Uganda Expedition 2009

BOYS AND GIRLS!!! (a message from Van Banfield!!!)

2009-08-14T16:33:00.001-07:00

Whats up people!!! Its Banners and ive taken time out of my busy schedual of sleeping to write a few things!

Firstly, Hows it going out there! Hope your all having a great time!

Secondly, Big Brother! Who wants to know whats going on? Well i dont watch it so... bad luck.

thirdly, Football! a few major transfers have gone through! Durling my son! Xabi Alonso has gone to madrid with Rafa brining in alberto aquilani from roma the next day. A few major results have happened too! England Drew 2-2 with the dutch after a Defoe double. But the most Importantly is... GILLINGHAM 5-0 Swindon Town! What a great result, but imagen my shock when the Gills finished the day 2nd in Leauge 1 after Colechester smashed Nowrich 7-1!

Fourthly, I dont actually think i've thought this far ahead.... ahh! The Ashes!!! the score is 1-1 with the ashes to be decieded on the final test at the oval!

Now theres definatly not a Fithly!

A message for Mr Ding Dong Durling! Son i hope your having a great time! can't wait to see you fella, think i may come to yours on monday to see you! Right big man im gonna get back to my hard life of beer and food whilst watching the tv ;) Ill see you soon! xxxx

Everbody else, major respect for doing what you've done. Now enjoy your last few days!!!

Big Love from the Big man! Banners xxxxx

Day 29 - Kampala

2009-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

This morning we booked mutatus and stopped off at the Oweno Market (Uganda's biggest) in the centre of Kampala. It was hot, busy and fairly intimidating so we made our way to a quieter craft market down the road where we could buy souvenirs before heading to 1,000 Cups of Coffee for a drink.

We then returned to the Garden City Mall for a spot of lunch and some 10 Pin Bowling at Alleygators. It was cheesy, but great fun! A short stint in the arcade and we were ready to head straight out for dinner at Mamma Mia's.

We sat outside and enjoyed pasta and pizza with the bustle of heavy traffic behind us. The meal was nicely rounded off with some ice cream before we headed back to Backpackers.

We're heading on to a hotel in the centre of Kampala tomorrow so this will be our final blog entry before we see you all...

Look forward to seeing you when we get back on Monday...

Love Mo, WotWot, Dave, Harriet, Sophia, Tasha, Jamie B, Rosie, Verity, Katie, Jess and Jamie D.x

Day 28 - Kampala

2009-08-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

After a leisurely breakfast at Kampala Backpackers we headed into town to the Garden City Mall to do some shopping. Lunch at the New York Kitchen was followed by a trip to the Cineplex to watch 'The Proposal' - HILARIOUS! We could hear Dave chuckling along all the way through.

We decided not to eat out again this evening and split into teams to raid the supermarket - with each team preparing one course of a cold buffet.

We returned to the campsite and set up the buffet in our favourite outdoor spot. A delicious mix of cold meats, samosas, fruit and pastries was followed by a yoghurt and fruit dessert with chocolate teddies - YUMTASTIC!

We retired to bed well fed having had a brilliant day.

Day 27 - Jinja

2009-08-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

We awoke to a buffet breakfast at the campsite before hiring mutatus to take us to the Source of the Nile at reflections. It was a beautiful spot looking out across the source of the most important river in the world.

We then had a walk through a small market and the Source Cafe in Jinja High Street before heading back to Kampala on the mutatus.

We set up our tents and spent a few hours relaxing at the campsite before heading into town for dinner at Nando's. We arrived at a fast food place in town, not what we were expecting but the food was good and we followed it with a short walk through uptown Kampala before returning to the campsite.

Day 26 - Project 'VII'

2009-08-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

We started the day with the school assembly, presenting the school with all the gifts we had brought with us, including a signed St Gerge's flag and some stationary for the school. The P7 girls then sang and danced for us before the grand opening of the new classroom. It was really satisfying to see all their faces as we cut the ribbon and let them go in and take a look.

Our transport eventually arrived and we strapped our bags to the roof and got on our way - the start of R&R! After a 3 hour ride we reached Jinja and set up our tents at the Explorer's Backpackers. It was a lovely campsite in really peaceful surroundings.

The team all had their first shower in over a week - BLISS!!

Later that evening we all walked round the corner to a restaurant called '2 Friends'. It was an excellent meal under a thatched canopy, after which we all sat in the bar playing pool and table football - GREAT FUN!

Day 25 - Project 'VI'

2009-08-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

Our last full day on project. Teams taught a variety of classes including science to P2 and English to P7. It was great to see the reactions on the kid's faces when they saw the new painted classrooms.

The rest of the evening went slowly, with a supper of pasta with sardines in tomato sauce followed by potato wedges - WHI OH! Very satisfying day!

Day 24 – Project ‘V’

2009-08-12T06:24:00.001-07:00

The skits started early and by far the most enjoyable was Rosie, Verity and Tasha’s – with Rosie using her arms wrapped round Tasha to show a regular morning cleaning routine involving washing, brushing teeth, shaving and eating breakfast – HILARIOUS!

We spent the rest of the day painting blackboards and cleaning classrooms, as well as relaxing and eating mangoes whilst the local village came in to school for church.

We cooked a great dinner and were excited to find a ‘World Challenge Sunday Night Quiz’ prepared for us by the leaders.

