Wandergliding: Asante Africa!

January 30^th, 2024

Wow Eastern Africa…that was a blast! Asante (thank you in Swahili). I spent 88 days in four different countries. The rough breakdown was:

Uganda – one month
Rwanda – ten days
Kenya – 3 weeks
Tanzania – 3 weeks

Each country, although fairly similar to each other since they are neighbours, were also unique.

In Uganda I did many adventurous activities, saw lots of animals including all of the Big Five and loved the young kids who would stand up, wave and yell out “Mzungu, mzungu!”, which means “wanderer” but really applies to white people (who are generally visiting their country). Interestingly, even though Ugandans and Rwandans don’t speak Swahili (which is the common language in Kenya and Tanzania), all of the countries use the word mzungu.

Rwanda was shockingly clean, with hardly any plastic or garbage by the sides of roads or in front of shops. The country’s dark past with the genocide of 1994 is still raw but the people are healing and heading in the right direction. It is the “Switzerland” of Africa and had stunning hills and lakes…it is a gem still to be discovered.

Kenya’s Nairobi feels like a big Westernized city with great restaurants and nightlife (although I didn’t really check it out), while Mombasa feels like something totally different, a little back in time and progress while also being very hot and humid on the coast of the Indian Ocean. The Kenyan coast has some lovely white sand beaches and then there’s the Muslim dominated, ancient town on an island called Lamu where a car cannot be found, and life seems pretty simple.

The beaches of Zanzibar Island in Tanzania rival those in Kenya and it is obvious why it is a popular destination for Europeans, especially the Polish for some reason. The fabled Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are rife with wildlife and amazing scenery.

Here’s a summary of what I did, how I got around and the many, many types of animals I saw…oh, and the types of beer I drank.

Activities (in somewhat order):

· Golfing

· River rafting – flipped the boat and got temporarily stuck underneath it!

· ATVing – aka Quad Biking

· Abseiling or Rappelling down a 100-meter waterfall

· Spelunking

· Checking out Waterfalls

· Paddling a Wooden Canoe

· Boat cruises

· Snorkeling

· Kite Surfing

· Scuba Diving

Travelled by:

Planes
Trains
Automobiles (yes, those three make a movie)
Vans
Buses
Boats
Canoe
Motorcycles
Tuk-tuks
Bicycle
And of course...my feet!

Animals - The Big Five:

· White and Black Rhinoceros

· Elephant

· African Buffalo

· Lion

· Leopard - they were shy of the camera...

The Ugly Five:

· Marabou stork

· Warthog

· Vulture

· Wildebeest

· Hyena

People think they should be in the Big Five…or are just cool!

· Mountain Gorilla!

· Hippopotamus

· Giraffe

· Zebra

· Chimpanzee - didn't get a good shot of these guys

· A few different types of Monkeys

· Baboon

· Bush Baby - gun shy

· Aldabra Turtle

· Black and White Colobus

· Fruit Bat

· Crocodile

· Donkey - you know what they look like...

· Octopus - didn't have an underwater camera

· Many types of fish

Birds:

· Shoebill bird - not my pic...we couldn't get a good one

· Weaver - too small

· Grey Crowned Crane

· Peacock

· Many other kinds that I don’t remember

Ungulates (that haven’t already been mentioned):

· Impala

· Grant’s Gazelle

· Dik-dik

· Waterbuck

· Deer

The Beer

My first beer in Africa...brewed near Jinja in Uganda right near the source of the Nile!

One of my least favourites...the was in a small Ugandan bar near Queen Elizabeth National Park with my boda boda (motorcycle taxi) guide for the day as we watched some English Premier League football.