We've been in Uganda for just over a week and it's rained everyday in their supposed dry season, even the Ugandans can't believe the weather!
We started our time in Uganda by climbing Mt. Elgon (4300m) on the border of Uganda and Kenya. This was a 4 day trip and again we hiked without porters, carrying all our own camping stuff. However we were obliged to have 2 armed ranger-guides with us. Our guides Sam & Patrick carried ancient wooden barreled rifles with them ostensibly to protect us from Kenyan poachers and cattle rustlers! However it is quite common place to see guards in town with such rifles outside banks & businesses so we're quite used to it now! Sam and Patrick were great company and always invited us to cook with them in their shelter and sit around the fire to chat, warm up & dry off.
The challenge on this mountain wasn't the altitude or cold but infact the mud. If the inuit have 30 words for snow, then the Ugandans must have 30 words for mud! The first day we climbed steeply up on a muddy trail through villagers fields of bananas and maize and past their small tiny huts to the the Mt Elgon Park boundary to face "The Wall of Death". This is a cliff face with an even steeper and muddier trail that weaves through the cliff face. It was a relief to get to the top and enter the jungle like forest and slightly more level ground although the mud was just as bad! We camped in the forest under dripping trees in the rain.
The next day we continued up through the forest then through bamboo forest and eventually out into the sun and the mooreland where we camped for the second night. Next day was summit day we climbed up to the crater rim and walked around the rim to the highest point. We have obviously retained some acclimitisation from Mt. Kenya as even though we were up at 4300m, the walking was easy and fast. The caldera on Mt Elgon is huge and we had great views into the caldera full of lakes and giant groundsel.
We made a fast descent slipping and sliding down the mud and back to the regional town of Mbale for a celebratory Nile Special beer.
After climbing 4 mountains in a month , it was time for a rest. So we made our way to a remote island in the middle of the Victoria Nile to chill out. It was an epic journey there, from Mbale we took a bus, 2 shared taxis (14 seater minibuses with 22 people crammed in!), a 10km ride on the backs of scooters in torrential rain and finally a dug out canoe across the raging river! It was worth the effort to get to Hairy Lemon (yes that is the name of the place not our bad typing) as we had 3 great days of relaxation and eating 3 big meals a day. Until we arrived we didn't know it was a kayakers haven with 2 of the worlds most famous standing waves just down river, named after local beers! We will say this, kayakers like to party!
Tomorrow we are booked on a bus going to Rwanda but we're geting off just before the border at a place called Lake Bunyonyi near the town of Kabale.
Thanks for all the comments from our Mt Kenya blog!
Zoe and some of the Mt Elgon Rangers in the mooreland on the Sassa River route.
Chris hiking up through giant groundsel on the way to the crater rim on summit day.
Zoe on the summit of Mt Elgon, the Wagagi Peak at 4321meter
Ranger Sam and Chris holding the rifle on summit day with Jacksons Peak behind.
The gardens and restaurant at Hairy Lemon in the middle of the Victoria Nile.
Zoe relaxing on the verandah of our Banda at Hairy Lemon on an island in the middle of the Nile.
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