinic affect the community. I am interested in how the community sees the school/clinic, and how well AAH students do after they leave primary school. I would like to keep in contact with some students long term to see if they end up achieving the goals they have set out for themselves. Since the school is only 6 years old, I don’t have much data to work with yet. So for the time being, I plan on presenting a report to the AAH board about our current students. I guess part of me misses college and writing papers!
I was anxious to get back to the village after so much traveling. Riding back in the matatu’s backed with 20 + people going 80 km/ph on narrow dirt roads is always a treat. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to traveling by matatu, but I’ve learned to get window seats and try to fall asleep. Probably a false sense of security, but it works.
Mission for this week:
Finish all my projects and begin the countdown home! I only have 2 more weeks to get it all done!