Fun, waves and Lakeside Adventure Park

On a Wednesday morning, myself and a team of about 24 others set off for Lakeside Adventure Park, Mukono District. While you can get to the park by road through Seeta, approximately 50 kilometres from the city centre, there is also an option of reaching by boat through KK Beach, Ggaba.
My colleagues and I chose to travel by water which is approximately 20 kilometres. We took in the lake breeze as we took photos seated atop the engine motorised boat. Everyone on the boat was all smiles. After approximately 30 minutes, we eventually reached our destination. We were given a list of games and fun activities including amazing race, zip-lining, castle building using empty soda crates and map reading.

Castle building
We stepped forward for castle building using empty soda crates. We had to pile as many crates as we possibly could.
One of my friends intimated, “The highest you can climb is 24 crates.” If you manage to add a crate onto those where you stand, it gives you the momentum to build the castle further and taller.
As support and to avoid injuries, you are tied with buckles around the waist and on the back. My teammates cheered me on and we only managed to build 13 crates before my phobia for heights set in. My legs shook and I felt like I could give way sooner than later.

Map reading
I asked about this game. I found out that one is given the park map and a plain paper with letters written on and tasked to search for hidden corresponding letters with figures within the park in different locations. The letters to search for are written on metal plates and you have to find and write them on the piece of paper against letters thereon. The map guides you on where the hidden letters are. However, you are given a timeframe within which you accomplish this task. Whoever finds all the letters in the shortest time possible wins the game. I could not take part because we were exhausted and most of my colleagues seemed less interested.

Harsh return to Kampala
On our return journey Kampala via KK Beach at approximately 6.15pm, I came to understand that life is a precious gift. The adage of “water is life” no longer made sense as some of my colleagues wailed, while others covered their faces with life jackets that were unused. The evening waves made the tide rough.
While my colleagues wailed, I clasped the boat roof pillars as it swerved frequently. I started imagining, at worst, the boat overturning. At this point, the life jacket appeared did not make sense.

Worse and calm
The fears intensified when the boat engine suddenly stopped. While I thought it had run out of fuel, the engine operator, Eric Katumba, my champion of the day, told us that the fishnet had stuck in the engine. In less than two minutes, he had dived into the water to remove the net. The boat made a U-turn, the waves grew stronger, as people wailed.
After about 45 minutes, we made it to KK beach mainland. My heart that been racing, gradually returned to normal beat.