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April 2001: Murchison Falls Conservation Area
One of the most frustrating things about traveling is seeing local people working diligently but being overshadowed by those on the fringe. Such is the case with the recent attack on catering students in Murchison Falls Conservation Area. Reminiscent of Bwindi...an amazing place with so much to offer, yet those who fight for something the rest don't understand chose to make a point using these sacred spots. Bwindi is still trying to live down it's infamous reputation and now I'm afraid Murchison faces the same hurdle. Before you heard about Murchison in the news, I really wanted to tell you that it was the place that showed me my first elephants and giraffes (Rothschilds). I wanted to try and explain the noise that multitudes of hippos make and tell you about the massive crocodiles scattered on the shores, basking in the sun with their mouths wide open (a cooling device similar to dogs panting). I wanted to tell you that we saw Herons, Kingfishers and Shoebills, and witnessed some massive Nile Perch and Tilapia slated for dinner. I also wanted to explain the force of the Nile as it passes through what seems the narrowest gorge. While I can still tell you these things, I now also feel responsible to tell you about the murdered students, tour guide and park ranger...and the suspected Lord's Resistance Army rebels responsible. Do me a favor, when you think of Murchison Falls and Bwindi, think of my experiences, not those of these unfortunate and innocent tourists. And know that Uganda is a magnificent country, and the Ugandans are working to improve tourism and take care of all who come to share their country. Please give your credit and attention where it's deserved, to those working hard instead of inciting pointless violence.
On the Map: Murchison Falls is in northwestern Uganda and spans portions of both the Victoria Nile and the Albert Nile.
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April 2001: Riverboarding the White Nile The place is Jinja, the source of the Nile, the company
is undoubtedly Adrift and the adrenalin is overwhelming. But
instead of rafting it like most adventure enthusiasts, I joined some other friends and we were the first round of guineau pigs to try riverboarding
on the Nile. Let's be sure we understand...flying down Class V rapids on a boogieboard! Adrift has just brought Ian from Zambezi to start this
sport on the Nile and as of our little experiment (which we all survived though not without drinking half the Nile) it's official. Unfortunately
no pictures as I was busy getting pummeled, but the guys at Adrift are taking me back out tomorrow so I can take more photos and hopefully we'll
even get the video clip up on the website before much longer. I must
embarrassingly admit that I'm happy to be going down Itanda (the Bad Place)
in a raft instead of as a bobbing cork tomorrow, though a "swim" is always possible. Will write you more about this, but for now I have to go enjoy
my last few days in Uganda. On the Map: The “source of the Nile” is near the town of Jinja in southeastern Uganda as the Victoria Nile flows out of Lake Victoria and north towards Lake Albert. To see Adrift's Nile brochure (which includes this photo pf my silhouette), click here. |
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March 2001: Kampala Chameleon Habari...I am missing speaking a bit of Swahili these days! Tanzania was
AMAZING, saw more animals than I could have imagined, and a crazy cheetah/gazelle chase that came incredibly close to our truck! I'll be online for about a week before heading out again for the month of May (and then flying back to NYC and who knows what early June). Hope this finds you well and see you again shortly with some more photos...Siri On the Map: Kampala is the capital of Uganda and is located in southern central Uganda near the northern shores of Lake Victoria. |
March 2001: Greetings again from Uganda!
Let's see, since you last heard from me, I've been exploring national
parks, seeing some of my first game, dancing at the Shell station, sampling Ugandan Waraji (ie gin), riverboarding on the White Nile, picking apart Owino Market for traditional dresses costing less than $1, cruising
around town in matatus (mini-buses packed like sardine cans) and bora-boras (scooters, wind in your hair, much more fun) and lining up the
next leg of my travels.
The short of it is that I'll be back on the Nile tomorrow, rafting a bit but mostly shooting pics which you'll receive in the future. Saturday I
fly to Nairobi then Monday I start a 6-day Serengeti safari. Bottom line is that I will be offline until mid-April, so as much as I love to hear
from you, please know that my inbox will be overflowing and I will be busy watching the migration. Definitely be sure you are using my website email
(siri@findsiri.com), not my hotmail as hotmail is insufferable from Africa. And please don't send me any photos or other large email
attachments until after 15th April when I can access and manage my email account.
Although I don't yet have Uganda photos in digital format and ready to send to you, I do have all my South Africa photos on disk. So, by the
wonders of modern technology (which I was starting to doubt in these parts!), I'm going to put together a few emails w/ photos from places I
visited previously in South Africa and Garth will help me send these out while I'm off traveling in Tanzania. So don't be confused if you're
hearing about Capetown but are sure I'm nowhere near! Call them flashbacks...it's taken me this long to get the photos organized and ready
to send out, quite a project (with lots of help from Garth of course!). So that's the score,
talk to you soon...
March 2001: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
This one will be VERY quick as I'm leaving Kampala tomorrow for a few days. Just wanted to check in and let you know that I've headed north and east to Uganda! I'm traveling with a friend of a friend, thanks Thomas Peterman, and staying at a great place recommended by another friend of a friend who's taking us rafting on the Nile this weekend, thanks Anna Ziegler...the world is so vast and varied yet so intimately tied. I promise to be back in touch in a week or so when i leave Uganda and head to Kenya and Tanzania for a week or so, then back to Capetown. I'm not dizzy, I'm amazed. And two days ago I saw something whose magnitude has not yet fully sunk in. Lots of factors came together and we ended up tracking the rare mountain gorillas in southwestern Uganda's Bwindi Forest. To sit in the bush with these magnificent animals only feet away, staring into your eyes, it was truly breathtaking. I already have pictures back and you are not going to believe these! So hang tight and I'll write more and send more photos soon. Thanks to you all for signing up and being so interested in the meantime! And please don't send me any emails with word, jpeg or other attachments as i've already crashed my hotmail account once. if you want to send, email to warn me and wait until i write back and am near internet access.
Thanks a lot and take care...Siri
On the Map: Bwindi is located in southwestern Uganda in the area just northeast of the Rwanda and Congo borders
