Warner’s World

Overview of Uganda: It is certainly an interesting place to visit. There are a great many things to see and do here. A month in the country and I have only experienced a fraction of what is on offer.

Ugandans are friendly, honest, hardworking and helpful. At no time on my travels did I feel threatened or unsafe even though I visited some pretty remote parts of the country. The main roads are pretty good although the minor ones can be a nightmare. A lot of the country, especially the south-west is hilly.

Apart from some entry fees to the National Parks the cost is very reasonable for a westerner.

What is bad? Not a lot really. The standard of driving is terrible for the most part, but if you heed the rule of the road that the bigger the vehicle the more priority you have it seems to work. Don’t try to ride a bike here without a rear-view mirror,  you are unlikely to survive a day.

You will be called’ Mzungu’ all day long and in some parts you are pestered for money, but this becomes routine after a while.

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11th September ‘09: Just over 2 weeks to go before departure and it looks like our arrival could be more interesting than expected. An old school friend, Sheree Rose de Witte (Ingram), who now lives close to the capital has sent word of civil unrest in the capital, Kampala.

Sheree has kindly agreed to meet us at the airport on the 28th and provide accommodation for a couple of days as we settle into our adventure. However, the news is that at least 10 people have been killed during the last few of days in rioting around Kampala. The BBC website confirms these details which have been caused by travel restrictions being placed upon a local ‘king’.

I was expecting Uganda to be a fairly safe base from which to travel to more ‘interesting’ places. It now looks like we will be entering into a conflict zone from day 1.

To repay some of the hospitality offered by Sheree and her husband I have agreed to give a talk to some young adults at a local school about some of my adventures. At the moment it sounds like they are having to endure enough excitement with problems closer to home.

21st September ‘09: 6 days before departure. Bike more or less ready to roll, just need a few more spares (spokes, brake-blocks, etc), which I brought today. Had a slight pain in a tooth over the weekend in spite of only seeing my dentist a couple of weeks ago. No chance  of getting a NHS appointment so went to see the private practice in town that solved my last major trauma. Initial examination revealed nothing serious, but decided to have the filling replaced anyway as I don’t want to suffer tooth-ache in Africa. Collected US dollars for conversion to local currency when in Africa. Spent majority of day shopping for various small items. Activated travel insurance with ‘World Nomads’.

23rd September ‘09: 4 days to go. All packed, weighed and ready to roll. Just a few last minute things to throw into my hand-luggage on Sunday morning. Looks like the dentist has fixed my suspect tooth. No discomfort what-so-ever now. Had a quick test ride on my bike with all the gear loaded. Seemed smooth and not too heavy. Nearly half my provisions are items I hope not to need (first-aid, pharmaceutical supplies, bike spares, etc). This leaves little room for provisions. One or two days supplies at the most.

26th September ‘09: Last day before flying out to Africa. Diane’s 50th birthday party takes up most of the day. 70’s fancy dress is optional. Some great efforts made by the Running Club members. Can’t believe how much trouble everyone has made to make the party a success. Tim Warner and others provided the entertainment. Really cool sounds.

27th September’09: Mark Rutter picked Paul and me up at midday for the run to Heathrow airport. Arrived in plenty of time, with over 5 hours to spare. Enough time to read all the warning signs about what not to take onto the plane and realise I have most of them in my luggage. Decided to ditch the small amount of meths I took to prime my stove, but keep the hunting knives and pepper-sprays although these are prohibited. Re-packed the pepper sprays in various locations to avoid detection (I hope). Plane departed on time at 21:15. Not called out to reclaim my baggage so must have managed to pass the baggage inspection. Paul was not as lucky as he lost a number of items to the health and safety Gestapo because they were over 100mls of liquid.

Den phoned from the airport to report that him and Paul had both safely checked in and were waiting for departure. I’m expecting a call tomorrow to confirm their safe arrival at Sheree’s in Uganda.

28th September’09: Met by  Sheree and Pim at the airport. Nice flight. Managed to bag a whole row of seats for myself and slept for most of the flight. (Only woke up to eat). Paul on the other hand had to put up with a single seat and only fell asleep when they served breakfast, thus missing out on a meal.

On the way to Sheree and Pim’s farm encountered a group of people with a dead body wrapped in a bin-liner blocking the road. They tried to demand money to allow us to pass. Pim dealt with the problem, but the car was given a kick as we went past because he refused to pay them any money. Spent the afternoon at a private club on the outskirts of Kampala. Sheree had her tennis lesson while Paul and I chilled out in the swimming pool. On return unpacked cycles and assembled them ready for the road. The bikes seem to have survived the flight intact with no obvious defects.

