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TOURISM/UGANDA: Rendez-vous with mountain gorillas

Mountain gorillas are a rare species found only in a few countries in Central and East Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo. And their behavior is strangely reminiscent of that of humans.

December 1, 2010. We arrived in Uganda by the international airport of Entebbe via Kenya a few days earlier before the group of visitors coming from France that we must join there to go to the country of the mountain gorillas. History, for me, to cover the presidential election campaign which is in full swing and to discover Uganda differently.

As soon as I arrived in Entebbe, it was the name of Idi Amin and the Entebbe raid led by the Israeli army that imposed themselves on my mind. Former capital of the country at the time of the grotesque dictator and cannibal Idi Amin Dada, I have no trouble seeing the old airport which was the theater of operations. From this famous raid were born a book and a film: Raid on Entebbe that I read and watched, with passion.

For the record, on June 27, 1976, an Air France plane from Tel Aviv in Israel with 244 passengers on board bound for Paris was hijacked in mid-flight. The hostage takers are two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and two Germans, in this case Brigitte Kuhlman and Wilfied Böse from Bader or the Red Army Faction.

After a stopover in Benghazi in Libya to refuel, he took off again to finally land in Entebbe. The terrorists free some passengers but keep the Jews. They demand the release of four Palestinians detained in Israel and thirteen other prisoners in Germany, France, Switzerland and Kenya.

The Israeli army then mounts an operation to free the hostages. A commando made up of a hundred elements landed at the airport aboard a Hercule C-130 in which there were a Mercedes and a Land Rover similar to those with which President Idi Amin was going to see the hostages. He confuses everyone at the airport and frees the hostages. Only Colonel Jonathan Netanyahu who is the brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is killed during the operation, while he wants to make sure everyone is on the plane to Israel. He thus becomes the hero of the Raid on Entebbe. But forty-five people are killed on the Ugandan side.

Entebbe is a very nice little town. It's the kind of city on a human scale that I like. Here, we drive on the left. Its main streets are lined with trees. It has a botanical garden and a museum. Located about thirty kilometers from Kampala, the country's capital, it is on the shores of Lake Victoria.

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December 3. For the first time, I leave Entebbe for Kampala. Going from a more or less flat terrain to a rugged terrain, with here and there along the roadside, houses on the hillsides. Kampala is out of space. As much as the traffic is heavy and congested, the city is jammed and crowded. In the hustle and bustle of the Ugandan capital, the pollution is similar to that of many African capitals.

When I arrive in the heart of Kampala, not far from my friend's residence, I decide to wait for his wife who is to pick me up at a restaurant bar. To my surprise, the guards at the entrance ask to search my bag and take me through a security gate. It's only once inside that I understand why. I then discover a commemorative plaque on which is written: “In memory of all victims of the bomb blast who died here on 11th July, 2010 “We will never forget”. Fundamentalists carried out a bomb attack there in retaliation for the Ugandan government's commitment to the fight against terrorism, particularly in Somalia, where the country has a military presence alongside the transitional government.

Leaving Kampala, I first stop at the craft market before returning to Entebbe. Different works of art, fabrics are sold in the shops. Uganda is indeed taking advantage of its many tourist potentialities to develop its crafts and create employment opportunities in this sector.

December 4. I choose to visit reptiles. A sign on the side of the road leading to Kampala indicates the direction to follow. It's a track. It sinks under tall trees and through lush vegetation. But the track is bumpy and you have to pitch for several kilometres, cross isolated neighborhoods, and sometimes ask for directions. After half an hour, here I am finally in front of a modest building whose hut entrance indicates that I am at a place called: Uganda reptiles Village.

Passed the door, the box with the snakes is offered to my eyes. In each box, snakes: vipers, pythons, cobras, etc. But it's not just snakes. There are also turtles, chameleons, monitor lizards. The center overlooks a lowland which communicates with a river where palm trees are planted. After the visit, I sit at the bar to quench my thirst before leaving.

