The Search of Tree Climbing Lions

After two large hikes, our trip was about to change pace as we headed off to Ishasha, the southernmost part of Queen Elizabeth National Park and known for its elusive tree climbing lions.  As we drove out of Bwindi, we left the "impenetrable forest" behind us and headed towards the open plains.  As we were leaving the park we saw a few kids holding sticks which were being waved and shown off to us.  From what we're used to, we expected cooked meat on the sticks.  Instead, we found out that they had Jackson's three-horned chameleons on the sticks.  They had both male and female green types as well as a brown one, so we got to see all three types that are in Uganda.  Greg and Dad held them and I acted as the photographer since I had recently held one at a friend’s house.  Other than that, the trip between parks was rather uneventful.

Greg holding a male Jackson's three-horned chameleon.

Jackson's three-horned chameleon.

Dad holding a female three-horned chameleon.

We arrived in Ishasha and instead of hiring a guide for the first day, we decided to drive ourselves around the Southern Circuit.  We saw some elephants, topi, Ugandan kob, and various birds.  However, every tree we looked in was lacking lions, the main reason for coming to Ishasha.  Before dark, we tried out the Northern Circuit and spotted some hippos fighting and baboons eating trash.

We no sooner headed out and ran into some elephants.

Ugandan Kob.

A Vervet Monkey eating some fruits.

A Crowned Hornbill.

The Baboons got into some trash.

Hippos fighting.

Topi, they're not the smartest of animals.

In Ishasha, we decided to stay in UWA owned bandas.  The main reason for this was we were only spending one night and $20 was a much better option than $200 per person at the other hotels in the area.  The bandas would have been fine had the one Greg and I stayed in not had a bad ant issue in the middle of the night.  We didn’t find out about the ant issue until about 2 AM when we woke up scratching and swiping the ants away.  I decided to spend the rest of the night sleeping in the car while Greg for some reason decided to stay with the ants in the room.

We stayed in the Tree Climbing Lion Banda.

We decided we would get a ranger for the next day’s early morning drive since it would be our last chance at spotting the tree climbing lions.  When we got to the ranger station, the safari decided to come to us as a hippo wandered past the station and grazed a short distance from us.  Hippos may look big and slow, but they are actually fast sprinters and one of the most dangerous safari animals for humans.  Our ranger showed up from the nearby village, avoided the hippo, and hopped in our car.  The ranger started us in the North Circuit and brought us to a hyena’s den.  Unfortunately for us, while we could hear the pups crying, they did not want to make an appearance.  That was quite alright with us as a hyena slowly made its way back from a night of hunting and came up right next to the side of the car.  We could have petted it if we wanted to, but the hyena may not have enjoyed it so we chose not to.  It was a pretty cool sight indeed.

Early morning sunrise.

Mr. Hippo out for an early morning breakfast.

The hippo wasn't spooked until a car drove through.

The hyena den.

Hyena making it's way home after a night on the prowl.

Hyena right next to the car.

We then traveled to the Southern section to search for the tree climbing lions.  We slowed down at every tree we passed and searched hoping to see a lion laying in it.  Each tree we drove by was empty and we started to worry as our guide told us that not everyone gets to see the lions.  Feeling like our luck ran out, we rounded a fig tree and to our surprise saw something even rarer than a lion, a leopard!  So excited to see our first leopard in the wild we all started taking pictures as our guide called other rangers to let them know our location.  I was just explaining to Dad how leopards are normally solitary animals when I suddenly spotted a second leopard a little further up in the tree.  Our ranger could not believe our luck as he said this almost never happens.  Seeing one leopard is hard enough and here there were two just hanging out in a tree in the middle of the day.  We got so many amazing photos, I didn’t want to leave but we had to make space so other tourists could enjoy our once in a lifetime find.

Our first leopard in the wild!

The tree the leopards were hiding in.

Not one, but two leopards!!

Beautiful leopard lying in a fig tree.