Really well looked after on the farm, great location on the shores of Lake Victoria. Played Frisbee with  Gabrielle (age 10) and Chantalle (age 5) on the back lawn as we watched the huge fish-eagles sore above Lake Victoria. Swam in the pool until nightfall.

Den phoned from Sheree’s house in Uganda today. You all thought he was going on a dangerous adventure well I can report that both him and Paul are living the high life in Uganda….sitting on the veranda beside Lake Victoria supping cold beer, being serenaded by the crickets in the surrounding trees….alright for some!

29th September ‘09: A good nights sleep. Finished preparing the bikes and checking on routes etc. Plan to hit the road tomorrow for Jinja. About 100kmsof cycling with the busy Kampala roads to negotiate. Replaced the fuel for our stoves and changed some of our US dollars into Ugandan currency. Really heavy rain storm this morning. Watched it from the inside of a 4×4 as we headed out for some shopping. Must ensure we leave tomorrow otherwise we could become used to this easy life.

30th September’09: After a hard days cycling 100km to Jinja, Dennis and Paul are reported to be chilling on the banks of the River Nile in preparation for a white-water ‘extreme’ rafting experience tomorrow.

Den’s update: The cycle from Entebbe was tough. Uganda is not flat and I struggled to keep up with Paul who was much stronger than me all day. Looks like it will be me who will be lion-bait this trip. As expected the traffic is unforgiving. The day didn’t get off to a great start as Paul got a large nail through his back tyre after only 3 miles. Also I managed to leave my swimming gear at Sheree’s and Paul left his sunglasses somewhere on the first day. If this carries on we will have little kit left by the end of our adventure.

1st October ‘09: Spent the day white-water rafting on the White Nile with ‘Adrift’ adventure sports at Jinja. Had a really great time. Paul and I opted for the Extreme Raft and took our places at the front as lead paddlers. They said they wanted two strong people who didn’t mind getting wet. We fitted the bill exactly. The River Nile at this point is reputed to have some of the best rafting in the world. We would agree with that. There is a DVD of the day being sent to the UK, which should arrive in a week or so. Have a look if you have the time, I promise you it will be worth it. The health and safety Gestapo at home would have a fit if they could see what we went through. We tackled 4 grade five rapids (the highest is grade 6 which includes things like Victoria Falls etc). The last one we did was called ‘The Bad Place”. It was!!. I could describe it but it wouldn’t do it justice - see the DVD. Even after watching the footage myself I can’t figure out what happened it was like being in a car-crash.

2nd October ‘09: Decamped from Adrift base to Jinja town. Only about 5 kms but we wanted to send photos home before we head off into the outback. The internet connection speed is painfully slow so only managed to send a few pictures to Diane to upload. Currently staying at the Belleview Hotel. Went to view the source of the River Nile as it leaves Lake Victoria. Not that impressive after yesterday, but we felt that we should visit it as we are here. The plan is to have an early start tomorrow and finally do some serious biking. We hope to reach Mbala by Sunday (4th) evening and then it is northwards to Murchison Falls in the northern part of Uganda.

Decided to check out the night-life of Jinja as it is a Friday night. The Jinja casino looked the best bet and turned out to be a winner. Took our places around to large dance floor where  a band was setting up. Once they started it turned out to be a really entertaining night. No tourists here apart from ourselves, so the entertainment was authentic Ugandan. The band were great and a real party atmosphere was generated. I only had a couple of beers (lightweight), but Paul got to like the taste of the local brew. Left shortly after midnight.

Paul has added some comments on face-book and the running club forum.

Animal count to date: 1 crocodile (in the river where we were rafting - not the same section however), lots of monkeys and great big birds (storks, etc).

3rd October ‘09: Breakfasted at the hotel (included in the price). Really heavy rain outside which stops just in time for our departure around 09:00. Exit Jinja to the east of the town to rejoin the main road to Mbala. Traffic not too bad, or are we just getting used to it? Making really good progress. The terrain is much flatter now and I am feeling strong on the bike today. Reach the small town of Iganga well ahead of schedule. Stop briefly for a break. Spot a ’sports shop’ in town and investigate to see if I can find some replacement swimming goggles. To my surprise they have some for sale. I didn’t expect there to be any in town a long distance away from water and swimming facilities. Top up with water and treat ourselves to some ice-cream. End up sharing it with some youngsters who looked on enviously.

