WEATHER: Hot
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Camping lakeside
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Drinking way too much vodka (Shock)
BUYS OF THE DAY: 350ml of vodka for 4USD
WORD OF THE DAY: Vodka and coke/orange
ANIMALS SEEN TODAY: crabs
CAMP SITE RANKING: Awesome, gorgeous view, flushing toilets, cold showers and an awesome bar overlooking the lake 5 out of 5 stars
There were no dramas with hippos or snakes coming to visit the camp site last night. We could hear the hippos and people heard lions as well during the night, but they kept their distance so we were literally ‘happy campers’. I forgot to mention that 4 tenters upgraded their accommodation last night to stay in these large tents under a shed like structure that had its own ensuite with shower. It only cost 40USD total for the night and they did look pretty cool.
Leaving camp at 8am, we hit the road heading for Lake Bunyoni and our last night in Uganda as we head into Rwanda tomorrow. We are hoping the weather stays fine, because if it is too wet, then the truck will not be able to get to the camp site as it is a dirt road and an Intrepid truck nearly rolled a few weeks ago going down there, so there was going to be a site change if the weather looked too dicey.
So another day in the truck. Today won’t be as long as the previous days, so it will be good to have some chill time once we get to camp. So things that kept us busy today. We had another play for the Skittle-off challenge. As we had run out of skittles last game, some of the guys went and stocked up last stop. We used James packet today, and even though they were out of date (by only a month), they were still good in our eyes and so they were used. So the score is currently boys 4 – girls 3.
We had another roadside lunch today which I think may have been the best to date, besides the sandwich stuff; we had a tuna mix and also sweet potatoes. Delicious. So from pulling up, preparing, eating and packing away we did it all just under an hour. Are we getting good at this or what? We had a stop in a town for an hour as Liz had to get supplies, so Jools pointed us in the direction of a café that had Wi-Fi and I was able to load all my blog entries up to yesterday – so it made 7 in total, and it was like a sense of relief that I was finally able to load them on. As there were so many of us on the system, it chucked a hissy fit a few times, but overall the speed was really good. This was also the place where we could get shirts made up, but as we were all on a mission to get onto the internet, people were too busy or thinking of other things that we didn’t end up getting any shirts done at all. I also ran out of time to actually do some chores. I needed more toilet paper, more water, postcards and to also top up my mobile phone credit. Oh well, none of it is too imperative and I’ll have time to do some of this in RuhengerI.
We were on a mission to get to camp, as there was an African Safari Co. truck also coming into camp today, so we wanted to get there first to get the better area to set up our tents. Gap Adventures was already there when we got there at 4pm, but they have been there for a few days, so we wouldn’t have beaten them anyway. The camp site is literally right on Lake Bunyoni, we set up our tents right on the water’s edge and were only a meter away from the water. No need to worry, there are no hippos or crocodiles here, the lake is safe to swim in. Some of our group was talking to some Gap Adventures people and they had done the gorilla’s, but from the Ugandan side and they had walked for 9 hours, NINE HOURS, and when they finally did see a gorilla, it was in the distance and not the best view. Poor buggers. I know most people only do the Ugandan side when all the permits have been sold for the Rwandan gorillas, but what a tough day for them. Their truck looked pretty much the same as ours, their chairs also very similar and their tents looked a tad smaller than ours.
So of the group headed to the jetty for a spot of swimming. They had a tree there that you could climb and then jump off into the lake. I would have to say it looked around 10m high, it looked scary, but Lisa and Sean both went up and did a jump. I took their pictures on burst mode and they look really cool. Preswick and Papster hired a canoe and went for a paddle around the lake and I decided to read my book with a cold beer in the hand. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the sun was high in the sky. It was a busy camp site, as it is where everyone stays to do the gorillas in Uganda. So there must have been like 7 trucks in camp all at the same time.
Once Em and Paps got back, we thought it would be good to chill with a vodka and coke. Time to crack out jet fuel Ugandan vodka. Uh Oh – warning bells are ringing already. I haven’t had a big night on the drink since my efforts in Ios nearly 4 weeks ago. The vodka was actually quite alright and a bargain at the 6AUD each that we paid to share the bottle. The coke on the other hand, after looking at the label, had a 2010 competition advertised on the wrapper – so we can safely let you know that it is okay to eat out of date skittles and to drink out of date coke all on the same day and still live to tell the tale.