December 5. The rest of the group arrives from Paris around 2 p.m. at Entebbe International Airport. To visit the mountain gorillas, it is necessary to do it well in advance and to obtain a special authorization, as they are the subject of rigorous protection. It requires organization.

So I leave Entebbe with the visiting team and we take the road towards the mountains on the borders of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Due to traffic jams in Kampala, the driver and touristic guide, David Baluku, decides to bypass the capital by taking a track that also happens to be a shortcut. After Kampala, we take the paved road but for only a few kilometers. The degraded track is under construction as we can see. Public works machinery lining the road is in motion. We discover a particularly dusty red dirt road bordered on both sides by a forest of papyrus for a good distance. There are indeed a lot of swamps.

At times, the driver is forced to drive on the low side. So much the way is degraded at this place. Our first stop, we mark it on the dividing line between the southern hemisphere and the northern hemisphere: the Equator. Then we continue our journey to Massaka. It is the Brovad hotel that welcomes us for the night.

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December 6. We leave Massaka early, at the first light of day. At the station where we fill up with gas, marabou birds cover the roof of a tree, it looks like an umbrella. Others parade nonchalantly in the surrounding gardens. I keep my camera on me and take pictures. At the exit of the city we turn left to go bird watching in a marsh spanned by a bridge. Back, we will see the grasshopper traps. They are sheets erected on the ground or on the roof of the houses where they put electric bulbs to attract them and containers at the bottom to collect them when they fall. Paradox: the houses are less well lit than the many sites of grasshopper traps. In this region, people love it. Once the tour of the site is done, we continue the journey.

The road from Massaka to Mbarara is under construction. But from Massaka, we begin to climb in height. The road doesn't just go uphill, it twists too. The section is nevertheless in good condition.

Throughout, fabulous landscapes of mountains, tea plantations, banana plantations, bamboo forests, lakes and high perched villages parade. No mountain or hill slope is left fallow. There are terrace crops everywhere. For a country with an area of 236,040 km2 including 44,000 km2 of lakes and rivers and a population of 33 million 425 thousand inhabitants, we understand why. The artificial pine forests are followed by primary forests.

In this region of Uganda, one cannot get tired of contemplating the landscapes. They are beautiful and varied. In the plains, oxen with big horns tell us that Uganda is also a country of livestock. We cross Mbarara, Kabale to go straight to Kissoro. The paved road ends there. Continuing straight, we can go to Rwanda whose border is only a few kilometers away. We turn right to take a track. Then begins the climb in altitude.

The track is lateritic. For two vehicles to pass each other, you need the utmost attention. Because it is forced to follow the contours of the sides of the mountain and does not stop meandering. The slightest exit from the road sends you into a precipice, the depth of which depends on your level of altitude, which goes up to more than 2,000 meters. The crossing is therefore precise. It's hard not to have a few scares, from time to time, when the vehicle struggles to climb the steep slope or when it crosses and you look at the bottom of the precipice. We make two stops to admire volcanic lakes. Finally, at nightfall, we arrive at the edge of Lake Buyonyi, at the Safari Lodge.

December 7. Permits to visit the mountain gorillas in Uganda are distributed sparingly. We split into two groups. It is compulsory to visit the gorillas in groups of eight people, no more. You have to climb and climb even higher than where we are at the lake. From there, our vehicle struggles to climb the slope. We are obliged to lend a hand to the driver by pushing it forward on a ground soaked by a rain which made it muddy so that it finds the only passing lane. It's done. Further, the driver must make a delicate maneuver to take a new very steep slope. The slightest misstep is prohibited on this track where it is difficult to turn around.

Sitting behind, we watch the maneuver with concern. Especially since the rear of the vehicle gives directly to the precipice 2000 meters deep. A few centimeters from the edge of the abyss, he brakes vigorously to be able to gain momentum and pick up speed. Complicated maneuver, risky but successful all the same, to our great relief. After a few minutes during which we drive on the mountainside on a degraded track, we arrive at the Nkuringo forest post.