Shortly after Iganga the road forks. Each route ends up in Mbala. We decide to take the northern route as it is a little shorter and being a minor road will have less traffic on it. Really pushing the pace now, taking on all the locals on their bikes and even managing to battle with a couple of slow motor-cycles. Just approaching the small town of Namalemba when I am flagged down by a lorry and told to go back as my friend has had an accident. At this point I was about half a kilometre from Paul. By the time I reached the scene of the incident it was obvious it was something serious. Paul was in agony and a large crowd had gathered around offering assistance. Paul was at the side of the road. The locals had managed to get him to a place of safety. My initial assessment was severe muscle cramps with probable dehydration.

I administered some pain relief to Paul and something to alleviate the muscle cramps. At this time Paul was not able to communicate, which I thought was probably a symptom of acute dehydration. Soon it became apparent that something was seriously wrong. Paul had no feeling down one side and had lost his ability to talk or swallow effectively. The easy decision was made to call for assistance. I phoned Sheree and Pim and an emergency recovery plan was set in motion. An ambulance was dispatched from Entebbe with another car coming from Mbala to connect with the ambulance. A third 4×4 was sent from Entebbe to collect myself and all the gear. After a long two and a half  hours the help arrived and Paul is now safely in a clinic in Entebbe. I cannot thank Pim, Sheree and Sam (the driver who drove all the way from Entebbe to collect the gear and me) enough for all the help they have given.

Footnote: Sam Bagumu volunteered to drive all the way from Kampala to collect Paul’s gear and myself. Sam has no connection with the trip what-so-ever, he did it out of the goodness of his heart. He is the African Development Officer for a charity, ‘Cure International’ that sets up hospitals for seriously sick children in Africa. There website is www.cureinternational.org If anyone wishes to show their gratitude the I am sure a donation would be appreciated.

4th October ‘09: At Sheree’s and Pim’s once again. Visited Paul in hospital. His movement is much improved but his speech and comprehension is still poor. Paul had a CTC scan last night and we have receive an initial medical report from the doctor. As soon as it is safe to do so Paul will have to return to the UK, but it is not possible to fly until at least 10 days after a stroke.

The doctor treating Paul is a personal friend of Pim and Sheree’s so he is receiving the best possible care at the moment. The private hospital where he is staying is doing all it can to make his stay as pleasant as possible, although understandably, Paul wishes to leave as soon as he can. Unfortunately, there is a lot of treatment required in the next few days so he will have to remain at the hospital. I will be staying in and around Kampala until Paul is safety on his way to the UK and to oversee the return of all his gear. The travel insurance company (World Nomads) have been great so far. Once all these issues have been resolved my plan is to resume the trip alone although it may have to be shortened due to the time lost.

5th October ‘09: Spent the majority of the day at the hospital / clinic with Paul. Paul is making steady progress with his rehabilitation although he is still rather weak on his right side and has limited co-ordination with his hand movements. Today there were two sessions with the physiotherapist and several hours with me walking him around the grounds of the hospital. Tomorrow a speech therapist is due to visit to begin the process of getting Paul talking again. At the moment he is unable to communicate effectively.

The staff at the medical centre are satisfied enough with Paul’s progress that he should be allowed to come home to Pim and Sheree’s house in Entebbe tomorrow. This will be a great relief for Paul who finds it frustrating to be confined to the hospital and make our care provision easier as the traffic in Kampala is horrendous and a visit entails crossing the centre of the city.

Pim and Sheree have been so supportive since the incident. For example today both Pim and Sheree had busy days so they arranged for me to have a car and driver on hand all day so that I could spent the day at the hospital. Not only are they providing the majority of the support mechanisms, they are having to put me up and feed me (no small task in itself).

Finally, had to give in and buy a mobile phone as Paul was my communications man. Now trying to teach myself how to use it and how to master the black-art of texting!!

6th October ‘09: Paul has been allowed to return to Pim and Sheree’s today. Physically, he is making great progress and being around familiar people all day will be much easier for him. We still have to return to the capital tomorrow for continued physiotherapy and another CTC scan. I will not put any details on the website as it is personal data and it wouldn’t be right to have this information in the public domain until Paul’s family have been informed. I will send my assessment to Diane and Peter Gooding so they can make Paul’s family aware of the situation. They will then let others know details when it is appropriate to do so.

On a lighter note I had a minor achievement today. I made my first solo crossing of Kampala in a car. Think I would rather go white water rafting on the Nile every day that have to drive through the capital. Imagine London traffic, no road signs, limited road markings, a few pot-hole, hundreds of mopeds / cycles and total anarchy and you will have a little idea as to the situation. Once all this settles down I must start taking some photos of the most inappropriate loads carried on mopeds / cycles that I encounter.

