Lake Mulehe
Three nights pass quickly and, sooner than perhaps any of us would like, it is time to head back down the hill for our Christmas stay at lake Mulehe. Our relatively new lodge is perched on the precipitous side of the lake and, if the haze clears, we will expect magnificent views across the lake to the Virunga Volcanoes only a few kilometres distant.
The journey down the hill seems somehow much easier than the upward one just a few days ago, but perhaps it is nothing more than gravity being on our side. Emmy and Ivan will be leaving us for a couple of days; Fred having decided to give Emmy Christmas Day with his wife and children. It is a blessing and a curse for him, as he has to make a long journey round to Buhoma before nightfall and then come back for us after barely a full day at home.
First impressions are excellent. The rooms are large, nicely furnished and well appointed. The views are good although the haze remains an issue when we arrive. The lake is attractive and we can see both Pied Kingfishers and Otters diving for fish near to the shore below us. Of course, we do have to contend with many steps, both down to the main reception and later down even further to our room. Fred and Elizabeth have the top cabin, above the dining room rather than below it like us. Still, it's Christmas Eve when we arrive and the decorations are out. With little to do for a couple of days, other than to relax and enjoy the scenery, we should make the most of the relaxation on offer.
I find as I get older, that I actually prefer to be away for Christmas. I do love having the nieces (and great-nephew) around for presents and stuff. I even enjoy the shopping and the cooking of a traditional Christmas Lunch for the three of us. It does all get a bit monotonous though. Christmas day in Africa is a variable affair. I've had quiet (Umani Springs in Kenya, disastrous (Drotsky's Cabins in Botswana) and pretty good at Nkuringo last time we were in Uganda.
This time has to rank with one of the best. Spending a quiet day on the balcony as the Virunga come into view over Lake Mulehe is pretty idyllic. Add in some really good food and a really cold beer and the day couldn't really have been any better. The early nights, however, are a bit of an effort. I'm not used to spending more than about 7 hours in bed and find the long 10-hour nights to be a bit difficult, especially if it gets too warm. It's a good thing I brought the complete music collection on my phone to have something to listen to before going to sleep.
Boxing Day is back to business and Fred, Chris and myself are up fairly early for a birding walk down to the lake. Fred manages the first uphill section, but has to turn back when his bifocals begin to let him down on the narrow downhill tracks. He probably made a wide choice. There are a few birds to see, but the climb back up to the lodge from the shore of the lake finishes me off for the rest of the day and leaves me with quite a bit of pain in my left knee. This is the one that took the brunt of the punishment climbing – and descending – Ben Nevis with David all those years ago. I don't suppose it will ever be right and I should take more care in choosing where to walk and particularly when to do steep climbs and descents. Still, take a cocktail of NSAIDs and I'll be fine in the morning.
The views from the top of the hill over the lake are well worth the pain and effort. The line of the Virunga Volcanoes stretches away into the Congo, Muhavura, Gahinga, Sabyinyo, Bisoke and even Mikeno are all visible, along with a rising column of smoke and ash from Nyiragongo which is once more particularly active. They really are spectacular. We're at 6000 feet above sea-level, but the highest peaks are another 6000 feet higher still and dominate the view to the south-west.
I've been fortunate enough to see some of the most magnificent views in all of Africa on my various trips. Here's an impromptu top five in no particular order – mostly because I can't really separate them from each other.
- Sunrise in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Elephants walking in front of Mount Kilimanjaro after a heavy snowfall overnight.
- Sunset from Castle Forest in Kenya. The last rays light up the glaciers on the multiple peaks of Mount Kenya.
- Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side.
- Lenticular clouds forming over the Virunga Volcanoes viewed from Lake Mulehe.
- Dawn on the Deadvlei Pan. Sossusvlei and the mighty dunes of Namibia combined with running Oryx.