The Rangers welcome us and we complete the usual formalities: it is as if you are entering another country with your passport. This is followed by a briefing on the conduct to be followed during the visit and the management of garbage on the site. After that, begins the long-awaited and most dreaded ordeal: the walk. Accompanied by two rangers, one of whom is armed with a Kalashnikov, we begin our walk.

You have to descend a steep slope and sometimes using your back, walk and walk again using sticks through a primary forest to have the privilege of an appointment with the mountain gorillas of the primary forest of Bwindi. Ugandan rangers are very professional and pay close attention to the safety of their clients. They also help those who are struggling to move forward. The one-hour visit is still worth 300,000 CFA francs (500 euros). And nothing is guaranteed that on each outing, we will see the mountain gorillas in question. Moreover, the Rangers warn visitors in advance. Even if they generally track them before the visit to locate their possible presence, it is the terrain that commands.

Before arriving at the heart of the primary forest, we stop twice in a row to rest our trembling legs. Once inside, the happiness of meeting mountain gorillas immediately makes us forget that we suffered martyrdom a few moments ago. Leaving the Safari Lodge, I only plan to zoom my camera so as not to miss these magical moments. But I was wrong. Because I have the gorillas less than a meter from me and my large zoom becomes an obstacle to framing my photos well.

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The show is simply impressive and almost unreal. Baby gorillas play in the foliage and jump from branch to branch, oblivious to our presence. A large dominant male lying on his back has his eyes lost in the void as if he is thinking. I call him the philosopher. From time to time, he puts a hand to his chin, giving the impression of having too many worries. I have my picture taken less than a meter from him, with his head in the background. A few steps away, a female takes care of her young and rids them of lice or other insects. The big dominant male keeps changing postures, some as human as the others. We are in front of two groups of mountain gorillas. After a while, one walks away. The small gorillas of the other group will play with the dominant male. We stay there, stunned by this spectacle which they gratify us. After an hour during which our cameras crackle incessantly, we are forced by the Rangers to leave, against our will.

As their name suggests, mountain gorillas differ from their lowland cousins in that they live at high altitudes where temperatures can sometimes drop below freezing. They have thus adapted to these climatic conditions. Their hair is long and the males are twice as thick as the females in adulthood. Moreover, one can also notice a gray or silver coat on the back of the males who have reached sexual maturity. They can measure between 1.50 and 1.80 meters when standing and weigh between 200 and 230 kg. Females have the same menstrual cycle as women in humans. Their gestation period is eight and a half months and they begin ovulation from seven or eight years old to give birth between ten or twelve years old. When we observe these gorillas, we can only be struck by the strange behavioral resemblance they have with us.

We leave the thick forest of Bwindi and its mountain gorillas to resume our walk even more difficult by the fatigue of the driveway. But finally, we can say while returning to the forest post that we saw the famous mountain gorillas. After the protocol of signing the guestbook and issuing our mountain gorilla visit certificates, we return to the Safari Lodge, all exhausted.

By discussing with our second group who went to see these gorillas on another site made of marshes, we realize that we had more luck. We have indeed admired them more closely. Our photos bear witness to this.

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December 8. We leave the Safari Lodge early in the morning for Queen Elizabeth National Park. We take a whole day to cover the distance. At the entrance to the park, we come across antelopes. On returning to our accommodation, the surprise of the evening is the discovery of a female leopard with her cub. We stop, and take the time to observe her until she decides to leave, dragging her body gracefully and nonchalantly.

December 9. At 7 a.m., the tour begins with bird watching. I don't know about it. I discovered all the same that it is also fascinating to observe them with binoculars, to identify them and to keep a list of them. The group of ornithology enthusiasts shares their passion with me. Here we go.

We discover as we progress on the tracks of the park, various birds with sometimes barbaric names before falling on what constitutes my main center of interest: wildlife. In turn, warthogs, buffaloes, antelopes and elephants appear before our eyes. I even have the privilege of seeing and photographing an elephant urinating for the first time. And the music is not sad.