Afternoon Update: Since Paul has been back ‘home’ he has made some remarkable progress this afternoon. Sheree and I have been making him work really hard. We have set up a mini cross-country circuit around the garden and have been making him do laps. In true running club tradition I have been timing him and making Paul beat his personal best time. Considering a day or so ago Paul could hardly walk he is now completing the very undulating circuit in a time of 01:36. In addition to speed walking we have been making use of the swimming pool. Paul can swim quite effectively and the thing Paul has found most difficulty with, his speech, has had a minor breakthrough. Splashing Paul with cold water seemed to trigger a verbal response. It was not the most polite sentence I have every heard, but, “You b**stard” was a welcome surprise. Since then we have had a few more choice sentences. If this goes on much longer they will be treating Paul for Torettes syndrome when he gets home.

7th October ‘09: Paul continues to make steady progress with his physical recovery, although his speech has not improved much today. We have spent the entire day at various clinics’, hospitals, physiotherapy sessions or waiting rooms. Dr. Stockley, who is the leading doctor at ‘The Surgery’ has given his approval for Paul to fly home on Monday 12th October. There is a BA flight direct to Heathrow on that date, leaving in the morning from Entebbe, so hopefully we can get Paul booked on it. The next task is to sort out the flights and insurance claim on Paul’s behalf, this I expect will take most of the remainder of the week.

Apart from attending to Paul’s needs nothing much of significance has happened today. The only thing of note was that I almost got caught up in the mornings Presidential motorcade when travelling from Sheree’s to Kampala. Just driving along and minding my own business when I glanced in the mirror to see a truck of heavily armed presidential guards gesturing with there automatic-rifles for me to get out of the way. I didn’t argue as they looked pretty formidable as they pushed all the morning traffic to one side. No easy task on the mean roads to Kampala. (I does help to have a police escort jeep, 6 presidential guards fully armed riding 3 each side of a jeep, an armoured Merc and another 6 gun toting guards at the rear). Might try this myself tomorrow to see if I can improve the time it takes me to cross the city.

8th October ‘09: There is no need to drive into Kampala today as Paul has not got any appointments in town. Instead we visited the International School of Uganda where Pim and Sheree’s children, Gabrielle and Chantalle attend. Today was the last day of school before half-term and as tomorrow is Independence Day in Uganda the school held a special assembly where the different aspects of Ugandan life was celebrated. There was a demonstration of the different methods of greeting in the country and a display of various dances from the many ethnic groups that make up modern Uganda. All the children were encouraged to dress-up in national costume. This with a Ugandan drum band made for a colourful and noisy morning.

Soon after the finishing of proceedings there was and almighty rainstorm. The noise of rain on the roof of the sports hall was as loud as that from the drums. This is now the start of the rainy season in Uganda, although it generally only rains heavily for an hour or two before returning to sunshine.

This afternoon we have nothing planned. Paul needs to work on his physio exercises and I really must do something to keep up my fitness. I have talked Sheree into joining me for an hour of core-stability exercises (she doesn’t know what see is letting herself in for).

I have sent off all the medical reports and authorisations for Paul to fly to the insurance people. I am now waiting for the approval. Still hoping for a Monday flight.

9th October ‘09: Nothing much to report today. Paul continues to make steady progress with his recovery. It looks as if the flight home has been confirmed for Monday, we are just waiting confirmation that the escort will be available. If everything goes to plan the flight should reach Heathrow at 15:55 on Monday afternoon.

Went out to lunch with the family and brought Diane some gifts for Paul to take home on my behalf.

10th October ‘09: It is now one week since the trip came to an abrupt end. All the initial trauma has ended and we are now in a holding stage awaiting the flight home for Paul. Although still not totally confirmed it is expected that Paul will be taken straight from the airport to his home in Dovercourt. The BA flight is due to land at 15:55 and allowing for the road journey home it is expected that he will be back sometime on Monday evening.

As for me, I will hit the road again almost as soon as Paul is on the plane. My plan is to resume my travels from a location close to the surgery where Paul had his treatment as this is in the north of Kampala. Being dropped off here will mean that I don’t have to negotiate the traffic of the capital with a fully loaded bike.

Having lost nearly two weeks I have had to readjust my schedule. Instead of heading out to the east of Uganda my plan is to head directly north to the National Park of Murchison Falls. Here I will eventually rejoin my original track.

Today we will spend the majority of the day at the ARA club. A private members club in Kampala, which has tennis courts and a swimming pool. This evening the local sailing club has a Caribbean evening so we are likely to spend the night-time here. All very touristy. It’s going to be a shock for me on Monday when I have to start biking again.