There was a t-shirt man roaming the camp selling shirts. As we all now had some more time, I ran around the group seeing if they wanted a personalized shirt for the group. Out of the 22, 17 people all got a shirt which was cool. We got them for 13USD each and they had on the front Hakuna Matata with all our names and on the back we got that we trekked with the gorillas in Rwanda with 2 footprints and two gorilla prints. We are leaving quite early in the morning so Mac (t-shirt guy) was going to come back at 10.30pm to drop them off. So I collected everyone’s money and we then sat down for dinner.
The Gap Adventures group looked like they were not having fun at all, so I sent around a Chinese whisper in both directions of our circle that when I count to 3 that we just all start laughing. So the whisper got sent around and it came back to me that tomorrow is Sunday and the purple gorillas will come to visit! Ha ha funny funny someone changing the whisper. But the original one got around and I just said 3 and we all burst into laughter and then we didn’t have to pretend, it was hilarious and we couldn’t stop. Maybe I feel a little bad now, as there is nothing worse than seeing another group having more fun than you. I actually looked at that Gap departure, so realistically I could have been on that trip. Luckily the tour gods were smiling on me when I booked the Intrepid tour instead. Phew. I am doing a Gap tour of Galapagos and also of Ethiopia, so I hope I get a livelier bunch. My Gap Trans Mongolian was awesome – so it is what you make of the group I spose. We ripped out another laugh when we were waiting in line for the main meal, so it was pretty hilarious.
After dinner, and ¾ of a bottle of vodka later, we headed to the bar that was around 1km walk. So armed with the last of our vodka and head torch on we walked by the lake and up about 50 steps to get to the bar area, that was outside with table and chairs. It was a pretty cool place. Sean and I went up to the bar to check out the prices and you could get a vodka and coke, but you had to buy the 300ml bottle for 4USD and then the mixers separately for 2USD. They had also run out of coke, so they only had orange left, so we started drinking vodka and orange. Now this is where the night gets a little hazy for me and somewhere along the way, I have done what I did in Ios and I have fallen over somewhere at the bar. I was on my own and when I came back I was in a right ol tizz telling everyone that I was bleeding. I think Justin tried to apply drunken first aid to the wound, and for all my Greek Posse, we know what a bad drunk patient I am. The upside is that the wound is on the other leg and it isn’t as deep, but it is sore as hell and I have also a few scratches on my other knee, on my scar from my ‘other’ fall. I have 2 days to recover, as we don’t do the gorillas till Tuesday, so that will give it some time to heal a little.
Em and I walked back at 10.30pm to meet Mac (the shirt guy) and he wasn't there. So we waited for about 5 minutes, at this point we are pretty pissy) so we decided to write him a note telling him he could find us at the bar. We thought we were quite clever, but I think the pole we left the note on was behind the truck, so he probably had buckleys of seeing it at all. But it was a great idea at the time – according to a drunken Bern’s and Em – we thought it was hilarious.
So if I can’t remember a fall I’m not going to remember getting back to camp, which I don’t. I briefly remember Sean going for a swim in the lake, as his sister got married, and him prancing around in his jocks afterwards. I am just grateful I didn’t follow him in as I was that drunk I am sure it would have sounded like a great idea to me. So after that I am not sure what happened except Jo and Sean trying to get me into my tent and then me waking up inside the tent with no mattress and no sleeping bag. What the hell happened I am not sure and my tentie Afke is not speaking to me, so I must have done something to make her cranky at me? So in the end I think we got to bed around 3am and we have to be up at ready to go at 6.15am, so I only got a few hours’ sleep, and of course was still drunk packing the tent up. At least a drunk pack Intrepid style only entails stuff left in the tent vs. drunk pack Europe style where I would leave things in the hotel and they are gone for good.
It was a great night though, but maybe I shouldn’t drink as much and maybe actually remember the whole night! Yeah right, I have been saying that for years – good luck with that Bernstar!!
No comments:
Post a Comment