Our guide wasn’t giving up on us just yet and the boost of seeing two leopards led us to continue our search for lions.  Not even 5 minutes after leaving the leopards and we came across a male lion sleeping in a fig tree.  What luck we had!  Our guide once again got on the phone to start calling all the other rangers to let them know we had now spotted a lion.  We circled the tree in hopes of seeing some of the females, but unfortunately one can only have so much luck.  They were hiding somewhere close by with the cubs, but out of sight from us.  After spending a little time with the king of the jungle, our ranger seemed to think that we had a pretty good safari for one morning and headed us back to camp.

Why yes, that is a male lion relaxing in a fig tree.

King of the Jungle.

After an amazing adventure in Ishasha, it was time we made our way further up into Queen Elizabeth to see the Kazinga Channel and get in some more safari time.  To view all our photos from Queen Elizabeth, visit our SmugMug album.

The Impenetrable Forest

We left Kisoro and headed back up a really windy mountain road towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, one of Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests.  It dates back over 25,000 years and is home to an estimated 320 mountain gorillas – roughly half of the world’s population and one of our main attractions on this trip.  The drive up was beautiful and quite possibly the nicest scenery we’ve seen since arriving in Uganda.  As you approach the “impenetrable forest,” the rolling hills quickly change over to thick trees and we were almost immediately greeted by some black-and-white colobus monkeys.  A fun sight, though we have seen a lot of them (they are turning into the monkey version of squirrels) and were amped to see some gorillas.

The scenery on the drive from Kisoro to Bwindi.

They farm up on the sides of the mountains.

Entering the "impenetrable forest."

A family of black-and-white colobus monkeys.

There are four different areas within the park where you can track habituated mountain gorillas and we chose Ruhija, which is on the eastern side of the park.  We arrived bright and early the morning of our trek and were paired with an older group of Europeans and a Canadian woman.  Interestingly, one of the men from Britain had been with the British Foreign Services for 40 years before retiring, it was nice to chat with him and his wife and hear of their many great adventures abroad.

Our group was assigned to the Oruzoojo gorilla family and after a quick briefing on how to interact with the gorillas, we loaded up the cars and headed off to the starting point.  This was the first time (but definitely not the last) that we would have a ranger with a loaded AK-47 sit in our car.  This time, unlike other times, he was sitting right next to me which made the drive that much more interesting.  After a 30-40 minute drive, we pulled off near some tea plantations, met the porters, and started our trek into the forest.  This hike wasn’t nearly as strenuous as the Mt. Sabinyo one was.  However, it wasn’t easy navigating through the muddy and slippery terrain, especially when you’re short and have little legs, and you’re going up and down huge embankments every 5 minutes.  Other than that, the 3 of us were doing fine, as was the rest of the group…minus the Canadian woman.  First off, who decides to hike through the “impenetrable forest” in all white?  Not only that, but she could barely walk on a paved surface and here we are trekking through the forest, not on any kind of path.  Needless to say, she was slowing us down a lot before she even took her first tumble.  Eventually, the head guide had a talk with her and it was decided she needed a rescue team.  While she and some porters waited for the rescue team, the head guide led us on towards the gorillas.  After 2 or so hours, we came around a bend and met up with the gorilla spotters.  These guys had trekked the path earlier and were directing our guides on how to reach them.  Once the group was all together, we left behind our walking sticks and bags, then headed over to the gorillas.

The first three gorillas we could see were the silverback, a mommy, and her 9-month-old baby (the youngest in this family).  Unfortunately for us, they were hidden in a decent amount of bushes and branches.  We were still able to get a few good shots (for all our pictures check out our SmugMug), but watching the baby climb all over its mother and repeatedly fall over was adorable.  At one point the mom even wrapped the little one up in her arms and was rubbing it with her hands.  Out of our entire time with the gorillas, this was quite possibly my favorite moment as you could see the love between mother and baby.

Baby climbing all over mom.

How can you not love that face?

