12 PLACES VISITED: KENYA: 1) Nairobi, 2) Nakuru, 3) Kericho 4) Kisimu, 5) Basia. UGANDA: 1) Kampala, 2) Kayabwe (Equator), 3) Kabale. RWANDA: 1) Kigali, 2) Musanze (Ruhengeri), 3) Bisate, 4) Volcanoes National Park.
8 OVERNIGHTS: KENYA: 1-2) Room at the “Parama Hotel”, Nairobi (Elev 1666m). UGANDA: 1) Room at the “Panama Guesthouse”, Kampala (Elev 1199m), 2) Dorm Bed at the “Red Chilli Hideaway”, Kampala (Elev 1153m), 3) Facility Camp at “Cepha’s Inn”, Kabale (Elev 1819m). RWANDA: 1) Dorm Bed at the “Discover Rwanda Kigali Hostel & Backpackers”, Kigali (Elev 1450m), 2-3) Dorm Bed at “Centre Pastoral Notre Dame De Fatima”, Musanze (Elev 1853m).
2 RUNS: KENYA: Nairobi. RWANDA: Musanze.
1 EXTREME: RWANDA: Trekking the Gorillas at Volcanoes National Park.
1 UNIQUE WILDLIFE: RWANDA: Mountain Gorilla.
BLOG POST TRAILER:
This post takes you back south for the last time to the centre of the Earth and through it - THE EQUATOR via the great nations it pierces - KENYA and UGANDA and beyond to the very surprising country of RWANDA where I make a close encounter of mountain gorillas. This is the last of Solo 12 - what has turned out to be a “little epic” in its own right! After my adventure in TANZANIA I caught a 20 person shuttle van from Arusha to Nairobi, the capital of KENYA, a journey of 8hrs. Nairobi (Pop 4m+) is crazy. A modern metropolis with old and new buildings and plenty of people, chaotic traffic and pollution. This city definitely has a pulse and is noisy all night. It is probably the New York City of Africa! My hotel was very simple and only 10min walk from the centre. This city loves fried BBQ chicken. There are rotisseries at every corner. The chooks are plumb and very tasty - they are semi-roasted and then deep fried. I had mine roasted only. I ran as soon as I arrived around 5pm and it was a disaster. I popped my calf (calf strain) at the 8km mark and so began a long treatment to recover it which would involve 3 physio treatments in 3 countries!
The calf was good enough to walk on the next day and I toured the entire city centre which is very walkable. I visited the National Archives which summarised the history of KENYA, its politics and some famous people including the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I also managed to find a shop to fix my Lumix TX70 camera without replacing the entire lens that the idiot in Arusha wanted to do. I was right all along - it was dust in the gears operating the focus mechanism. It was very productive day in Nairobi - I tracked down a physio via two medical centres.
They are not common place in Africa and I was luck to find one in the city centre! The treatment was identical to my physio in Bondi - it was painful but it helped. No more runs for me for at least the next 3 days. I was in Nairobi for a full day. Read about my encounter with a genocide refugee from RWANDA. The next day I bought a coach from Nairobi in KENYA to Kampala in UGANDA - it was an epic 15.5hr trip because of delays at the border and traffic in Kampala (Pop 1m+). I was lucky to find food and eat at 11pm by the time I settled into my very basic hotel room about 15min drive from the city in a very quiet neighbourhood. The next day was another walking tour of the city. Kampala is very hilly and built on hundreds of hills.
The city centre is one of these and has a huge wild market at its base full of Chinese style malls instead of stalls. Kampala is the centre of the "Bugunda Kingdom”, originating in the 13th Century from the Banta people in West Africa and still in existence today. The current King is very modern, lives in a normal hours instead of the Mengo Palace and still opens and closes Parliament. I visited the Parliament and the Mengo Palace, each is on a hill of its own exactly one mile apart - the King in 1955 visited the Golden Mile in Edinburgh SCOTLAND and based it on that. The palace is also the place where Idi Amin had 25,000 tortured and killed via electrocution in an underground vault just 5min walk down a slope on the side of the palace site. From the palace you have excellent views of the city and surrounding suburbs. Riza and Tim where there also and surprised me. I would catch up with them tonight when I rejoined the truck. Kampala is not as nice or as well set out as Nairobi but the coffee houses here are just as good. The Physio in Nairobi referred me to a friend of his in Kampala who was only 5min drive from the Natural Museum so I visited them in one trip. The treatment was again identical and helped. Lots of massage, ultrasound and hot and cold packs.
The Natural Museum was terrible. The exhibits looked like primary school projects - very unprofessional. I then re-joined the truck at sunset thus ending my own little epic of Solo 12. Lots of discussion that night about Solo 12 with my group and the place we stayed at was very modern and well set out. Riza, Roberto and I caught up on much gossip - Riza had just returned from the USA and I had not seen them in 19 days! The next day the truck set out for Kabale in the south of UGANDA.
We then entered RWANDA the day after that and traveled to the capital Kigali (Pop 1m). What a city and what a country. Like ANGOLA it really surprised me. The progress RWANDA has made economically, physically and politically since the terrible genocide in 1994 is unbelievable. Kigali is brand new - clean, organised, no garbage, orderly traffic. Most western countries would struggle to rebuild their cities in 22yrs if they were devastated as in this genocide. On arrival in Kagali the truck went straight to the “Kigali Genocide Memorial”. A very modern and well set out museum telling the entire story of the genocide including personal accounts from survivors. Kigali is also built on hills and this place is at the foot of the hill containing the city centre. Read all about the genocide in Day 228.
The Memoria also contains the remains of 259,000 of the one million people killed during the genocide which started on 7 April 1994 and lasted 100 days. A further one million people were killed in the decades leading up to it. Despite what happened no one talks about Tutsis or Hutus any more - just “Rwandans”. Everyone is very friendly and pro-tourist. People go out of their way to help you without asking for money - this is a mindset of the current President, who like the Angolan President has made a commitment to growing tourism since RWANDA is not rich in minerals with agriculture (coffee and tea) as its main export. After visiting the memorial we settled into our hostel and I received my third round of treatment from a Physio only 10min ride away.
My calf was now ready for a come-back run tomorrow after 6 days of rest and treatment. The next day, Riza, Sharon and I hired a driver/guide and went on a tour of the city and surrounds. Kigali is way too hilly and all the sites are too spread out to walk it. We spent four hours visiting many sites - read about it in Day 229. At 1pm that day we set out for the gorillas using Musanze as our base. It was a great afternoon since I managed to complete my first come-back run and settle the score in RWANDA. The treatment had worked. I would continue to take it easy on running once in UGANDA in a few days time.
Day 230 with the mountain gorillas of RWANDA in the Volcanoes National Park was a top 5 highlight. There is almost a mysticism about his place. Lush, misty, cool - like a world away from a world! Our trackers cut their way through this rainforest paradise with machetes swinging to the sound of a thousand insects. If you have seen the film “Gorillas in the Mist” starring Sigourney Weaver in 1988 to know what I mean! EYE-dentical!! (Identical - the same as the film). It was set in 1967 just at the start of the killings in RWANDA that led to the terrible “Genocide” that ju can read about in Day 228.
We trekked 90min and spent one hour with nine individuals, including two silverbacks in the lush green rainforest on the side of a volcano called Mt Bisoki. Read all about it Day 230. Gorillas have UNIQUE NOSES - like our thumb prints. Each nose identifies them. Amazing. I tried to photograph as many noses as I could but they all looked the me to me!!! The gorilla population is very healthy at 480 in 2010 and growing at an average rate of 3.7% per year. The gorilla encounter was a great way to end this post. Despite the highs of Day 230, it was also a sad day for me since it was the last time I would see Roberto. I was off the truck again on Solo 13 (Post 29) and Roberto was leaving the truck on 1 July to climb Mt Margherita in UGANDA and then travel to London to go on another overland trip across Central Asia. We had a great final night in Musanze and it was fitting that we should end it with the gorillas. I wondered if our paths would ever cross again...
BLOG POST DETAIL:
DAY 223 of 273, Wed 22JUN16, 277km, Solo12, Room at “Arusha Backpackers”, Arusha (Elev 1468m) TANZANIA to Room at the “Parama Hotel”, Nairobi (Elev 1666m, Run1) KENYA. Today was Kenya day and Solo 12 still continues. Peter turned up on time at 7:30am to take me to the “Riverside transit van” which would take me directly to Nairobi. I was able to call mum at brekkie and answer remaining emails and even download some end of year bank statements. The bus station was very small and the van was a 28 seater and reasonable inside.
