Week 13 - Ugandan wanderings

My second week in Uganda and I've zigzagged my way across the country.  From Murchison Falls National Park  I went slightly further north before turning south to head through the capital Kampala and onto the nearby city of Entebbe. If deliberately chosen not to stay in Kampala because I thought it would be too hectic but had to travel through it. It turned out to be as chaotic as I feared, in fact had some of the worst traffic I've experienced anywhere (though I think Ulan Batar in Mongolia still bests it, but not by much). Twenty kilometres out of the city centre things became grid locked and the bike became my saviour.  I had no option but to follow the example of the local riders; filter between lanes when you can, when you can't use the pavements and forecourts, when you get to traffic lights push to the front and then cut through the cross traffic whenever you can find a gap (irrespective of the colour of the lights and to the total unconcern of policemen standing there) - all in all behave in a way that would have me very quickly licence-less in all first world countries. Because it's the norm and expected of bikes its not as dangerous as it sounds, but still something I'd hate to have to do to regularly as the risks are definitely there.

Entebbe Airport - famous for the 1970s Israeli commando raid on hijackers holding hostages. Now the centre of aid efforts to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Much needed first wash in many weeks

Whilst big city traffic is the place you're probably most likely to have an accident its not the only place where the risks are. Main highways are always a nightmare of constantly overtaking traffic and it continually surprises me I haven't witnessed any head-ons, when you look ahead and can see three or occasionally four vehicles wide where there should only be two you inwardly shudder but everything (so far) gets through and with no road rage or blowing of the horns, all the locals seeing it as perfectly normal. On that topic it is also considered perfectly acceptable to pull out and overtake even when a motorcycle (ie me) is coming in the opposite direction since obviously there is plenty of room  for all of us. Another challenging place can be roadworks, often they go on almost ignoring the normal traffic flow, you are left finding your own way around major earthworks and machinery with dust and thrown debris making visibility hard (and the overtaking is still going on). The strangest though is when they do sometimes  try and bring discipline by imposing one-way working; here as a bike you filter to the front of the queue to be confronted by a flag man who always waves you vigorously through even if it's into the oncoming traffic - the logic is the used as with the overtaking, ie there is always room for a bike to squeeze through,  and it seems to work cars and trucks are never surprised to see a bike heading the wrong way towards them, but it scared the heck out of me the first few times.

And suddenly with no warning the tar ends with a 6 inch drop and your onto the dirt

Not intended to stop you, just slow you down

Anyway back to the travelogue, after Entebbe I went eastward to Jinja to see one of the sources of the Nile - that great explorers dream only 150 years ago.

Lake Victoria enters the Victoria Nile river and stay is 6000 mile journey north. 

From there it moved on to Sipi Falls, Uganda's tallest waterfall - despite the impressive drop it is quite the match of the Murchison Falls in spectacle, but still very pretty.

Not quite the Victoria Falls - but the 100km drop is spectacular close up

The 100m ladder down didn't quite me European OH&S norms

Safely at the bottom

Finally it was on to the Kenyan border - visa a dirt road reputedly very scenic and an easy drive. My informant was right about the scenery but I suspect he's never driven it - places were a challenging ride.

No false expectations being raised