{oh and we didn't see lions or tigers-- they like to hang out closer to the Delta and we were on the Nile}
heading out on the road to drive from Soroti to our lodge near Murchison Falls
poor guy had an accident- I think the driver was okay but that truck wasn't going anywhere anytime soon since they have no equipment large/strong enough to turn it right side up
believe it or not... that truck is only about half full. Before their journey is over they'll have piled it twice as high with everyone sitting on top. Most Africans have no sense of weight- only volume.
Piki's and their drivers sit in groups everywhere waiting to be hired
LOOK!!! it's a mzungu!!! El & I would be just as bad as the locals, pointing and starring when we saw another white person! haha but it's so rare to see them unless you're in one of the big cities like Kamapla or up in the animal reserve where we were headed.
stopping to consult the map in the middle of who.knows.where. Fuel stations are few & far between and you never know when the next one will be... but thankfully we always found one before we ran out of fuel!
Evelyn has really good eyes and spotted the first giraffe-- as seen here. Can you find them?!
We stopped at many lodges in 3 days because they were where you could use the restroom, get a drink and take a break from the drive. This first one, Chobe Lodge, was stunning! Mama Carney & Papa Alfred had visited it 25 years ago when it was so small and primitive that you had to bring your own food & fuel and the baboons came and stole stuff out of your hut because there were no doors! So you can imagine their surprise when we pull up and it's a huge, brand new lodge right on the Nile! It even has it's own air strip so guests can fly in and out to avoid road travel. Though I'm not sure who's idea it was to have the plane facing away from the lodge because as soon as it took off, everything was enveloped in a choking cloud of... DUST!
{image by Eleanna}
At almost $300 U.S. dollars per night, this posh place is purely for the rich & elite. You won't see anything else like it *anywhere* in Uganda.
the decor inside was unbelievable! SO much money had been poured into this place by some westerner and yet we only saw a few other guests while we were there!
We had stopped to get lunch but like every other place, they don't start cooking until you get there {from scratch} and it would be an hour until it was ready. Since we were on a time crunch & had to make it to the ferry before the last crossing they allowed us to bring our snacks to the patio & just buy drinks. We ended up doing that for our lunches each day at various lodges. Energy bars, ripes & peanut butter to the rescue!
oh and with that swanky table setting- you bet I used my knife & fork to eat that Luna bar! haha
{image by Eleanna}
our mode of transportation... and our driver:) Papa Alfred took to those washboard dirt roads like he was 30 instead of 80 and we held on to anything we could grab to keep from landing in the other persons lap!! haha
hazy, but beautiful, African landscape stretching for miles & miles all around us. This part of the land used to be covered in roaming wildlife but due to hunting & wars they all live in the animal reserve now.
This is how they bake & cure bricks to be used in building huts. We passed tons of these.
We passed many bullet riddled and abandoned churches like this one {as well as homes & shops} which have all been destroyed during the years of war.
The first elephant we saw!!
more giraffe... a little closer up
entering the game reserve. washboard dirt roads.
Paraa Lodge | This one is right on the Nile as well but also just up the hill from where the Safari boats depart from so many people stay there during their Safari's. It's also much cheaper than Chobe!
These guys were *everywhere* our entire trip!! And so funny! They would run, then stop & do a set of push ups, then sit, then run, do a set of pushups and sit...over and over.
boarding the ferry to cross the Nile
Finally arrived at our lodge late in the evening after traveling all day! Oh and it definitely was *not* a river lodge-- at least not while we were there! We were looking around for the river and finally asked one of the employees about it. Pointing down to a valley covered in grass and full grown trees he replied, "the river runs there during flood season". haha oh well. It was still gorgeous!
We stayed in this hut...the white thing on stands to the right is the hot water heater-- solar powered. For power, they turned a generator on from 8-10 pm & 5-7 am.
They had a little pool so we ended our day with a swim! It felt amazing after a sweaty, dusty day in the Prado... plus, there's nothing like floating under the stars in Africa!
next up: Murchison Falls & a Safari boating trip
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