On the way there I gave Peter plenty of feedback on how the safari had faired,ts strengths and what needed improvement - he gladly received all of it. The van left at the scheduled a little late but not because it was waiting to fill-up.The day was cloudy and the scenery was rolling hills and semi-bush all at a constant altitude around 1500m - this made the trip quite cool and comfortable even though we headed closer to the equator. We gt to the border quickly - at 10am and it took the better part of an hour to check out of TANZANIA and check into KENYA. Things looked rougher and poorer on the Kenyan side but it was too early to tell. I managed to offload all my Tanzanian Shillings before crossing no mans land on foot along with 20 other passengers on my van.
This was common at many brokers I crossed before - to cross on foot instead of in the vehicle. Kenya officials were not very organised. I had to find the office that had VISA forms ad when I got there a 15yr old looking kid asked me for money for the form. I quickly explained I had no money and that I would bring the officials over to explain to me why I had to pay for a form - he gave me the form! By 11am were back on the road. At around noon my blogging was shaken by a very loud and sharp “bang”! One of the tyres had blown and we spent 30min fixing it. I was a delay I did not want. Even though our arrival time was scheduled for 2pm, I knew that Nairobi traffic would also slow us down and I desperately wanted to run today. Settling into a new city is also time consuming but the time you exchange money, travel to your hotel and find a supermarket for food.
Add the run to this and I may be out and about after dark - something I did not want to do in Nairobi where crime is high. As we drove further north in KENYA I could see differences in the towns - more chaotic, worse roads and many more people. At around 2pm the outer suburbs of Nairobi started to appear and as I predicted there was traffic chaos along with muddy roads and intersections everywhere. The suburbs we passed were very industrialised but I did spot some malls and fast food shops I had seen in ZIMBABWE. Then the strangest thing happened. We had to stop at what looked like a big toll booth but was actually an army checkpoint just 15min out o town. We got off the van, out our hand luggage through an X-Ray machine and walked through a scanner - just like airport security.
I asked one of the locals the reason for this and he explained that last year there was another serious terrorist attack on the coast killing 50+ people so enough was enough. KENYA has suffered many attacks over the years and this was the governments reaction to dealing with it. The traffic it causes however is something to be seen. My heart sank. Would a kiss yet another run today. I know I would have the shits big the if this happened. I had another chance to run in KENYA tomorrow but that was it but I was hoping to get two runs in this country. This combination of hazards and the flat tyre put us at the bus station at 4pm instead of the published 2pm. I had to act fast since sunset was at 6:35pm according to my GPS. I sprang into action and looked for an ATM - this did not take long since I was near the city centre. I then caught a taxi to the home but it took another 45min to travel just on 3km because of the severe traffic.
Nairobi (Pop 4m+) rivals Lagos and even Kinshasa for traffic. The “Matatus” or busted up share buses do most of the clogging since they are too big - share “vans” would be better. Then there is the “Boda Boda” or taxi motorbikes, mainly driven by guys in their twenties and thirties which weave their way through the rest of the traffic including footpaths - I call these “traffic busters” and if you have no bags they are the fastest and cheapest option. My hotel was VERY basic but surprisingly fantastic value for AUD15 over night. It was a good size room with double bed, lots of light and an internal toilet/shower with hot water. It even included a sausage and egg brekkie with coffee and banana. It did have WIFI but it was busted. If that were working I would rate it the best budget hotel since it is located next to TWO supermarkets and 10min walk from the centre of town and 5min walk from the bus station to Uganda. Perfect. As soon as I dumped my stuff in my room I went off for a run. What a run.
One of the hardest in my life. Mainly because of the traffic. Forget the footpath - there wasn’t any and I had to run between the rows of traffic. Lots of pollution. The other problem is that there was not one straight main road - I had to turn into 3-4 and try to remember where they were. AT the 8km mark on my way back, disaster struck. The same calf popped without warning. I was devastated. Even though I did Kili in 3 days, I had refrained from running on it for another 3 days and thought I had beaten it. It bought me down. I managed to get back to record an official run in Kenya but I knew I would struggle to run UGNADA in Kampala - I prayed that the truck would be in UGANDA for longer then 2 nights so I could rest it again. Was now determined to find a physio in Nairobi to treat it. A calf pop or “calf strain” usually takes 2-3 weeks to fully recover - that was not an option for me since I would miss a UGANDA run. I was very upset that night but Nairobi’s passion for BBQ then fried chicken cheered me up. Everywhere in the city are these places that BBQ chickens in a rotisserie and then flash fry them. The chickens are very plump and soft and good size. Whole chicken is AUD7.50. I grabbed one but avoided the cash frying because I hate vegetable oil and it tends to shrink an toughen the chicken. Like most African countries, Nairobians love WELL-DONE! I settled down to a terrific dinner and plenty of wine to sooth my painful calf. Tomorrow was a big day!
DAY 224 of 273, Thu 23JUN16, 0km, Solo12, Room at the “Parama Hotel”, Nairobi (Elev 1666m) KENYA. Up at 8am. Great sleep. Actually dreamt of my nieces Antonia and Orlanda. This made me homesick. Brekkie was actually brought to my room since there was no official dining area. I did not object to that! Only time in this whole trip that I had breakfast-in-bed. I needed that breakfast because today my mission was: discover & shoot Nairobi, get bus ticket to Kampala, repair my back-up Lumix, visit a physio, do laundry, download some end of year tax docs and buy dinner. I did all of this by 5pm and was somewhat uplifted above the pain of the calf. I set out at 9am. The bus station to Kampala was exactly where Lonely Planet placed it and I was able to get a ticket easily. I then walked up the famous “Moi Avenue” to start shooting the city and headed towards a medical centre (for the physio) and the camera repair place (that two people independently recommended).
Nairobi is a city under metamorphosis. What do I mean by this? It is a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. It is also VERY crazy! It is a city of old buildings and crappy roads but it also has an emerging skyline with plenty of skyscrapers and a vibrant and stimulating crowd. It has suffered much from terrorist attacks, muggings and theft on the streets. The current President is cracking-down but this is no place to be after dark except the main roads. I like Nairobi because it has a vibrant pulse and full of shops and terrific cafes. Coffee is King in Kenya. Tastes like any good barista turned cup in Australia and even Italy. People here take pride in their coffee. The city centre is tight and easily walked. There is a HUGE paranoia around photography given all the terrorist attacks so I had to get plenty of permission to shoot.
Speaking of shooting, I thought I struck gold with the technician at the Nike Camera Store. It was well-equipped and serviced/repaired all camera brands. My technician felt confident that he could fix my second Luimix - I know this camera and have seen this type of problem before - music to my ears instead of that idiot in Arusha who wanted to replace the entire lens without even opening it up to see what was really wrong! Lazy? Dumb? Who cares - I was in the right place. Left it there and headed to the medical centre nearby. On the way, a reasonably well-dressed man asked me if I needed help with directions as I was reading my Lonely Planet map. I said “no worries Sir” and he immediately responded with - “an Australian - I have been itching to bump into one that could answer some questions for me”.
I was very cautious about people stopping me since there were many scammers and quite frankly there was no time to talk to every person that greeted me - good intentions or not. But this man captured my attention because the recognised the accent. I decided to engage. Without any prompting or info from me he asks me: “What is the current status reading the aborigines? What happened to the stolen generation?” He had me. Turns out he is a Rwandan refugee. He was a teacher in Rwanda and taught early secondary which included indigenous cultures of the world, contrasting these with Africa. I was impressed. Then he threw me again - “is Kevin Rudd still Prime Minister?”. We talked as walked. He then explained to me that the Kenyan authorities were preparing to deport him unless he could get a job.
His wife and most of his family had been killed in the Rwandan genocide. He decided that the only way he could stay was to take up self-employement and sell Samosas in the streets and raise enough money to apply for a teaching position in Nairobi. His wife had taught him to make Samosas. He asked me if I would buy him some rice and oil for this purpose. I decided to do it, not because I believed him but because of his knowledge of Australia and the lengths he had gone to to achieve his purpose. It showed a fighting spirit that I seldom saw in people. Even if he was really a local and had rope-learnt the history of every major western country to pour out on the relevant tourist - he impressed me with his tenacity and homework. I may not have believed his story but I believed that he was in real trouble to go to this extent. He got his rice and oil - lots of it - and was almost tearfully grateful. I wished him well.