In the afternoon, we leave for a cruise on Lake George. The shores of the lake are an excellent observation post. Buffaloes rub shoulders with elephants, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, birds and even men. It seems that here, everyone lives on good terms. It should be noted a significant presence of hippos in the lake. Which do not hesitate to enter the houses of the surrounding village or arrive around our Lodge. We also have the chance to see two lionesses in retreat in the forest bordering the lake. Our walk stops at the limit of the territorial waters of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then, we turn back to dismount and reach our lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

December 10. We leave from Queen Elizabeth National Park and cross the Equator to go to Kibale National Park. Traveling in the interior of Uganda, through tracks that pass through small towns and villages, vast expanses of banana or tea fields, primary or man-made forests, vast papyrus swamps is a real treat for the visitor eager for discoveries. We sink into it and hardly come out again, in Kibale, at nightfall.

December 11. In the morning, we leave the Visitor Center for Kibale Forestry Station. Again, we complete the same formalities as in NKuringo before going to see the chimpanzees of Kibale Forest National Park. Still divided into two groups, we go in search of chimpanzees with two Rangers by our side. A search that is more complicated than that of the mountain gorillas, due to the humidity of the soil, the presence of aggressive ants and the permanent mobility of the chimpanzees. Nevertheless, we end up finding one. An old one-eyed chimpanzee. Then the second group calls us to tell us that they are with a group. And we will join them. The observation time takes us all morning.

In the afternoon, we leave this time in search of black monkeys and birds around a village not far from the forest. This hike is less strenuous than all the others and allows us to see the little black monkeys.

December 12. On the way to Lake Mburu National Park, we break down in a small town before Ishongo. After replacing the faulty tire with the spare tire, we continue our journey. In Kamwenge, we glue the inner tube to the tire that punctured before continuing. Unfortunately, it was downright a breakdown that immobilized the vehicle in the second group and forced us to wait a long time. Attempts to restart it are unsuccessful.

In the end, we choose to move forward to the next big center, Mbarara, to look for a mechanic and drive it to where the second group's vehicle broke down between Ishongo and Kasozi. While waiting for the return of our driver who has returned to the place with a mechanic, we sit down on the side of the main road in front of a small bar. We order beers. The owner, an alcoholic in his sixties, is a colorful character. As soon as he knows that my companions are French, he keeps talking to us about bets, his memories, etc. When he turns to me, it's to call Samuel Eto'o's name, just as if I'm from Cameroon. When the two vehicles arrive, it is already very late to continue the journey to Lake Mburo. The night surprises us in Mbarara, and forces us to spend the night there. Against bad luck, we make good heart.

Exhausted by our day of misfortune, we seek to rest at the first hotel. The only major hotel in Mbarara is that of the town mayor. So we take our quarters there, around 10 p.m. It is owned by his wife and one of his sons.

Despite the late hour, we manage to have dinner. As I speak fluent English and am the only Black on the team, with the mayor of Mbarara, we sympathize. Instead of going to rest, I invite him to drink a beer and initiate the conversion with him on the political situation of the country. He tells me that he is not personally in favor of the re-election of President Yoweri Museveni after so many years in power, but thinks that in front of him the suitors are even worse. So better Yoweri Museveni at the moment. On Africa, I then discovered immediately that we have the same convictions. An agricultural engineer by training, he chose to set up on his own rather than be a civil servant in the administration. In addition to his hotel, he owns a farm and also breeds. What is much better for earning a living and flourishing than clinging to a function in an administration where one ends up becoming ossified and falling into the trap of corruption.

Mbarara is the city of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. It was from Uganda that the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) started, which would later overthrow the regime of President Juvenal Habyarimana. The mayor of the city tells me that they attended together with Paul Kagame in this city. Indeed, it is here that the parents of Paul Kagame settled when he was 4 years old, following the persecutions against the Tutsi at the time of the 1959 revolution. We spend most of the night talking of African policy and to exchange our points of view on the possible paths of development in Africa. Not without evoking our common admiration, among African leaders, for the late President Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso. The murdered hope of Africa.

