Bukoba Steve's Uganda birding blog: Safari

Our last trip away before work resumes on the 13th January saw us head across towards Jinja - east of Kampala, Jinja is widely known as the Source of The Nile because it is where the river that is called The Nile emerges from Lake Victoria. Having lived in Kagera, Tanzania we know that Lake Victoria is simply a wide, flat section of the river and that the largest river flowing into The Nile is the Kagera which starts way up in the mountains of Rwanda or Burundi. Which of these countries has the most remote stream flowing into the Kagera is the only debate about the true source of the Nile. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile for an excellent summary of the true situation.

We stayed for two nights at Kipling Lodge (https://web.facebook.com/thekiplinglodge/) some 25 km downstream from Jinja. This is a new, small lodge run by a Belgian/French couple and their great local staff. One of the nicest places we have stayed anywhere with stunning views, a bird-filled garden, a pool and great food. Only 3 hours easy drive from home so I expect we will stay there again.

Black-and-white Mannikin

Brimstone Canary

Black-headed Gonolek

Eastern Plantain-eater

Speckled Mousebird

Red-chested Sunbird

Red-chested Sunbird - note missing tail streamers!

While there we didn’t do much. I wandered the garden with binoculars and camera in hand. Jenny had several swims. We drove into Jinja but didn’t stay long. It is a hybrid tourist/industrial town and has some of the worst potholed roads we have seen. We stopped in the centre of town to get a couple of photos printed. I parked and waited for Jenny. A chap came to the window and told me I had to pay to park and gave me a strip of 5 tickets. He wanted 5,000 shillings for them. The tickets had Jinja council printed on them but he was wearing a shirt with an engineering company name and could not prove to me he was legitimate. After we discussed matters for a while he dropped the price to 4,000 shillings. At this point I said I wasn’t paying. He threatened to get his boss. I agreed with his plan. As he wandered off he wrote a ticket and put it under my wiper. Our hosts at the lodge later said this is a scam by council employees and that there is a fee but it is only 200 shillings per park not 1000 as he initially quoted. The boss never did turn up.

Near the lodge and upstream a bit is a series of rapids. We took a small boat trip with two local chaps paddling to the rapids and back. Talk about hard work - paddling against the current of the Nile. It was a pleasant late afternoon trip for us and our paddlers were well tipped when we returned.