The medical centre on level 2 of a major building was well set up. I had asked my hotel manager f he knew of any physics in the city and he looked at me strangely. I then realised that she did not understand what a physio was so I knew I would have to start from basics and detective my way to it. I asked for a doctor in a medical centre. She understood and quoted the same place that was in my Lonely Planet - great - I usually do this to ensure it still exists. Inlaced into this place but they did not know of any physios and suggested I talk to the private clinic on level 6. Jackpot. The lady at reception knew of a physio just two blocks across - she pointed to the building out of the window. Wrote everything down for me. Second jackpot. Dr Alfred Mulee treated me just like my own physio in Bondi - Dr Michael Schnabl would have approved. 90min of massage, exercises and ultrasound. Alfred was almost 60 and still running twice a week. A lean man with an infectious laugh. We talked extensively about my trip, his life growing up in Nairobi, the future of KENYA and what I had to do to keep running the countries of Africa - he loved that angle. He also re-affirmed what Dr Schnabl has told me - booze has nothing to do with weakening your muscles or tendons - it is simply overuse. As we get older we get more susceptible to injury and it will occur more frequently if we do more sports. I was pleased with my luck and the visit that we took a photo together and wished each other well - he even gave me the name of a physio in Kampala so I could continue the treatment.
Looking up. As I walked out onto the streets of Nairobi towards the Catholic Cathedral, I could not believe my luck with the physio and at only AUD45 for 90min! I wondered how the camera would go. The Cathedral was a 70’s design and very plain inside. I caught the last few minutes of a midday service and then headed to the Mausoleum of the first President and the Houses of Parliament. They were next door teach other and strictly no photos. A new Parliament House was being built next door. I then walked through City Square where the Town Hall and Supreme Court was located. Also saw the Exhibition Centre were a conference of “African women in business” was being held. Traditionally dressed Kenyan women from all parts of the country - city they would not let me photograph them. I ended up at the National Archives. What an interesting place.
Exhibits of famous Kenyans, local tribes, chiefs, local art, local craftwork, local masks, stamps and the full story of the revolution leading to independence. What really impressed me was the life story in pictures of “Wangara Muta Maathai”, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and a good friend of Opera Winfrey and Tom Cruise. She progressed females in politics and the right to equal pay at work. The other captivating figure was “Tom Mboya”, politician and trade-unionist who convinced President Kennedy to invest in the tertiary education of select Kenyans> JFK agreed and set up the “Airlift America Trust” in 1962. Since then 800 Kenyans have passed through this scholarship including the father of President Barrack Obama - fascinating stuff.
This is why I love visiting the African capital or commercial cities. By now it was only 2:30pm but I was conscious of my calf and wanted to rest it. I decided to swing by the camera store early - I told them 5pm. I was not really surprised when the technical told me that he had repaired the camera and brought it out to demonstrate it to me. Fantastic. Third Jackpot. At AUD75 it was the same as the first service I had completed in Cape Town. I was delighted to have two functioning Lumixs. The traffic was thick so I caught a motorbike taxi to the hotel. Picked up my dinner (same again - charcoal chicken, peas, carrots and a local spinach like veggie). Spent the rest of the arvo blogging in my room and just when I thought it might be time for dinner the laundry lady turned up - my final mission objective was met. Bus, camera, calf, laundry and dinner were signed, sealed and delivered. THE most productive day of my trip! Dinner and a movie was adequate celebration and I was sad to be moving on to UGANDA tomorrow - the only consolation being that the truck would have to return to KENYA to make its passage into ETHIOPIA - I looked forward to that return!
DAY 225 of 273, Fri 24JUN16, 652km, Solo12, Room at the “Parama Hotel”, Nairobi (Elev 1666m) KENYA to Room at the “Panama Guesthouse”, Kampala (Elev 1199m) UGANDA. Today was UGANDA day. Up at 5:30am and out the door at 6:15am. The bus station was only 10min walk fro the hotel - another reason I chose it. Traffic was bad and I walking was easily faster. The coach to Kampala looked good at first sight. Big seats, lots of legroom for a very big tilt back. I had booked and paid for my ticket in Arusha but dud that help no. Some idiot at the office had misread my voucher and instead of writing 7am on my ticket, they wrote 7pm so I was not on this morning’s manifest. Lucky for me the coach was not fully booked and they have me a seat. It would have been world war 3 if they hadn’t. You go to all this trouble book and pay and still mistakes are made. Anyway, I was glad to roll out the door on time at 7am.
I watched the suburbs of Nairobi roll by with interest. There are some good looking parks and sports stadiums just outside the city. Even a golf course. Beyond this simple houses and then many suburbs with lots of units and not a lot of shops or facilities visible from the main road. It was strange seeing blocks of units and then wooden stalls with dirt sidewalks just in front. Infrastructure is obviously lagging behind these developments. I did see areas that looked like shanty towns but not a lot. Roads were inconsistent - some OK, one appalling. It took at least an hour to escape the grasp of the city. I then started to work o my photos for Post 27. My target was to have Post 27 ready to upload at my Kampala hotel. Occasionally I would look out the window and shoot the scenery.
Now I started to realise that this coach had no suspension! I could feel every bump and tried to steady my Mac. Speed humps were the worst and there was lots of them. Sometimes I could even operate my Mac since it literally jumped up and down! Our first stop was for fuel around 10am in a town called Nakuru. Nicely timed since I needed to pee. The landscape after this turned very green and lush. Lots of rolling hills, fields and farms at an average elevation of 2000m.
This was characteristic of the Rift Valley in KENYA. Around 11am we started to climb, peaking at 2665m with lots of mist outside and pour visibility. I could just make out planted pine forests and later, fields of cabbage. Second stop was another pee break around 12:30pm in Kericho. Scenery was still very green and lush and high at an average of 1500m. Those speed humps now reached the ridiculous - in some place they must have been every 500m. It slowed me down a lot - would I finish Post 27? Stop 3 was in Kisimu at 2pm, a major pickup and drop-off point, where the coach went from 40% to 70% full. A bunch of young American tourists got on board with twangy southern accents. They could not keep quiet! In the meantime the road worsened and the ride was appalling.
As I moved from side to side to avoid the glare of the sun, one bump slammed me down on the side seat handle bruising my left buttock badly! It was very sorer the rest of the trip. Finally we reached the “Busia” border at 4:30pm and it was not until 6pm that we left - this would have been a definite delay on our timetable since all the tourists needed to get VISAs. The good news was that the KENYA and UGANDA immigration/customs were in the same building and the stamping next to each other. This saved us much time. I got myself an “East African” VISA. Just recently, TANZANIA, KENYA, UGANDA, RWANDA and BURUNDI formed a “community” to allow free passage between borders for citizens to promote trade. For me it cost USD100, is valid 3mths and allows unlimited passage between all the East African countries I listed Otherwise you would need to buy a single or multiple entry VISA for each country. If only someone had told me about this earlier, I would have got it entering TANZANIA.
As we drove into UGANDA at 6pm I knew we would not be in Kampala by the scheduled 7pm. It was still around 200km away. Lucky I booked that hotel near the centre of town and close to the bus station. The landscape in UGANDA was much the same but the elevation dropped now to an average of 1100m. Still green but much flatter. Darkness fell and time rolled on. Around 8:30pm many bright lights merged and we crawled to stop in heavy traffic. I just finished my blog and was so delighted, I did not mind the delay - it was a blessing in disguise to help me finish! Then my heart sank - this place was not Kampala - it was still an hour away.
I got the shits because my movie night was fast disappearing and I did not fancy trying to find food and eating at midnight! Lucky for me that exchanged some USD into Ugandan Shillings so at least I had money for a taxi. My plan was to ask the taxi driver to find food on the way to the hotel. 9:30pm came and went and still no Kampala. Bloody ridiculous. Why publish a 7pm arrival? Be conservative. Why did the coach not have any UGANDA VISA and entry card forms on board so we could fill them in on the bus in time for the border. No - let’s waste time filling them it AT the border.
