In message , Liz Leyden
writes
In message
Pat Anderson wrote:

In message , Liz Leyden
writes

Just back myself from Uganda, where I heard that it's not unheard of
for people to fly out, drive to Bwindi in a day (nightmare) do a
gorilla trek, drive back to Entebbe the next day (or sometimes they
stay one more day at Bwindi) then home again. "What will we do next
weekend?"

Hi Liz,
you are just back from Uganda? Tell us where you went, what you did,
have you been before? I`m interested to hear your safari story!
Pat.

All in good time!
First trip to Uganda.
First impressions are just what people here have said befo
Ugandans very friendly and not hassling, like often in Kenya.
Not so many animals in the parks (QENP has an ongoing problem with
displaced people (specifically, allegedly, Rwandan refugees) shooting
lions and hyaenas etc, even in the past week).
Much greener/lusher overall than Kenya/Tz in July: they say a walking
stick stuck in the ground would sprout roots overnight. A country made
poor by a dictator. :-(
I went specifically for the gorillas, chimps and my No 1 wish bird,
the Shoebill and saw all three. Gorilla trek nearly killed me, I'm so
unfit! Discovered that tea grown in Bwindi sells for 125USh, about 5p,
per kg, and the pickers have to be paid out of this. Renewed my
commitment to being a Fair Trader.
Not successful photographically, because apart from the first two and
last two days it varied from bland heavy grey overcast to bland light
grey overcast. In the forests, bright light would have led to heavy
shadows anyway, and the enormous difference between dark and light
caused me all sorts of problems with the gorillas. We saw and heard
chimps, but in a really dark piece of forest. Flash not allowed with
the gorillas or chimps.
It was officially a group bird trip, a bit too birdy for me, really,
in that it was often running up a list of species seen at the top of
the forest through telescopes. The one time we saw elephants in nice
light, drinking and bathing, *no one else was interested* (how weird
is that?), so we didn't go closer, and I didn't get pics! That's the
compromise when you have to go on group trips and are limited to July:
just have to take what's going. :-(
I'll put info on my website and will post here when it's done. Could
take some time (weeks, not days), as I shot mostly in RAW (don't know
why I bothered!) which will take ages to process. Am transferring
images s-l-o-w-l-y - via CF cards as I can't find the cable - between
my P-2000 and the pc as I type this!

Slainte

Liz


Liz,
thanks for taking time to tell us about your safari to Uganda, the
gorilla trip sounds gruelling but worthwhile when you got up there, a
great experience!
You have been in the three main East African countries now so you have
seen differences in each one.
Glad you saw the shoebill and I agree, not being interested in the
elephants was weird, certainly to me as I love them.
I look forward to looking at your website when it`s done, a lot of work
for you! Enjoy the rest of your summer holiday.
Pat.
--
Pat Anderson