December 13. From Mbarara, we travel to Lake Mburo National Park. Here, like everywhere else, the papyrus reign supreme by the lake. The animals come to the Lodge. And you have to be careful when you venture on foot. Animals do not hesitate to visit their visitors, especially warthogs and baboons, which come almost to your feet.

December 14. As usual, early in the morning, we go on safari. A multitude of white monkeys offer us a delirious spectacle of comedy in the trees. It is at Lake Mburo that we discover Zebras. It is also there that we come across moose, impalas or even the bird which is the symbol of Uganda and which is found on the flag of the country: the crowned crane.

From Lake Mburo National Park, we begin our return to Entebbe. As on the way, we stop in Massaka for the night.

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December 15. From Masaka, we take the road to Mabamba Bay Wetland System Ramsar Site. The site is not far from Lake Victoria and therefore from Entebbe. As Uganda is full of them, it is a vast expanse of swamp that contains a lot of birds. For the visit, the residents of the marsh have traditional canoes. You have to slalom between papyrus and surf on water lilies to meet birds of various species. In this marsh is one of the rarest birds: the balaeniceps rex or Abu-Markub (father of the shoe in Arabic) or even more commonly: the shoebill of the Nile. It is the only species of the genus. You have to be lucky to see it. All specialists recognize that it is a difficult bird to observe in its natural environment.

As we navigate the calm waters of these marshes, one of our guides points out a diffuse form of bird in the distance. If we see the vague shape, however, we are not convinced that it is a bird, let alone the famous hoofed beak. Slowly and calmly, our canoe glides on the water, moves forward and the shape of the bird gradually takes shape. At a hundred meters, there is no longer any doubt. It is indeed the shoebill. We stop so as not to scare him away.

This bird impresses with its impassivity. It does not move when he adopts a position. And he can keep it for more than 30 minutes. Like a statuette. As we watch it, we see it dipping its large beak into the water and pulling out a fish. It doesn't take long for it to disappear into its beak. Then he resumes another position. We spend about an hour admiring it. Suddenly, he raises his wings, and we understand that he is going to fly away. Indeed, in the space of a few minutes, we see it rising in the sky. How beautiful is its flight!

On the other hand, the shoebill is not a beautiful bird, far from it. It also looks very sad unlike the other birds. But it makes a lot of visitors run. Because it is rare and protected too. According to Birdlife, there were only between 5000 and 8000 species in the world in 2002. On the way back, we pass canoes with other Western tourists who observe it where it came to pose after flying away from where we were.

December 17. Before leaving Uganda, I decide to discover the source of the Nile in Jinja. You have to leave Entebbe, go through Kampala before taking the direction of Jinja. Along the way, the lush vegetation shows that the country still has plenty of forests and spares no effort to protect them. In addition to tea plantations, I see for the first time huge fields of sugar cane.

Arrived at the entrance of the city, we pass by the Jinja bridge which is one with the dam under high surveillance. I first visit the Bujagali falls downstream from the source of the Nile. One cannot fail to marvel at this continuous roar of the water which makes the site so pleasant and relaxing. Surroundings, an army of bats that have invaded the foliage fly away and land after pirouetting. Bujagali Falls is a nice and relaxing place.

From there, I join the place that John Hanning Speke was the first to identify as the source of the Nile on Lake Victoria. A precise inscription: This area marks the place from where the Nile starts its log journey to the Mediterranean sea through central and northern Uganda, Sudan and Egypt. From the East Rim where I am, I see the obelisk in memory of John Speke at the very spot where he stayed on the West Rim in 1862 to gaze at what he named Rippon Falls, after the president of the Royal Geographical Society in London. Ugandans call it, in the local language, Omugga Kiyira.

By Marcus Boni Teiga

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