I found out later that another bus company did this! If we know we will be late, how about a stop for food? Won’t make much difference if you are so late already that dinner will be close to midnight! I would have flown if I knew we would be this late. We finally entered the outer suburbs of Kampala at 10pm and pulled into the bus station at 10:30pm, 15.5hrs after our departure and 3.5hrs late! It was the longest bus ride in Africa for me, to-date. I was swamped with taxi drivers. “Mr Mr, you come with me!”, “Good taxi here!”, “We go now!” I did my homework on the coach and made friends with the conductor and he agreed to negotiate a taxi when we arrived - he told me that I would defiantly get a “white” price - I told him that I wanted a “black” price and he laughed! He lived up to his word and got me a taxi for AUD7.50 to travel 5km. I was curious so I asked one of the other taxi drivers for the same distance whilst my guy was not looking - the “white” price was AUD20. Thank goodness the big “Nakamatt” supermarket was 24hrs (refer PPPS: INTERESTING FACT ON AFRICA:).
Just down the road was several outdoor food stalls cooking chickens and beef on hot coals. Yum. As soon as I stepped out of the taxi they came from all different directions and nearly pulled my arms out their sockets! We had some trouble finding this hotel and boy was I glad to see my room - even if was VERY basic and at 11pm. I quickly showered and decided to share my delicious chicken with the end of a Start Trek movie that I had fallen asleep on the other night. Even though I slept at 1am, I was glad to finally be in the same place as the truck - Kampala!
DAY 226 of 273, Sat 25JUN16, 0km, Solo12, Room at the “Panama Guesthouse”, Kampala (Elev 1199m) to Dorm Bed at the “Red Chilli Hideaway”, Kampala (Elev 1153m) UGANDA. Today was the last day of Solo 12 - my own little epic adventure. I would visit Kampala alone and return to the truck tonight. My day started with a phone call to Adrian, the physio in Kampala that Alfred from Nairobi had referred. Adrian and I made an appointment for noon - his clinic was very close to the National Museum which I had planned to visit. Great. No time lost. I locked away my stuff at the Panama Hotel and would come back to pick it up on my way to the truck. Online Africa accommodation engine “JOVAGO” had found this cheap place exactly half-way between the city and the truck - perfect. Only AUD12.50 per night for a double bed and private facilities. Very basic but clean. I caught the same van into the centre of Kampala for AUD0.30 for 5km and 20min of travel. No wonder public buses do not exist. There are hundreds of them that people can afford but they create traffic chaos.
Kampala (Pop 3m+) is a very hilly city. Originally built on 7 hills back in the 13th Century with the inauguration of the Bugunda Kingdom, it now occupies many many more. There is a modern city centre built on the main hill with wide boulevard, a central square and modern skyscrapers but right at its feet is a crazy, West African style market with old Chinese style malls (not stalls) surrounding a sea of share-vans going to every suburb. There were thousands of screaming people everywhere negotiating myriads of vehicles including thousands of “Boda Boda” or motorbike taxis. This place is called “Nakasero Market” and I would end up here at the end of the day! In the meantime it was 9am and I walked the CBD hill visiting Constitution Square and the Freedom Monument. I got permission from the sitting local police to take photos.
Downtown was very small compared to Nairobi and not as well set out or interesting. Kampala still had a grit to it and the market was too big, too old and too chaotic. I then headed for a coffee and internet to upload Post 27 at “Java”, the most popular chain of coffee lounges. Very very chic and modern and large - like the grand coffee lounges in Canberra! Only problem is that the internet was not working so I did not order coffee and moved on. Plan B was to find a ritzy hotel and Plan C the hotspot of a computer store manager. Plan B was enough. The “Triangle Hotel” was perfect. Strong internet and a JUG of coffee for AUD5 which gave me 3 mugs! Enough to upload Post 27 quickly, answer all emails and ring mum, brother, godson James for his 19th birthday today and his dad. I even had enough juice to skype Nick, Leo, Thomas and Eleni Drinias in Lille FRANCE where they were attending live matches of the Euro 2016 soccer! Magnificent. My first objective was met. Post 27 was up!
I then caught a Boda Boda to my second objective, the physio. Adrian is a new physio in his early thirties, university trained and very interesting to talk to. I was able to get the same treatment as Alfred and my own Bondi physio whilst learning about the politics and economy of UGANDA. It was an effective 90min even though I was in pain for most of it! The economy is picking up. Tourism is on the rise and oil has just been discovered along the shores of Lake Albert bordering the DRC. Unemployment and inflation are around 50%. There is a big push to make primary and secondary education free since a private system is creeping in. The current President has just won his fifth free election term putting him in power for 25yrs - the public speculate about vote rigging vs lack of credible alternative leaders. The most interesting conversation wa about Idi Amin. Unlike Germany, he is talked about and debated in schools and Adrian’s generation even believe that despite his atrocities, he did more for UGANDA in the areas of education, health and infrastructure in his 8yrs than any other leader. The problem is that he was not voted in and got things done (good and bad) with fear and tyranny and the good outcomes do not justify the method. Amin fled to SAUDI ARABIA when toppled by his Prime Minister Obote and died and was buried there in 2003.
Ironically, Obote also died in 2003 but was buried in UGANDA. Many believe that Obote was like the Nazi “Himmler” who actually organised all the killing. Amin and Hitler just gave the orders. There has also been great debate about repatriating Amin’s remains so that future generations can be confronted by and learn from the atrocities he committed. People are divided on this. Adrian also impressed me with his plans to set up a company to buy and distribute medical equipment to doctors throughout UGANDA. He worked for an existing company doing this and thinks there are room for more and and plenty of margin for operating efficiencies. Good on him. I told him that he was on the right track to actually “work for one” and also to keep practicing so that he could keep up with and understand what medical practitioners actually needed for to make their practices more efficient and profitable. It was a great exchange and I was glad to get treatment for my calf. Adrian was even going to email to me a physio friend of his in Kigali, the capital of RWANDA where we would spend 3 nights.
Great. More treatment. I had a fighting chance to beat this thing and try to run in all African countries. My plan was to do one run only in each country for the next 2 weeks to give the calf very chance to heal. I would hate it not running 4-5 times a week but the 1 or 2 runs a week would maintain my countries. It was a plan. I farewelled my new friend and caught a Boda Boda to the UGANDA National Museum, just 5min ride away. What a shame. UGANDA has a rich and turbulent past and great flora and fauna and very little of it comes out in this museum. The exhibits look like a school project! They are not professional. The exhibits cover: Stone Age discoveries, Traditional Music, Rock Carvings, Petroleum discoveries and the complete history of settlement and ethnic groups. The coverage is there but the depth and quality is not.
The surprise exhibit was the making of Banana and Honey beer - unique to UGANDA! When I entered, the museum receptionist kindly offered to ring for a Boda Boda because the museum was “out of the way” and one was waiting for me when I exited. Next stop was the "Kasubi Tombs” where all the Buganda Kingdom royalty is buried. It became a UNESCO site in 2001. To get there we travelled over several hills with excellent views across Kampala. It is here that I realised that Kampala was just like any other Asian city (e.g.: Bali) - tropical, palm and lush green everywhere. Kampala is 50km above the equator and at an average elevation of 1100m - the two of these actually cancel each other out giving it a comfortable breezy, not very humid feel! There I was on this motorbike - laptop and Lonely Planet in my drypack, tied to my jacket, camera in one hand and other hand holding the back bar on the bike. Snapping and filing as a went. I felt like a roving journalist more than a solo traveller! The Kasubi Tombs were STILL closed to renovation.
My 2013 edition of Lonely Planet reported them closing and so I asked the museum if they were open again and they said YES. Typical. One arm does not know what the other is doing and everything behind schedule. I then realised that other sites may also be closed so I decided to negotiate a fixed price for the whole arvo with my bikie driver Joseph - AUD10. Next stop was the “Buganda Parliament” only 10min away. A very grand looking building but in 1955 by the Buganda King of the time and used as a working parliament house even today.
