So our Uganda team have had a couple of the most amazing days. During the planning of this trip when it was discovered that Denis who runs the school offers safaris to guests staying in Uganda Lodge all the participants and parents felt this was a once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed. All the participants (or their parents) have paid for the safari experience it was not taken from the fund-raising money. The money paid for the safari goes back to the school. Updates to follow, photos may take a little longer to reach us.
Today we went on an adventure. At 9:15 we left the school heading south towards the Queen Elizabeth National Park, a 3 hour journey. The Land Rover and Jeep stopped at the last gas station which had the convenient benefit of allowing us to taste many of the Ugandan delicacies (i.e. a bag of crisps and Lucozade). The worst snack was the bland taste of the “Crunchy Daddies” and the best was the artificially colored, barbecued-beef-flavored “Gorillos” (rip-off Cheetos). For 25 cents we’re not complaining. As we neared the park there was an incredible amount of butterflies swarming around us. By this stage the roof of the Jeep had been deployed and the remaining 6 kids observed the wildlife from the land rover.
Throughout the first 3 hours we were fascinated by the numerous herds of kobs, waterbucks, baboons, and the odd warthog or water buffalo. We arrived at the river side campsite to be greeted by a handful of AK47s wielded by the guards and the grunting of roughly 30 very well-proportioned hippos sunbathing on the other side of the stream. We set back out full of juicy pineapple straight from the Kingdom of Chlorus the 3rd or any Emperor with the finest fruit. We endured many hours of bumpy dirt tracks to come across one of the Big Five: a lion and his lioness perched high in a savanna tree. Finally on the way back we spotted from afar a herd of elephants to add another to our list. Eventually we made it back about an hour after sunset. Our cameras long dead and skin still moist with sunscreen-protecting cream, we looked forward to no warm water and sleeping in tents alongside Jordan’s incessant snoring in harmony with that of the hippos. This lovely melody took us straight to bible study as Jordan attempted to fall asleep to avoid having to participate. We managed to sleep despite the distant cries of wild hyenas.
Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of our adventures in Africa.
Hugs and kisses, Charlie and Josh x
PS; you are all missed