UGANDA, Murchison National Park, safari

February 24, 2013

Up early and arrived at ferry to cross the Nile River into the Murchison National Park. The entire game drive, as most, was done in our 4 x 4 vehicle. The Park is bordered by the Nile River. The roads are really good and normally you can see most of the animals. Unfortunately, we did not see any big cats but saw lots of elephants, giraffes, wart hogs, hippos, and cape buffalo.The game drive lasted about 3 hrs. Then we returned back to Red Chilli Campgrounds where we were staying in Safari Tents which were large and really nice with proper beds. We could also see the Nile and surrounding area from our camp perched high on a hill.





















 

UGANDA, Murchison Falls on Nile River

February 23, 2013

5 hr drive to Murchison Falls on the Nile River. We only hiked for about an hour to view the falls from the top. Tomorrow we will view the falls from a boat near the mouth of the waterfall. The force which the falls shoots through the 25 meter gorge has been called the most powerful in the world.

LESOTHO

Left the amphitheater Lodge for a day tour of Lesotho, the highest country in the world according to its lowest elevation of 3200 feet. It is completely surrounded by South Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world.

We stopped at the border to receive our visa stamp and then preceded down a horrible dirt and rock road to a school house that had recently been built. The nearest school before they started this school was over 100 miles. Before the building was built they used to have classes under a big tree even in the winter when there was snow on the ground. (I guess snow days were not a good thing for children then)  We went to the classroom and spoke with the children. Only 4 out of 8 children have an opportunity to go to high school and only 2 out of those 4 have an opportunity to go to the university. The families must pay for high school. We then hiked up to view the beauty of the back of the amphitheater Mountain and surrounding valleys and mountains of Lesotho. 

Then we hiked down to a village where we tasted local beer which was made and fermented for 4-5 days. Not bad. Then we visited a local medicine who uses local herbs to help simple illnesses and uses basic first aid. Lastly, we visited some locals who gave us some of the local dishes to try. I tried it but not really my thing but most really liked it.   

SOUTH AFRICA, Drakensberg Mountains

Drakensberg Mountains

2/14-2/17

My most anticipated stop on the route from Cape Town to Johannesburg, the Drakensberg Mountains. Our home for these 3 nights was the highly recommended Amphitheater Lodge. It was beautiful but not in the mountains but at the base instead. The first tour involved going to the small but highest country in the world, Lesotho. It is the highest country because its lowest elevation is 1000 meters (3200 feet). It is completely surrounded by South Africa. We drove up to the border, got our visa stamp and headed to a local school to meet the teachers and children. Afterwards we hiked for 1.5 hours up to view the back of the Amphitheater Mountain and surrounding valleys. Then we hiked down to a local village where we drank the local beer that had been fermented for 5 days. Okay. Then we visited a local medicine man and had some local food. Enjoyable day.

The next tour involved hiking to the highest waterfall in Africa , the Tugela Falls which fall for 3100 feet, claimed to be second highest in the world. We began our day of hiking in the rain and it rain, not hard but constant, for the entire 5 hrs. We finally made it to our summit of 3121 meters or about 10,000 feet and were able to stand near the top of the falls. Unfortunately we were not able to see but a few hundred feet of the falls. The highlight or low light of the trip was when we had to climb down 2 steel ladders in the rain on the edge of a cliff. The first one was about 25 feet and while scary, it was not too imposing. However, the second one was 75 feet long on the side of a very steep cliff. The only other way to get back down was to go all the way back by yourself. Not really sure how I did it but concentrated on the moment and making sure my feet and hands were secure at all times. Did I mention it was still raining.