The Buganda Kingdom still exists and the current King (described as “very modern”) continues to be the Head of State and opens and closes the parliament just like the Queen of England. As a matter of fact the King who built this parliament visited the “golden mile” in Scotland and modelled the parliament and his palace on Scotland. I could see “The Mengo Palace” exactly a mile away from this spot down a straight road, from one hill top to another! Nice. The Parliament building was also closed for renovation. Bugger. I was right. Instead I took photos/films from the outside and was able to shoot the vestibule only. The 215 member parliament resume in 1993 after Idi Amin fled the country. The ministers meet here every Monday. I spoke to the receptionist who gave me al this info. Great. I then road the “golden mile” to the Mengo Palace. What a view. Set atop another high hill, this has the best views of the city centre and surrounding suburbs. The palace is quite small, nice to look at but very plain. Built in 1885 and used as the King’s residence for all 36 monarchs since the start of the Buganda Kingdom.
The latest King stopped using it as a residence in 1993 to swap to a normal house and meets here regularly with the Council of Chiefs and uses it to host dignitaries. As I was shooting the city and palace I felt a tap on my shoulder. I thought it was the guide. It was Riza and Tim. The shouting and kissing began. I was so glad to see Riza. I had a seeking suspicion that I would see her around town. She was on a different tour with other people so we could not tlk. We arranged to meet back at the truck after 7pm. The Buganda Kingdom originates from the Bantu peoples from West Africa and reminds me of the Asante Kingdom Of Ghana which also survives to this day. It is amazing that they were able to surveyed centuries of colonisation, two world wars and internal racial and political conflicts. The Mengo Palace is surrounded by the very simple huts of the families of the Royal Guard.
There wives were hanging washing and and their children playing only metres from the palace, without walls or fences and even home-grown gardens in between. A little tacky if you ask me. The surprise artefact here is the “death chamber” that Amin/Obote used to torture and kill 25,000 Kampalans between 1972 and 1980. It is estimated that 300,000 Ugandans were killed in total during this period. The chamber is on the slope of the hill just 100m from the palace and looks like a concrete rail tunnel. It is actually a rectangular concrete box with chambers or rooms to the left. The central area was filled with knee-deep water and electrified. Captives were place in the water to inform on the locations of opponents to the Amin regime especially the educated and well-off. Eventually they were electrocuted to death and thrown into a man-made lake only 2km away. I wondered why there was still debate about repatriating Amin’s remains.
From the palace hill I also noticed that all the main religious buildings were also set on the tops of other hills - the Catholic Cathedral, Anglican Cathedral, Grande Mosque, Central Synagogue. All visible to each other and the palace. A good design and intent. It was now coming on 5pm with sunset at 7pm so I decided to head back to Hotel Triangle to checks emails and have a cold local beer to celebrate my very successful day - Kampala, Post 27 and physio - all done with time to spare! I then walked tot he market to buy some wine but they did not take VISA and I did not have enough cash.
Wine and cheese are expensive in UGANDA - more than home. Instead I took a share van back to my hotel which had a mall just down the road from it. Got the wine. The hotel receptionist that helped me book my physio also found a driver to take me to the truck. It was only 20min away and I arrived just after sunset at 7:30pm. Solo 12 had officially ended. My best yet and the new travel model that I would adopt from now on. Caught up with my fellow truckers in the bar. Red Chilli was one of the best built and decorated campsites/lodges to date and overlooking the early stages of the Nile River! Most people had taken rooms since the upgrade price for a dorm bed (rooms of 4 only) was just AUD6/night. Unreal.
The only downside was that the showers were cold. There was no truck dinner tonight since most people visited Kampala. After a great chat with Roberto, we ordered food and I went off to shower. I then picked up my food and headed to meet Riza. Roberto did not show. Riza and I gossiped until close to midnight. She told me that Roberto and Vicky were now “an item” - it was public news so I include it here in the blog. As we were leaving 6am the next day, Riza and I decided on episode 2 of gossip tomorrow night. As I lay down to sleep I thought of how grand Solo 12 had turned out and thought about my next Solo. On the other hand it was good to be back to the truck, exchange experiences with the group and slow down the pace for a while.
DAY 227 of 273, Sun 26JUN16, 387km, EQUATOR DAY, Dorm Bed at the “Red Chilli Hideaway”, Kampala (Elev 1153m) to Facility Camp at “Cepha’s Inn”, Kabale (Elev 1819m) UGANDA. There was nothing usual about packing my compact orange solo back in the dark but it was very strange getting on the truck and popping it not my locker again. I had not seen the truck in 19 days! It is funny how quickly you get used to places you have spent much time in before. By the time the sun rose on our journey south-west of Kampala towards the EQUATOR, I stared out at the interior of the truck and it was like I had never left! At around 8am, we hit the EQUATOR at a little place called “Kayabwe”, otherwise known as “Kalagala” by the locals (Elev 1164m). The EQUATOR was marked by a concrete ring on either side of the road and a painted line between them and on into one of the cafes on the side. We enjoyed a muffin and espresso machine coffee at a place further down called “The AidChild Gallery & Cafe”. This place belongs to a Ugandan charity called “AidChild” that provides financial, housing, educational and medical support to orphans with HIV/AIDS. It struck an immediate chord with me given my involvement with Mercy Centre who do the same thing in the slums of Bangkok in THAILAND.
I picked up a brochure and the website. ChildAid was started in 2000 by 39 year old Nathaniel Dunigan, a white American Political Science PhD graduate from Arizona, the son of a missionary to the Navajo peoples. Nathaniel did a lot work with the Navajo resulting in a field trip to UGANDA for similar social work in 1998. He was so taken by the plight of orphan children with HIV/AIDS in UGANDA that he returned to the USA, sold everything and settled back in UGANDA for his life’s mission. Impressive. Like Mercy, AidChild has just celebrated their first University admission for a child that came to them at 9yrs old and will now study to be a doctor. A good story. A good man.
From here our drive took us though rolling hills with scattered green trees. Today was mainly about driving so I busied myself with this Post 28 and doing Solo 12 expenses and backups. Even though we had risen to 1400m by noon it was very warm with some humidity given the clear sky and strong equatorial sun. About two hours out of Kabale (Pop 41,000) we started to climb topping 2200m with terrific lush valleys below us on both sides of the ridge. Farms and farm houses clung to the sides of the mountains forming the valleys and the sunlight poured through the spaces between clouds like laser beams. Great sight. We arrived in Kabale at 4pm and spent 30min doing last minute shopping.
Tried to find coffee and internet but the town had lost its power. Tonight we stayed on the grounds of a nice hotel. Rooms cost AUD110 so I asked if I could set up my sleeping bag in an empty store room - I was offered the conference hall instead! Fantastic - complete with boardroom style long table and chairs. I set up my backpack in a conspicuous corner of the hall and cold showered (again) and returned to “my” hall to start planning Solo 13. Internet was still out because power was out. The lovely lady who gave me permission to use and sleep in the conference hall would return to inform me when the power came back on. I was in heaven. The weather here was very comfortable at 1819m. After another cold shower I set myself up in my enormous conference hall and blogged away. I even had my own bathroom.
Roberto and Riza visited me in my “Presidential Suite” and laughed when they saw the long table complete with classy wood chairs. It is here that I hatched “Solo 13” to visit "Murchison Falls” in UGANDA. It is here that the usual 50m wide Nile River passes through a 6m gap and creates a waterfall with such ferocity and pressure that it is officially “the most powerful waterfall in the world”! I wonder who invents these definitions. I wouldn’t mind doing their job for a while! Solo 13 was going to take 4 days and 4 nights. After dinner I enjoyed a powerful internet and made several calls and was able to book Solo 13. Perfect. Solo 13 was starting on the morning of 30 June. Enjoyed a post internet movie and had spicy fried peas - a specialty of the area - fresh peas are widely available in East Africa. What a “peas-ful” night!
DAY 228 of 273, Mon 27JUN16, 87km, Facility Camp at “Cepha’s Inn”, Kabale (Elev 1819m) UGANDA to Dorm Bed at the “Discover Rwanda Kigali Hostel & Backpackers”, Kigali (Elev 1450m) RWANDA. Had a terrific sleep in the Presidential Suite. Decided to sleep in and skip breakkie. I usually cut back on food when I am not running. It was a short but very scenic drive to the border. Very lush with tree-covered mountains on both sides. We got to the border at 8am and it only took an hour to check-out of UGANDA and check-into RWANDA. This is because most of us already had the East Africa VISA. Only a stamp was needed. The drive from the border to the capital Kigali was nothing short of spectacular. A long winding valley rich with palm trees, sugar cane, pineapples and in 3 shade of green. Very tropical and lush. Add the finishing touches of a blue sky and most of us stood at the windows looking and shooting. The villages were neat and there was lots of neat farms and steepes growing most veggies. We averaged 1500m so the equatorial humidity continued to be low. At around 10am, the capital Kagali appeared in spectacular style - it is set on several hills! Many hills!