After a little while, the gorillas decided it was time to move on and one by one they made their way out of the underbrush and down the hill.  Interestingly, the silverback waited until every member of his family made it down before following suit.  The guides told us to follow and began hacking through the brush with their machetes as we followed the gorillas down a hill.  Thankfully, they stopped at a nearby clearing to chomp away on some tree bark.  Here we got some awesome shots of them out in the open and it was cool to be standing so close to such magnificent creatures.  One of the guides tried to move a branch away and got a little too close for the gorillas liking and they grunted and moved towards him.  A little scary as Greg and I were standing right next to the guy, but thankfully he immediately stopped and backed up and that seemed to be good enough for the gorillas.  What a shame the Canadian lady missed out on this experience right?  Wrong!  As we are checking out the gorillas enjoying a bark snack, the lady shows up and is helped down the hill by some porters.  How in the world did she get to us you may ask.  Well, the rescue team wasn’t an extraction team.  Rather, they were the support team and had carried the lady on a cloth stretcher through the forest to the gorillas.  The path was difficult enough for most people, so I have no idea how they were able to carry her through the muddy path to us.

The silverback!

Munching on some tree bark.

After a while here, the gorillas were done with their tree bark (also possibly agitated that we followed them) and again headed into the forest.  We thought our time with the gorillas was over, but the guides continued after the gorillas into a denser part of the woods.  We climbed a steep hill and found the silverback and his family up in the trees.  Next thing we know, the trees and bushes behind us are shaking, there’s all this commotion, and the porters pop through with the woman on the stretcher again.  She was almost more of a sight to see, but she probably would have been more adverse to the flash photography then the gorillas.  We spent a little longer with the gorillas and finally started back to the cars.

Gorilla in the trees.

The lady on the stretcher with all the porters.

The experience was definitely a once in a lifetime activity.  It was fun and I’m glad I can check it off my list, but I don’t think I need to make the trip down there again.  We originally planned to go during the rainy season because it’s much cheaper, however, I’m kind of glad we didn’t because it hadn’t rained here at all the week before our hike and it was still rather muddy and difficult to navigate.  I can’t begin to imagine how the hike would have been during the rainy season.  After two big hikes, we finally got a much needed night to sleep in before making the next leg of our trip up to Ishasha, the southernmost part of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The Hike That Almost Killed Us

After conquering the Nile, Greg and I had planned a 12-day trip across the country to show Dad just what Uganda has to offer.  Since we don’t want to have a never-ending blog post, we’re breaking them up by the different events and places we visited.  Our first stop on the list is Kisoro, a town just outside Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and about as far southwest as you can go in the country.

Our main reason for heading to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, was not for the gorillas, but to climb Mt. Sabinyo, one of the three conical, extinct volcanoes, and part of the spectacular Virunga Range that lies along the border region of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda.  It’s also the only place where you can stand in all three countries at once!  We left our house in Kampala around 7 AM and lucked out, making it out of the city in a decent amount of time and were met with nicely paved roads (thank you China).  The ride down only took us 8 hours and we got to stop at the Equator, our first time in the Southern Hemisphere!  The drive passed through so many different landscapes in such a short period of time it made the drive go by quickly.  Once in Kisoro, the temperature dropped drastically and our hotel had a nice fire going every night to sit by (yes, Africa can get chilly).

In the Northern & Southern Hemispheres at the same time!

The next morning we were up around 5 AM to have breakfast and make the drive to the park for our hike.  Unfortunately, this road was not paved and the sun doesn’t come up until almost 7 AM.  Our short 14km drive took over 40 minutes and gave us lots of headaches as we tried to navigate roads that were basically large rocks with no signs!  Once at the park, we met up with two girls who were also doing the hike.  I know I wasn’t totally prepared for how difficult this hike would be, but they really weren’t prepared.  The first hour or so of the hike is relatively flat and covered in muddy elephant and buffalo footprints.  Then you reach the bamboo forest where there’s a slight increase in altitude, but nothing like what you’re about to hit.  The guides stop you at a hut and tell you the hike is about to begin and sure enough, it does.  From bottom to top the elevation gain is 1,300 meters (4,265 feet)!  When you finally reach the third peak you are at 3,669 meters (12,037 feet).

Mt. Sabinyo, what we were about to climb.  You can only climb the first 3 peaks from the left.

Hiking through muddy elephant footprints!

