Our first day in Uganda!

Today was our first full day in Uganda, while the weather is a little cooler than Dubai, we definitely wouldn’t say it’s cool.  Temperatures are in the high 70 degrees… but the humidity that is extreme… It only rained a little bit today.  Every two days we will move a little higher in elevation and closer to the Gorillas!

Behind the Scenes at Uganda Wildlife Authority – this was an interesting experience to learn about what Uganda is doing to educate tourists and locals.  They are promoting conservation, rehabilitation and education of locals.  We were able to enter the enclosure of a male Shoebill… wow he looked like a prehistoric creature and did this very interesting dance when he met us.   We got to feed giraffes, a baby elephant named Charlie and touch a full grown Rock Python.

 





 

Feeding the Chimps at Ngama Island Chimp Sanctuary – we had a wild boat ride this afternoon. Crossed the equator in a boat on Lake Victoria, which is the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest in the world (second to Lake Superior).  After an hour of getting completely soaked, due to the rough water, we arrived at Ngama Island.  We had a nice tour of the facility and like what they are trying to achieve, but not sure about it in the end.  Another hour boat ride back to Entebbe and we were soaked again… this time Kim and Gina got the worst of it! ..and Kim’s iPhone REALLY got the worst of it! It is currently resting in a bag of rice, in hopes that we do not lose our last phone.

 
 

We have mixed feelings about today – while they are doing some cool things with these animals how happy are they in captivity.

We have made a new friend Tusker… the Jack Russell Terrier that lives here … He is quiet the character, has a great howl!  He is hanging out with us on porch while we write this… he certainly found the dog lovers!

 

Bug report – Day one I can happily report no bug bites!  First I applied a layer of the Ultrathon lotion then followed that up with Repel 100.  So far so good!  The bugs are intense here! Yes all those white dots are bugs!

 

We learned a new saying last night at dinner… we told our waitress thank you the food was delicious and her response was “thank you for appreciating” - what a great response!

Fun facts:

-        Uganda is similar in size to Great Britain or the state of Oregon

-        The official language of Uganda is English and the currency is the Shilling

-        Average life expectancy is 53

-        % of population that has access to electricity is 4%

-        National bird is the Grey Crowned Crane

Casualty Report:

-        In Dubai

o   Sue’s iPhone

-        Today in Uganda

o   Sue slammed her hand in the door (swollen and bruised)

o   Kim was slammed against the cab of the truck (swollen and bruised)

o   Cheryl hit her head leaving the Shoebill enclosure

We are lumpy and soggy but having a great time!  We all love it here!!!!!

Tomorrow morning we are up early for our flight on a small plane to Kasese, then a 2 hour drive to Kibale Forest National Park.