We headed straight to Kigali’s most visited tourist attraction: “The Kigali Memorial Centre” which is located 4km opposite the hill with the city centre. This well-kept site commemorates the gruesome “Genocide” which took the lives of 1 million civilians over just 100 days. A further 1 million died in the decades leading to the “ethnic cleansing” that targeted the removal of the “Tutsi” peoples by the indigenous “Hutus” who considered the Tutsis as “aliens” and sub-standard. We spent two hours here learning about the events that led to this horrendous crime against humanity, the main players, accounts from survivors and how RWANDA and Kigali was rebuilt.
The site consists of a main museum with pictures and text (Rwandan, French and English), a garden with fountain and a long outdoor garden passage with large concrete blocks containing the remains of 259,000 victims of the genocide. There are also two ten-minute films at the start and end of the chronologically organised museum walk.
There is no one event or one person that caused the genocide. It was the result of a steady build-up of racism and hatred fuelled by fear, ignorance and greed over many decades involving many governments and many individuals. Most believe that the creation of an identity card in 1936 by the Belgian Colonial Government which grouped the then 18 clans of RWANDA into just two ethnic groups: Tutsi and Hutu as the start of the long evil path that led to “the genocide”, a term that refers to the explosion of violence that took place from 7 April 1994, lasting 100 days which not only brought death to 1 million people (mostly Tutsis) but literally “killed” the country of RWANDA leaving it physically, socially, economically and politically destroyed. The Germans colonised RWANDA from 1895-1916 followed by the Belgians from 1917 to independence in 1962.
Both colonial powers supported the Hutus and openly helped them discriminate the Tutsis. Even the first Prime Minister of independent RWANDA, Gregoire Kayiband started a campaign of discrimination against the Tutsi and prevented free elections with the support of Belgium. He was then bought down by a coup by Major General Juvenal Habyarimana who later became President and established a youth militia called “The Interahahmwe” who carried out the killings both before and during the genocide. President Habyarimana appointed Colonel Bagosora to lead and run the Interahahmwe. This is just like Hitler and Himmler or Obote and Amin. These two are widely condemned as the two that planned and executed the genocide which they also called “the final solution”. The genocide itself was not planned to start 7 April 1994 but when the presidential plane carrying Habyarimana and the President of Barundi was shot down on approach to Kigali on 6 April 1994, Colonel Bagosora used it as an opportunity to blame the Tutsis and start his “solution” early.
I often wonder what goes on the minds and hearts of individuals who precipitate such hatred and violence against their own kind - humans and in their own country. The Hutu say that the Tutsi collaborated with the Belgians at the time of their colonisation to help the Belgians suppress the Hutus. The text that I read in the memorial said the opposite - that the Belgians deliberately promoted the Hutus as the indigenous race. Go figure. I also learned that the French Government extended a USD12million loan to President Habyarimana to buy weapons from EGYPT that Bagosora eventually used in the genocide. Habyarimana also used Hassan Ngeze, the editor of RWANDA’s biggest newspaper and TV, to spread propaganda against the Tutsi for decades leading up to the genocide - another individual condemned as a key player. The Prime Minister at the time of the genocide was Jean Kambalda who is also condemned as a key supporter of the genocide. The RFP opposition party led by Fred Rwigema finally put a stop the genocide with support from the Belgians, British and the UN but many criticise the then UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan, as taking too much time to act.
When the mass killings were over, RWANDA was devastated and left with 2 million refugees. According to UNICEF, most refugees were orphaned children: 80% of all children had lost one or both parents, 70% had witnessed killings and 90% thought they were going to die. We saw countless photos of the dead children in the museum and several accounts of surviving children, now adults. The UN set up a special authority called “GACACA” who had the tough and terrible task of bringing the guilty to justice and supporting a new government to rebuild Kigali and the entire country. In the next 10yrs after the genocide GACACA had heard 1.9million court cases but only prosecuted tens of people involved in actual crimes or organising the genocide.
On the positive side, since 1994, Kigali was completely rebuilt and the country now prospers from a new surge in tourism and agricultural exports of sugar and coffee. There was a huge push to eliminate segregation and it is now unlawful to even talk about who is Tutsi and who is Hutu. There is only one ethnic group: Rwandans who desperately desire peace, stability and prosperity. It was a lot to take in and looking at the modern skyscrapers of the city across from the memorial, it was hard to believe that this was a place of death and destruction just 22yrs ago!
After a quick lunch in the car park the truck traveled the short 4km to our camp site and hostel. I upgraded to a dorm to keep my calf as relaxed as possible. Riza and I then enquired about a tour of the city since we were here for 24hrs and the city is VERY spread out and VERY hilly and the tourists sites are not all in one place or on one hill. The manager called a tour guide who turned up at 2:30pm and we discovered that we would need 4hrs to see everything and there would be too much traffic now and get dark before we were finished so we decided to do the city tour at 7am tomorrow since the truck was leaving at 1pm. This was a great chance for me to visit the physio this arvo and get a third treatment before my “return run” tomorrow in Musanze (where the gorrilla trekking begins). The manageress “Divini” was terrific in calling the physio and getting the address. Off I went on another Boda Boda (motorbike taxi) to get there - only 10min away. The physio Christian was another pleasant, smiley guy who knew his stuff.
He practices inside the medical faculty of the University of Kigali. He treats me immediately with the usual massage, ultrasound and hot and cold packs. The pain was definitely less and I felt good after the session. He also gave me the address of a medical supply business were I could buy “kinesio tape” used to strap injured sports professionals so that they can continue playing. Great. I got back to the hostel at 5:300pm but shat my pants along the way since my Boda Boda driver was travelling at warp speed! I shouted to him “Slow down what is the point of me going to a physio for a little old calf strain when I am about to break every bone in my body”! His English was good and he laughed. It was a very pleasant evening. We all bought our own dinner and watched the Euro Cup on a big TV. I concluded another very productive day with a the end of another movie that I slept though on a previous night.
DAY 229 of 273, Tue 28JUN16, 94km, Dorm Bed at the “Discover Rwanda Kigali Hostel & Backpackers”, Kigali (Elev 1450m) to Dorm Bed at “Centre Pastoral Notre Dame De Fatima”, Musanze (Elev 1853m, Run1) RWANDA. Alfonso was late again! Used the same excuse again - roadworks. I said to him laughing - if you knew about the road works yesterday why didn’t you get up earlier. We left 7:30am instead of 7am - no big deal but we did want to get some internet time before the truck left at 1pm. The tour was expected to take 4hrs but TIA and nothing ever sticks to the scheduled time.
Sharon and Riza joined me and we made our first stop close by at “Hotel des Mille Collines” (Hotel of one thousand hills) which is the “Hotel Rwanda” in the famous film of the same name that chronicled the genocide of 1994. Naturally the hotel has been extensively renovated and extended but the shell and facade is the same. It is a very squish hotel and we spent some time walking outside and inside. There is a memorial dedicated tot he six staff that lost their lives there - sadly it is in the car park. This is the hotel that the UN and allies used as their HQ during that terrible time.
As we drove to our next visit, we noticed just how clean and organised the city was. Roads excellent, footpaths everywhere WITH GRASS!!! Shiny new glass and iron buildings. We also noticed just how spread out the city was. How did RWANDA manage to rebuild to such a good standard in just 22yrs? There are western countries that could not do this. Alfonso reckons it was the absence of “red tape”. GACACA simply wanted to “get things done” and probably approved most things in the absence of a council or working government. Whatever the reason, it worked! RWANDA was a pleasant surprise to me both in its appearance and the way people welcomed us - just like ANGOLA. The two nations seemed to have made up their minds about entering the first world and put the heads down to get on with it. Both nations are also dedicated to making tourism their major export industry. Well done. “The Camp Kigali Memorial” or “Belgian commando memorial” was hidden away behind a tented conference centre. If we were on our own walking the city, we would never have found it. No signs. No street names. English is also not widespread so asking your way around would be tough. Walking the city would be tough - what is worth seeing is simply too spread out. It was a good decision to do a tour - 4hrs for USD25 - not bad. The Camp Kigali Memorial was very good.