Not only is there a drastic elevation increase on this hike, but a majority of the hike slowly starts becoming ladders made out of tree branches.  The higher you go, the more ladders.  After what seemed like forever, we finally made it to the first peak, 3,423 meters.  One of the girls we believe was suffering from altitude sickness, so we decided to stop and have lunch and see if a little rest would help her.  Unfortunately, the moment we started for peak two she realized she couldn’t go on anymore and they had to turn back.  The three of us and our guide continued onward.  Peak 1 to Peak 2 wasn’t bad, you descend a little then start ascending again and go to 3,537 meters.  Peak 2 to Peak 3, on the other hand, is a whole different ball game.  Almost immediately you’re greeted with ladders, luckily for us, these ones have recently been switched from tree branches to actual boards.  As we’re climbing up I happened to look down and I realized I’m pretty much hanging onto the ladders because they are the only thing holding me onto the side of the mountain as we climb almost vertically.  Breathing is difficult as you’re not only climbing straight up, but we’re also now at such a high altitude and climbed in such a short period of time that we haven’t adjusted to less oxygen.  I felt like I had to stop for a breather every few minutes.

The "enchanted forest" part of the hike.

On our way to Peak 2!

Peak 2 (3,537m or 11,604ft), notice behind Greg all the ladders going up to the 3rd peak.

On our way to Peak 3, before it became completely vertical.

When you feel like you can't breathe and you surely cannot cling to another ladder, our guide finally yelled from the top of Peak 3, "Katie, Greg, and Scott, you've reached the top!"  At an altitude of 3,669 meters, we’re now standing in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC all at once!  We had a view of the clouds for a while, but fortunately, the clouds cleared and we had beautiful views of all 3 countries and a great spot to finish our lunch.  We also had a crow friend stop to visit us, who we fed some boiled eggs.  A crow landing so close and eating eggs that were thrown to it was something our guide had never seen before.

We made it to the top & can officially say we stood in 3 countries at once!

What a view!

Our crow friend eating some hard boiled egg.

And then we had to go back down.

The next challenge came when we realized we now had to go back down what we just came up.  The process of making it down the mountain was tedious, painfully long, and exhausting.  At some point or another, each one of us slipped on loose gravel and took a tumble.  I took one tumble that nearly took me down the side of the mountain.  While I may have gotten down the mountain quicker that way, I am sure it would not have been much fun.  After 14 kilometers and over 10 hours of hiking, we were done.  The rains started halfway back to the hotel.  Thankfully they held off until then because I think I would have started to cry if it happened on our hike.  While I don’t think any of us feel the need to do the hike again, it was definitely a rewarding experience and something I’m glad I can say I accomplished.  We had one day of rest before our next big trek, to search for the gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

For more pictures from our hike, check out our brand new SmugMug site.  It's still in the process of being updated, so don't mind its imperfections.

The DustmEn Conquer the Nile – Part 2

After the adrenaline filled jump we went to Nile River Explorers which is where we were spending the night.  Before heading to bed to rest up for rafting, we went on a boat cruise that took us through a portion of the Nile River in-between two dams.  The cruise was relaxing with some good BBQ, beer, and company as we were joined by two British people and another American.  There was also some good music as we plugged Katie’s iPod in and blasted it cruising down the river.  It must have been a pretty funny and weird sight, seeing us blasting “Party in the U.S.A.” cruising down the Nile.

The cruise gang.

After the cruise, we got Dad his first rolex, played some pole-ish horseshoes, viewed the moon through Dad’s view scope, and were greeted by not one, but two hedgehogs!  None of us had ever seen one in the wild so the two hedgehogs took up a lot of our attention.

The hedgehog is cute, but not a very good pole-ish horseshoes player.

Don't ask if the shop is clean, just enjoy.

Bright and early the next morning, Dad, Joe, and I headed off on a bus to raft the Nile, while Katie went on a birding trip.  The rafting was much the same as last time and the Nile was still as powerful.  We took our first dip in the river a lot sooner than last time though.  A little after the big drop we hit a rapid awkwardly and the raft flipped.  I actually ended up under the upside down raft in a small air pocket.  This turned out to be good for me as I lost my breath from the fall and was able to hold onto the raft while I tried to catch my breath.

