We have our last breakfast (porridge again for me) at the Ruwenzori View Guesthouse before pushing off. However, we do stop to take a few final photos of our home away from home.
Zowie
'Tis I
The requisite farewell group shot
We pack up, rope our luggage to the roof, and pile back into the van. We have a fair bit of mileage ahead of us again today as we head to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
We make one last educational stop before heading out of town: The Bunyangabu Beekeepers.
William did a lot of waiting on this trip. (Photo by Dr. Richard White)
Bunyangabu is also the name of the county where it resides. The Beekeepers Organization was founded in 1993 and is now registered as an NGO.
This organization provides access to markets for its members' honey and aids in their economic welfare by organizing local beekeepers and training them on new and organic practices.
(Photo by Dr. Richard White)
(Photo: Dr. Richard White)
(Photo: Dr. Richard White)
They also promoted HIV/AIDs awareness and advocacy.
(Photo: Dr. Richard White)
After a brief Q&A session, we were taken outside for a short field tour.
See, bees.
Afterwards, we headed back inside to do a little sampling and shopping.
Their honey was extremely good. I like honey in general and so I purchased 3 jars, unfortunately they were all out of honeycomb. What would prove more unfortunate would be the leakage and disposal of said honey. (Sad face)
For now though, we piled our naturally sweetened selves back into the vehicle for a few sweaty hours of van travel.
Once again, the terrain in western Uganda is breathtaking.
Steep roads and heavy loads
You often found people like this on the side of the road. Ready, willing, and waiting to sell you produce. In this instance matoke.
Cows in the roundabout!
We pass from one hemisphere to the other while on our drive. Photo op!
Look - a photo of the above photo being taken!! (I am easily amused)
Okay, one good group shot before moving on...
On the road again
Finally, we reach Queen Elizabeth National Park. One of us had to exit the van and speak with the guard to obtain a pass. However, we had a slight obstacle. An obstacle that made direct eye contact...
We made Richard get out. Which he did, eventually. Mr. Baboon meandered around the van a bit before deciding to watch us from afar.
Mr. Baboon, as William would say, appeared very official.
We were finally checked in and ready for our excursion. We arrived just in time to catch the 3pm channel ride.
We scurry down to the dock and set sail. We would be boating the Kazinga Channel, this connects Lake Edward to Lake George.
Prepare for a deluge of photographs...
Water Buffalo - we would see a lot of these
Hippos! They also make a sound that I will never forget.
Above: Water Buffalo and a Kob.
Top deck of our boat.
It's hard to see but the birds in the tree above are Pied Kingfishers. It was really neat seeing them hunt for fish. They hover above the water before nose diving.
These are bird nests!
Hanni snapped this awesome close-up, shown below:
We came upon a small fishing community along the channel
These two swimming photos courtesy of Dr. Richard White
(If you know what kind of birds these are, let me know!)
This is how Hanni kept from getting sunburned on the very hot upper deck of the boat.
The photo was far too hilarious to leave out.
and finally... Elephants!!
Sheila, lounging on the lower level
Finally, we head back to port and find William. He proceeds to take us on a quick drive through the park before depositing us at the lodge.
What do you do if a herd of elephants, with child, cross your path?
You let them!
...and stay very, very quiet.
To the right is a candelabra tree.
Best.picture.ever.
This is a water buck.
He was nice enough to offer a profile shot as well.
More Kob
As the sun descends, we arrive at Simba Safari Lodge, our home for the night.
Sheila, settling in
The sunset from my front porch at the lodge.
As evening fell, we all ate dinner and retired. Though most of us stayed up drinking wine and talking.
We also experienced the most beautiful night sky here. In fact, the sky was the darkest that I have ever seen it. Not only did the stars appear closer but they actually seemed to twinkle.
A brilliant end to a fun day.
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