11th October 09: Yesterday turned out to be day of good progress for Paul. We spent most of the day at the ARA club. Pim and I played table-tennis and then decided to have a game of table-football with Sheree and Paul. This seemed to bring Paul out of his shell a little. Playing with one good and one dodgy hand was quite a laugh and managed to extend his vocabulary somewhat. This was followed up with a game of cards later on that evening at Sheree’s. Holding playing cards and thinking of game strategies worked both Paul’s mind and his coordination. At the end of the evening the range of words used had increase remarkably.

I had another interesting encounter at the ARA club whilst playing volley-ball with some people who are working for NGOs(Non-Governmental Organisations)/ embassy types staying in Uganda, but flying missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Asking what the situation was at the moment, I  was told, “Should I go the DRC alone on a bike, it is very unlikely that I would come out again with my bike, personal belongings or my life”. Looks like I will not be biking to the DRC this trip. Another fact is that the active volcano, Nyiragongo to the north of Goma has started to show signs of another eruption, so my main objective to climb it would be unlikely in any event, even if it was safe to enter the DRC.

Today I am waiting to meet up with the nurse / escort who has flown out to accompany Paul back the UK. I also have to assemble and pack Paul’s gear and complete all the paperwork / insurance claim etc. Coupled with the fact that Pim and Sheree have several people over for a party today, looks like being a busy day for me. Several people have expressed and interest in buying his bike. It is difficult and expensive to buy a good quality bike here. So Paul has agreed to sell his bike, which will make things easier for everyone and provide Paul with the cash to replace it in the UK.

12th October ‘09: Paul is on his way to the airport now. I handed responsibility to the escort at 06:30 this morning. Returned briefly to Pim and Sheeree’s to pack and make last minute preparations to resume my journey alone. After a last breakfast here I will be dropped off to the north of Kampala (I have already cycled the route from Entebbe to Kampala) where I will head north on the Bomba road towards Masindi. The initial objective is to reachMurchison Falls national Park in about 4 days time. Due to the time lost I have had to omit the eastern loop of Uganda and will have to pedal hard to make up for lost time, but with the revised schedule and favourable conditions I should be back on track within a week or so. Most of the future updates will be done by Diane as it is unlikely I will have an internet connection with sufficient speed to edit the site.

Dennis has text to let me know he has reached a small village called Nakasongola. The trip was particularly arduous after the sedentary week at Sheree and Pim’s. The day was very hot and Den struggled with the heat having to stop periodically and rest under trees. There was no rain today despite it being the rainy season and the terrain was gently undulating . All along the route people kept shouting ‘Mzungu’ which means white man. As the journey progressed the shouting decreased and was replaced by disbelieving stares as if a Martian was passing by. Tired and hungry Den reached Nakasongola at dusk, the restaurant was in total darkness. He ordered his meal but was unsure of what he was eating, in his words ‘Nakasongola is a one horse town and I think I just ate the horse’. The guest house he will be sleeping in tonight appears to be fine…after 110k on a hot day any guest house is a welcome refuge. He is hoping to reach Masindi tomorrow.

13th October ’09: PM. Den made an early start to avoid the midday heat reaching a rhino sanctuary late morning. After stopping at the sanctuary for lunch Den cycled on but became increasingly worried by the wildness of the terrain and the closeness of the rhinos. He decided to stay in a chalet within the boundaries of the sanctuary overnight. This gave him an opportunity to go rhino tracking on foot. He managed to get within 30 feet of some rhinos and in his words ‘they are big ba***rds’. He returned to his chalet late in the evening where a small herd of antelope were grazing outside his window just as the sun was setting. What an amazing day….

14th October ‘09: Den’s update from Masindi @ 14:30.

Reached Masindi at midday. Still hot and sunny. No rain in spite of the fact that it is supposed to be the rainy season now. Left the rhino sanctuary early in the day and covered the 60k to Masindi on good roads. Saw plenty of monkeys along the way. The most notable thing however was the amount of men working at the side of the road. They are laying a fibre-optic cable from the Indian Ocean side of Kenya to central Uganda. This trench is being dug all the way by hand!

PM. Reached the gates of Murchison Falls National Park. Unable to travel through the park on a bicycle so had to find somewhere to spend the night. The owner offers a ‘banda’ which is a small hut barely high enough to stand up in. There is no light or water here so being offered ’something’ to eat, Den could not refuse. He will find a lift in the morning to take him through the park.

Continue the adventure in part 2 of the Uganda diary