The original building where 10 Belgian commandos held out for almost one day against an army of Hutus was intact with bullet holes and the marks of shelling. Sadly they all lost their lives. Opposite the building are ten stone columns representing each commando. The stone is from Belgium and contains one horizontal cut for each of their years alive. They were in their late 20’s and early 30’s. From here it was a stone’s throw to the muslim quarter - a little more run down but still neat. It has great views of many Kigali suburbs all perched high on several hills. By this time it was 9:30am and we were all dying for a coffee. Alfonso took us to a nice coffee shop inside a mall overlooking some of the hills.
Next door was a large Nakumatt supermarket where Riza and I bought some stuff for our cook group tonight and I stocked up on wine - the most expensive yet. Most basic bottles are AUD20 that sell for AUD5-10 in Oz! On our way to the covered "City Market”, we passed the new convention centre which comprises a beehive shaped metal building and a horizontal building with coloured stripes. The former looks like the “Beehive” or Parliament Building in Wellington New Zealand and the latter looks like candy cane!!! In front is a round-a-bout complete with the statues of a Gorilla family. Again we marvelled at the type of buildings that Kigali had managed to erect in such a short time. Finally I bought the “kinesio tape” that all 3 physic’s recommended that I use for my first few runs. This is a flexible cloth tape that puts the clan in compression to avoid it stretching when running. Many athletes use this when injured on the filed or to get back to sport before full recovery.
I would use it tomorrow. The market was large and sold household goods as well as food. It was all covered with maizes of stars inside. We spent some time here browsing. I found out that most veggies were about half what we pay in Australia and meat would be expensive for the locals at AUD5-10/kg. The day was perfect. Warm and sunny with clear skies. We made our way back to the hostel taking a more scenic route that exposed many more hills with new apartments all over them. This city of one million people had really impressed us. Traffic was also very orderly and there was no rubbish and no black exhaust. Alfonso explained that any vehicle emitting visible pollution would be severely fined and band from the city. There were fines for throwing rubbish on the roadside and even for walking on the grass next to the sidewalks! Well done Kigali. Only with measure like these is it possible to change people’s habits and create a better city. We got back tot he hosted at 12:30pm - exactly 4hrs after we departure - a first - we were on time! After a little blogging and emails we set off at 1pm for our “gorilla base” in Musanze.
The drive there was 3hrs and one of the most scenic to date. Lush, tropical mountains and valleys everywhere and high-up. We topped out at 2,800m before coming back down to 1900m just before Musanze (Pop 600,000). This city looks like a big country town. It has a great backdrop of three visible volcanoes, home to the mountain gorillas of RWANDA. Our camp site was in the grounds of a Catholic enclave continuing Cathedral, nuns quarters, school and guest houses. We had a choice of dorm beds or tents and naturally most chose dorms. Riza, Roberto and I managed to get a 10 bed dorm all to ourselves. It was very roomy and all single beds (no bunks). I was very nervous and anxious. About my first “come back” run after 6 days of rest and three treatments in three countries!!! IMy calf felt good and I was confident but worried about how upset I would be if I could finish my run - I would loose RWANDA! I could not believe my luck. Outside the convent was a proper enclosed athletic field. Perfect. It was flat and measured - if I could not finish it was a short limp back to my bed and wine! It was a dirt track but flat. I set out.
Each lap was 400m as you would expect. Got to 2km within pain - just a sensation, i.e., I could feel where it was. Got to 4km. OK. No pain. Got to 6km and I felt a twitch! Panicked a bit but did not stop. I then decided to do 8km instead of my usual 10km to preserve myself for UGANDA. I still count an 8km run but not anything less than that. I did it. 8km and back in business - for now. RWANDA was y 79th run country and I would not run again until UGANDA - my 80th. I would now start to power walk in place of my runs until I felt I was ready to do my usual 4-5 runs of 10km each per week. I was very relieved and very pleased. Tonight I would celebrate even though Riza and I were cooking. The shower was very hot which was for me the beginning of the celebrations. Even cooking was fun. We did hamburgers on gas - easy. Many people helped us since a cook group usually has 3 people in it. After dinner, Roberto, Riza and I celebrated with more wine and cheese in our room. Tomorrow was Gorilla day and my Rwandan run was secure - I slept like a baby!
DAY 230 of 273, Wed 29JUN16, 26km, GORILLA DAY, Dorm Bed at “Centre Pastoral Notre Dame De Fatima”, Musanze (Elev 1853m) RWANDA. Today was the day I always thought of as “at the end of the trip” and here it was - here already. Riza and I were up at 4:45am to do brekkie at 5:30am so that we all could leave for the gorillas by 6:30am. Two jeeps turned up to drive us 30mins to the headquarters of the “Volcanoes National Park”, home to 480+ Mountain Gorillas (2010 Census). We arrived at 7am to the welcome of the “Sacola Traditional Dancers” and a stunning backdrop of 5 volcanoes with peaks between 3674 to 4507m. The gorillas lived on the slopes and crevasses of these volcanoes.
It is here that Dian Fossey (played by Sigourni Weaver in “Gorillas in the Mist”) lived and worked from 1967 until her assassination in 1985. Her cabin no longer exists, just her grave next to the mountain gorilla she first knew and saved. There 23 “families” of gorillas. Eight of these families can be visited by a maximum of 8 people each, over three different distances: short (30-60min), medium (60-90min) and long (90-120min+). I elected the short because I did not want to take any chances with my calf. The base we were in was a bit like Disneyland - a circus of Caucasian and Asian visitors sporting brand new hiking gear fashions. I was allocated to the “UMUBANO” family - 14 gorillas including 3 “silverbacks”. Dan, T and Denise from the truck and 4 older English people: Simon, Mike, Fletcher and Daphne.
Our guide “Patience” briefed us on where we would walk and what we would see and the “dos” and “donts” of close engagement with gorillas. Patience has been guiding here for 17yrs. Guides must have a University degree in Biology or Ecology or Conservation and have passed a very hard exam. When he first started he was one of 580 applicants and only 35 passed with him! There were 200 visitors that year paying USD50 each to spend one hour with the gorillas. In 2015 there were 29,500 visitors paying USD700 each for the same pleasure. The money is used to preserve the animals and maintain the national park fence to prevent buffalos from eating the local crops. Money is also goes to the local villages to maintain schools. Many locals are porters and drivers but guides must be educated. The gorilla population is very strong growing at an average of 3.7% each year. At 9am we were off.
We drove another 30min along a very bad stone road to “Bisate” the closest village to the gorillas. From here we started our trek at 9:30am through the potato fields and through the Volcanoes National Park fence. An armed ranger joined us at this point and a tracker shortly after. The trackers are locals who grew up in the area and know the gorillas and their movements intimately. They spend the majority of their time finding and staying with the gorillas families and communicating with the guides on where to go via short wave radio. We walked up the slope of Mt Bisoki (summit is 3711m) to elevation 2861m over a total distance of only 1.4km. It took us 45min of actual climbing time plus another 45min of rests.
Daphne was affected by the altitude and had to stop every 5min. It was a walk in the park for me. The weather was terrific. Warm with blue skies - our slow pace and shay lush rainforest meant no sweat at all! We arrived at the Umubano family at around 11am. It was very bushy and I was worried we may not get clear views. Lucky for us, the second silverback emerged from the forest and stopped to stare at us at around 10m away in an open space. The cameras went crazy. He sat there eating some leaves then decided to walk passed us along the path that the trackers had cut with huge machetes. He brushed passed 2-3 people including T. She has also been chased by an elephant and now I was supremely jealous! I was off the path shooting him only 2m away. Still - I was in the wrong place at the right time to enjoy physical contact. We saw a total of 9 individuals including the number one silverback in charge and one of his wives!