I could, of course go on. Add in Ngorongoro Crater from the rim at dawn or the Plains at Ndutu teeming with wildebeest in Tanzania, the Marienfluss, Etosha Pan or the Huanib Gorges in Namibia, Mount Elgon in the distance from Kakamega in Kenya, the white sands at Malindi, Murchison Falls, etc. etc. Thinking about it now, that's much more than fortunate – I've been privileged and incredibly lucky to have the sights present themselves at their best for me. Of course, you have to be in the right place, but the element of luck needed to see these places in all their majesty is not to be discounted.
Sadly, no view lasts for ever and we must move on to our next and final destination for this trip. I'll be sorry to be leaving Lake Mulehe – it was an unexpected delight in a hidden corner of the world. Sadder, however, is that the visit has to be overshadowed with the unexpected demise of my favourite lens. The trusty Sigma 50-500mm zoom that has made each trip to Africa with me has seemingly retired from the long fight. It won't focus on the camera autofocus and the manual focus clutch seems terminally sticky. Time to re-evaluate my camera bag when I return home.
Lake Mburo
When I arrived in Uganda for the first time, six years ago, this was the first place we came to after we left Entebbe. I seem to have quite fond memories of the place, but this time we will only be staying for a couple of nights before heading back to Entebbe for a final night and to await our flights home. The road from Lake Mulehe to Lake Mburo is almost entirely on good tar roads through some large towns and villages, but it does twist and turn through the mountains for quite a part of the journey. A quick stop at the highest pass affords one last view of the Virungas before we must bid them farewell and make our way back to the east.
Once more I found the journey a difficult one. I think I have a tendency to fall asleep, then get a quick flash of motion sickness when I'm not fully awake. This leaves me getting these short sudden flashes of nausea that just leave me a little disorientated and uncomfortable. Whatever the cause, these long drives on boring roads don't really do me any good and I'm glad this is the last one of the trip. I also think that by the fourth week, I'm starting to suffer a little from some of the side-effects of the malarone I take to prevent malaria. I feel a little more tired than I should and have a hint of an upset stomach by this stage.
Lake Mburo National Park is a little different from the other parks in Uganda. It is much more like being in Northern Tanzania than Uganda. There are Zebra and Impala – found nowhere else in Uganda – but the Uganda Kob is absent. Sadly, there are no reliable Lions and no Elephants, but you can get lucky and see Leopards from time to time. There's always the possibility of a good boat-ride on the lake and the chance to see the elusive Finfoot among the tangled tree roots along the water's edge. The park has been reduced in size for political reasons and the local cattle farmers graze in the park without much intervention and actively try and limit the number of predators.
Well, this morning isn't going to play with our plans. Dawn brings the hammering rain of the tropics. Every time you think it is easing off, it returns with renewed vigour. There's the sound of distant thunder and the rain really is relentless and as hard as you can imagine. This morning's boat trip has inevitably been cancelled and it looks unlikely that we'll get to do much more than possibly have a short drive around the park looking for game this afternoon. Even paddling round for lunch doesn't seem that appealing when the rain is teeming down.
The afternoon is much better though. The sun comes out just after lunch and it is soon dry and warm enough to go out for a game drive and see what we can find. It really is a park for the grazers. There are antelope everywhere and quite a few zebra as well. We see Bushbuck, Waterbuck, Impala, Warthog and Buffalo. The viewing is easy and the animals are close enough. We spend quite a long time looking for the Giraffes, but they are elusive and we have no luck. Only 8 were brought down from Murchison Falls to Mburo and that's not really any number at all in even a small park like this if they don't want to be found.
We're not lucky enough to see any leopards, but we do manage to see several Dwarf Mongoose late in the day as we return to our accommodation. It hasn't been a predator safari for us this trip, the Lions in Ishasha were great, but that's been about it apart from otters and mongoose. We only have this day at Lake Mburo, so we have to make do with what we do see and then take our chances on a different route out of the park tomorrow morning to see a little more.