Thrill on road expedition

In the company of 11 friends from Overland Uganda, a group of local tourism enthusiasts, we set out in five cars to western Uganda via Masaka to tour different places. We planned where we would stop over for photo moments, rest and our accommodation for the 10-day trip.
Our first stop was at Ssenyonjo Drum Makers at Mpambire in Mpigi. Here, we met Francis Lwere making drums. Business here is booming because some of the travellers make stopovers to buy drums. Lwere makes long drums used by cultural groups,as well as small decorative ones. Some cost Shs50,000.

After about 30 minutes of chatting with Lwere, our next stopover was Shell Buwama station. We dined at Gators Restaurant whose menu offered coffee, fast and local food. The ample parking space can accommodate more than 50 cars.

After taking photos at the Equator in Kayabwe and buying roasted meat at Lukaya, our next destination was Nabugabo Holiday Centre. We hit the approximately 25km-marrum road. The places of accommodation are mainly cottages, each with at least two bedrooms, suitable for a family.

At 9pm, the staff lit a bonfire for us on the lakeshores and in due course, we gazed at the moon.
Colleagues whipped out their cameras for the moon reflection on the lake. A meal and single occupancy in any of the cottages costs approximately Shs55,000.

Lake Mburo National Park
We made a stopover at Sanga Trading Centre in Kiruhura District before entering Lake Mburo National Park. My friend, Godwin Arinaitwe smiled as he tasted different types of meat as the sellers happily warmed the portion he had ordered for. This way, one gets piping hot and perfectly roasted meat.

Then, we branched off for 11kms to Eagles’ Nest Mburo lodges atop Lyemitana Hill at the edge of Lake Mburo National Park. While there, we enjoyed the view of the park and lake. Here, we saw zebras feeding. We went to Mbarara but before the town, we took our cars for checks and service at Shell Makenke. Besides, the journey ahead was longer than we had so far covered.

Kabale
What better way to enjoy Kabale than to spend a night at Paradise Eco Hub on one of the Lake Bunyonyi islands. Ten kilometres from the town centre, a bonfire after dinner did us good as the island got colder by the night. Accommodation is primarily cottages made of stone and papyrus. It is one of the places where, except for chirps, you could hear a pin drop.

To Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
We hit a rough, narrow stretch of 76km off the Kabale-Kisoro road to Buhoma in Bwindi. My colleagues and I drove between 30 and 40 kilometres per hour. Any poor negotiation of the steering wheel meant dropping more than 60 feet to the bottom of the hills.

Finally we arrived at Ruhondeza Silverback Lodge, which has four cottages near the forest. This is where we spent two nights. Each cottage stands on stilts but nestled between trees.

For activity, we carried our lunch boxes and all we required. We rose early to prepare for gorilla trekking. Tour guides briefed us after which they led us to track mountain gorillas. We tracked the Rushegura group. Luckily, the advance team of trackers had already notified us that this troop was near and that the walk would be a short one.

It was exciting sitting next to man’s cousin, having never met before and for them to trust, and not be offended by our presence. One of our tour guides said the speed, direction and distance gorillas move in a day is determined by among other things, food, especially vegetarian, stems and fruits. This lasted three hours.

Ishasha, Queen Elizabeth National Park
The next day, we set off for Ishasha sector in Queen Elizabeth national park, bordering the DR Congo. We chose this as the midway destination of the trip because the distance from Bwindi to Ishasha is short.

The drive from Buhoma to Ishasha took us approximately two hours.
Ishasha sector is home to tree-climbing lions. To see these lions, we spent some time in this region of the park. Sights of buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, hyenas, kobs and a number of beautiful birds were also admirable.

The road to Ishasha led us through different rough terrains, characterised with lots of wildlife and vegetation, up to Pumba Safari Cottages at the border of the park where we spent two days and nights. We had a number of game drives in the park and a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel.

We learnt through the team leader, Ronnie Kyazze of Overland Uganda, that Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most popular tourist destinations. The park’s diverse ecosystems, including sprawling savanna, humid forests, sparkling lakes and fertile wetlands make it the ideal habitat for classic big game, primate species including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds.

Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori mountains, the park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved dramatically into undulating hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos and elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kobs.

From Queen Elizabeth National Park, we headed to Fort Portal town. as we wound up our trip. The thrill of going places by road is unmatched.

Nugget
My benefit
I made more friends on this trip. It is the beauty of travelling with new people. They became more of family to me as we shared a lot, cracked jokes and narrated stories. Our adventure had come to an end and we had to drive back to Kampala via the Fort Portal to Kampa road, and we made a brief stopover at Tanda historical site, before the final stretch to Kampala.