They were both very placid and just lay there under a tree for 15min before moving off. We also saw a mum, dad and baby playing together. We were always very close - anywhere between 10 and 3 metres away. The only downside was that most of the gorillas were in shade making them hard to photograph and our guide was overly cautious and did not allow us to get closer. I found out later that the our other groups are encouraged to move closer. Once again - wrong group - the luck of the draw. I liked the encounter and thought it was worth it but it could have been better. I sat in front of the silverback and his wife eating leaves in the hope that they would “check me out”. No go. On the bright side we did see young males beating their chest - I real sight to see. Gorillas typically live between 25-35 yrs.
A female is ready to reproduce at 6yrs old and typically has 4-6 babies in her lifetime. Males are fully mature 12yrs - after this their title switches from black-back to silver-back as the hair on the backs turns grey. No hair colour here!!! We enjoyed the company of the Umukano family for just on 65min as promised. It was a great experience but no the highlight of my trip - if a gorilla had touched me and it was on film then it would have been my highlight. The trek down was much faster at only 60min. By 1pm we were leaving Bisate, waiving to many local children who created us with waving hands and high shrill voices of “hello”, “hello”!!! Even the little ones, barely 3 or 4 would wave their hands. The funniest were kids playing in the gutters on the side of the road - all you could see where their heads moving around. We made a stop at a tourist shop to wait for our gorilla visit certificates before arriving at our Catholic oasis at 2:30pm.
I packed my stuff for Solo 13, had a shower and blonde away until Tim arrived at 4:30pm - he was with the long group. Our plan was to catch the van to Kigali this arvo and overnight there so we could catch the 10:30am flight the next day. Plans change. Tim was too tired to travel - the long walk had exhausted all of them. I also found out that the 10:30am flight was full. The key thing however was that tonight would be the last time I would see Roberto. He was leaving the truck on 1JUL to go on a mountain hike and then to Nairobi to catch a plane to London to start his next adventure. Three good reasons to stay in Musanze and travel on the van and coach to Kampala the next day. It was a very uplifted dinner - everyone was thrilled with their gorilla encounters and this took centre stage in the conversations. Riza, Roberto and I then watched “Blood Diamond” to celebrate the last night of the complete “Culture Club” in Africa!
This is Roberto’s favourite African movie. After we talked about when we might next meet and it was a sad farewell before sleep time since I would be up at 4:45am again to catch the 5:30am van to Kigali. I had known Roberto for 228 days! Our best times were off the truck, especially in CAMEROON, CONGO and DRC. I would miss him and wondered if I would ever see him again...
PS: A LITTLE ABOUT KENYA:
Kenya (Pop 43m) is just as wild as TANZANIA in terms of terrain and wildlife national parks but it does have a long history of tribal disagreements and terrorist attacks. Only recently did it settle down a little with free elections in 2013 however many claimed that they were rigged.
Like TANZANIA, KENYA dates back to cave man. Hominid bones have been also found here dating back to 2 million years. Modern man however was here as early as 2000BC - at least 4 tribes settled here at that time from Ethiopia, West Africa and the Sudan. In the 8th Century Arabic, Persian, Indian and Chinese peoples also settled on the coast trading spices and goods given KENYA an exotic mix of peoples with Swahili being the predominant mix of black African and Arabic descents. By the 16th Century the Portuguese had occupied and colonised the place with a very harsh rule that lasted two hundred years. It was broken by the Omani Arabs in 1720 and later Britain took control about the same time as it did TANZANIA in order to protect its shipping trade routes to Asia. The “Mau Mau” rebellion then arose in 1952 amongst the predominant local tribe and by 1962 the British gave KENYA its independence. The first President served until 1978 and was replaced by his deputy for a further 25 years in which time he amassed a huge personal fortune.
No wonder terrorism thrived here under such corrupt conditions. In 1998 the American Embassy was blown up at the same time as in Dar Es Salaam killing more than 200 people. The other large attack was in 2002 with a suicide bomber in Mombasa Hotel. Given the diverse tribal and ethnic backgrounds, KENYA struggles to define what a Kenyan really is. There are equal numbers of Christians and Muslim and a small proportion of Traditional African Beliefs. The echoey has stabilised but unemployment is 50% and around 60% live below the poverty line. The good news is that education is free and as a result literacy is at an all-time high of 90%. 10% of KENYA is protected by National Parks and only the Rhino is very rare to see due to huge poaching by the Europeans. KENYA specialises in birds - an astounding 1200 species. Food features BBQed or roasted meats using charcoal with veggie side dishes - got being the most popular. Music here is also very strong with their own versions of Ramba.
PPS: A LITTLE ABOUT UGANDA:
UGANDA (Pop 35m) is a country that has suffered internal political and ethnic conflicts since its independence. It has now largely settled down but attacks still occur. It all started in the 15th Century when the “Bantu” people from West Africa and the “Nilotic” people from North Africa settled in UGANDA. They never quite mixed. Matters got worse when England took over in 1890 via the Treaty of Berlin (1885) when all of Africa was carved up. The British favoured the “Bantu” which had now set up the “Buganda Kingdom” (Baganda people) that survives to this very day. The fact that the British favoured the Baganda caused a huge rift with the Nilotic peoples who split further and entered the military in the north.
The British agreed to independence in 1962, as long as the Baganda remained in tact. Obote and the then King Mutesa did a deal with the British - Obote would becomes Prime Minister and Mutesa the President. Obote who secretly despised the Baganda appointed his then Army Chief of Staff, Idi Amin to attack the palace and bring down the Baganda in 1966. While Obote was out of the country in 1971, Amin staged a military coup and took control of the country, plunging it into devastation by ruling with fear and death. Over the next 8yrs, an estimated 300,000 civilians were murdered. In 1972, Amin ordered all Asians to leave their homes and businesses in 90 days or face prison. Over 70,000 fled and left everything behind. The economy collapsed and there was no money to pay Amin’s soldiers.
This led to his end. Obote took advantage of this and returned in 1980 to take over the army by promise to pay them and Amin fled to Saudi Arabia. He died and was buried there in 2003 - the same year that Obote died. Obote was overthrown in 1996 when free elections were held. The winner, Museveni restored the Buganda King and things started to improve. He also invited back the Asians who had fled in 1972. Anti-Baganda sentiments still exist in the north which continues to threaten the stability that UGANDA has recently established. Agriculture (coffee, sugar, cotton, tea) is still the biggest export followed by tourism. 85% of Ugandans are Christian and 12% Muslim (mainly in the north). UGANDA is the size of Great Britain so has the highest density of wildlife of any African country, including 500 species of mammal and 1,041 species of bird. It also has 50% of the world’s mountain gorillas.
PPPS: A LITTLE ABOUT RWANDA:
RWANDA (Pop 12m) has been to hell and back! It is well known for “the Genocide” that wiped out 1 million people in 100 days starting 7 April 1994. Day 228 in this blog explains how this happened. The Hutu people first migrated to RWANDA in 1000AD. The Tutsi people came later in the 16th Century and brought with them their King and a strong system of rule. Germany received RWANDA in the 1890 carve-up of Africa and ruled it until their WWI surrender to invading Belgian forces in 1916. The Belgians favoured the Tutsi and put them in charge. This was the catalyst for the Hutu to dislike the Tutsi and being uneducated approached the problem with fear and propaganda. The first ethnic conflict fuelled by this emerging hatred occurred in 1959 when the then Tutsi King died. By the time independence came in 1962, the stage for further conflict was already set.
A Hutu President took over and started a long campaign of revenge against the Tutsi for all the years the Belgians had put them in power. Read Day 228 for what happened next and all the key players involved leading to the genocide and what happened afterwards. In the 22yrs since the genocide, RWANDA has done an amazing job rebuilding the country and the capital of Kigali. People are unified and it is unlawful to ask anyone if they are Hutu or Tutsi.
In 2009 RWANDA joined the British Commonwealth but this was overshadowed by accusations by the UN of RWANDA supporting the M23 rebels. Despite this it continues to grow with a huge commitment to tourism. Most people are Christians with a small Muslim minority mainly in Kigali.
PPPPS: INTERESTING FACT ON AFRICA:
Most large African supermarket chains in multiple countries have managed to place “Pharmacies” INSIDE their stores. Australia’s former Prime Minister, John Howard tried to do this for his mate Roger Corbett who was then CEO of grocery giant “Woolworths” but got stiff opposition from the private pharmacy operators who were big-time supporters of his party. Africa managed to do it. What Australia did manage to do that Africa has not yet done, is to place “Optometrists” inside supermarkets. That makes it one-one!
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