The first drop is always the biggest!

The Nile spares no one!

We continued down the river and took a dip two more times, but all made it out safely.  After a tasty meal at the end, we hopped on the bus towards Kampala.  The bus dropped us off a bit later and Katie picked us up to continue the drive.  The drive was unfortunately longer than we were told it would be, both due to distance and pretty bad roads.  I’ve conquered the Nile twice now and I think I am good taking a break before I dare try it again.

The DustmEn Conquer the Nile – Part 1

And a fool I am!  But it helps when you have the man who taught you how to be the best fool you can be, come to Uganda for a visit.  My dad made the long trip across the Atlantic and arrived ready to spend quality time and share some amazing experiences with Katie and me.  He is our first visitor since coming to Uganda and we saved up a lot of action-packed trips for him with lots of travel and not a lot of rest.  One would think that we would let him rest before we started our journey, but forget that.  The day after he arrived we took him to the Nile River to bungee jump over it!  This would be the first time bungee jumping for him or me, and needless to say, we were both nervous but excited.

We arrived at Adrift Adventures and saw the jumping platform, which at first glance didn’t look so bad.  Katie and our friend Joe, who was tagging along, grabbed a drink at the bar while Dad and I started our ascent up the steps to the platform.  The jump didn’t look that high before, but as we walked the never-ending stairs, we started to realize that the jump was much higher than it previously looked.  We finally made it to the top of the steps and were greeted on the platform by two smiling guys that were ready to throw us off of it.

Who's ready to test some African safety regulations!

Dad volunteered to go first which was perfectly fine by me.  He sat down in a nicely carved wooden throne and the worker wrapped a towel around his legs followed by a rope tied in a slipknot.  The other guy explained the process and how this small piece of rope was going to prevent us from crashing into the water after we jumped (a slipknot apparently gets tighter as you pull on it).  After getting hooked into the bungee line, Dad stood up from the chair and waddled his way towards the edge.  I was terrified enough standing on the edge knowing that I was up next, so I can only imagine what was going through his head.  Now standing on the edge, the guy told him to release his grip from the upper bar and jump at the end of the countdown.  The countdown was started by the guy and joined in by the crowd below at the bar.  3, 2, 1, BUNGEE and there was a slight pause until a yell and a dive off the edge.  Thankfully the rope held and Dad went inches from the water only to bounce back up and down a few times until the raft below was able to grab a hold of him and pull him on-board.

View from the top just about to jump.

View from the bottom either before coming back up or at the end.

After Dad got pulled into the raft, I then I lowered myself into the chair and got my legs tied up for the jump.  Seeing someone go first puts your mind at ease a bit, but when you waddle to the edge and grip the bar above that ease just disappears and turns to an "am I seriously doing this" feeling.  The guy told me to release my grip and my mind shouted "forget that, I’m holding on," but my arms slowly peeled away and outstretched to my sides.  I think I faintly heard the countdown and at BUNGEE paused for what seemed to be an eternity before I finally shouted “Tugende!” (which means let’s go), and jumped off the edge.  I expected to have the losing my stomach feeling the entire way down, but like with skydiving, you really don’t even feel like you are falling.  You just feel the wind racing by you as you get closer and closer to the water/ground.  The pull back up wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be either.  Before I even knew that I was about to go back up, I was already flying up and away from the water and back towards the platform.  I think this was the second scariest part (first being the initial jump), as there is a pause in the air as your upward momentum gives way to gravity pulling you back down to Earth.  I bounced a few times before reaching out to a paddle and being brought down to the waiting raft below.

Jumping off with the camera attached to my back.

The raft waiting below as I bounce around.

Dad was there to greet me off of the raft and we shared a "holy crap we survived jumping off a 44 meter (144 feet) platform" hug.  We went to the bar and celebrated our survival with some Nile Special beer, pizza, and a drink while upside down in a kayak.

Beer tastes better when in a kayak...upside down.

Experiences like this are why he came to Uganda.