Three teams battled it out for the chocolate bar prize, through rounds including sport, history, geography, TV & film, general knowledge and comedy. Great fun! The ‘Jackson 3’ won it and ate their chocolate with glee before we all headed to bed.

Day 23 – Project ‘IV’

2009-08-12T06:22:00.003-07:00

With no pupils in school today we cracked on with some work on the other classrooms in the school. We emptied, cleaned and then painted three classrooms, with teams working in different areas throughout the day.

After a long day spent cleaning and painting, we cooked dinner and had a long team meeting about general responsibilities including cleanliness and tidying our basecamp. This led to Dave challenging us to present a skit in the morning about hygiene. We headed to bed and started planning!

Day 22 – Project ‘III’

2009-08-12T06:22:00.001-07:00

We spent the morning teaching and the afternoon painting and labouring for the project. The classroom had reached the flooring stage and we helped to carry hardcore to the concrete mixer and then watched as it was laid.

In the afternoon we took a rope out and taught the kids skipping games before relaxing and making dinner, trangia pizza no less! DELISH!

Day 21 – Project ‘II’

2009-08-12T06:21:00.002-07:00

Today started with the best breakfast so far – fried egg on fried bread – not bad for a trangia! We were split into teams as some went off to teach whilst others prepared lessons for P1,2,3 & 7. A third team also carried on painting Sam’s office.

We contracted local builders to complete our main project as it involved the roofing stages and technical work on a brand new brick classroom. We were able to help over the next few days with carrying materials and providing basic labour for the builders whilst we watched the build progress.

We really enjoyed teaching the kids, involving songs, drama and dance, as well as maths, English, Science and geography.

WotWot, Rosie and Jess went in to Mbale to finish off buying materials for the project whilst the rest taught and painted the offices. They did find a computer with internet access but unfortunately the generator went down after a few minutes, hence the long wait for yesterday’s update.

We cooked dinner in our base camp and then played ball games outside with some of the students that lived nearby. At the end of the evening we had a long long meeting about R&R before heading to bed.

Day 20 – Project ‘I’

2009-08-12T06:21:00.001-07:00

Our first full day of project started with one group traveling to Mbale to collect some more supplies whilst the rest began teaching. We taught P4 (8/9 yrs) all about English culture and introduced ourselves before letting them ask us questions about back home.

Later in the day the Headmaster asked if we would paint his office, which was interesting as the walls were literally falling apart as we started to paint them.

Dinner was prepared by the leaders, with a great risotto followed by chocolate biscuit balls and custard – LUSH!

Day 19 – Sipi to Seronko

2009-08-12T06:20:00.001-07:00

We spent this morning washing clothes and preparing lessons for the project phase of our expedition. The team decided to have a well-deserved brunch cooked by the Crow’s Nest kitchen before setting off in two mutates to our project – Salilira Primary School near Seronko.

On the way we stopped off to buy supplies, including a week’s food and all the hardware materials for the building project. We finally made it to the school around 4pm and were greeted by hundreds of excited pupils and the cheerful staff. We were bombarded with children keen to see us and ask us every question possible but eventually made it down to a classroom which the school had set aside for us as a base amp.

The Headmaster, Sam, then arranged for a scrumptious dinner of cabbage, potatoes, beans and rice before we set up our tents just outside and settled in for an early night.

Day 18 - Mt Elgon National Park 'III'

2009-08-12T06:18:00.000-07:00

The final day of our three day trek took us back down the mountain, 27km in total! The morning started freezing but soon warmed up and we made our way slowly down through the rainforest. We ate lunch in the cave and headed back down the steepest section just as it started to bucket it down! This made things a good deal slippier and harder but we eventually made it back to the park gates after 7 ½ hours walking!

Our guide Moses was waiting with the mutatu and we headed off to Crow’s Nest, where we set up camp again and made dinner. We treated ourselves to some trangia custard as a reward for finishing the trek – YUM!

Day 17 - Mt Elgon National Park 'II'

2009-08-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today we swapped roles for the week. It took Jamie B just two meals to quit as 'food & hygiene' but we soon had it sorted out.

We trekked 6 hours up through the jungleand out on to the flatter plain before reaching our second campsite - Kajeri River Camp. A great game involving letters of the alphabet kept us going through the tougher sections of the climb. We eventually made camp and set up our tents beside the river.

Harriet made dinner, then made dinner again as the first attempt was not to our liking! Just as we finished it began to rain and we took shelter in the porter's hut despite the heavy smoke from their fire. An hour chatting to the porters about Uganda and the UK soon passed the time and we headed to bed exhausted. Despite the cold we all managed a pretty good night's sleep.

Day 16 – Mt Elgon National Park ‘I’

2009-08-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

We traveled from Crow’s Nest to the gates of Mt Elgon National Park, where we waited 2 hours for our porters, guides and permits to be organized.

Finally we were on our way, trekking up the mountain for 5 hours to our first camp site, Tutumu Cave, through some dense but beautiful rainforest. The campsite was hidden in a large cave behind waterfalls – AMAZING! We enjoyed the campsite and made dinner in the cave before heading to bed around 8pm, only to be woken by thousands of bats leaving the cave to hunt that night!

Day 15 - Local Treks

2009-08-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

We started the day with a short trek to a local coffee plantation with our guide Moses. After learning how they grew the coffee plants from seed to full plant, we walked on to a small house where we were given the opportunity to make our own coffee.

Moses took us through each stage, grinding, sieving, roasting, re-grinding and winnowing before eventually tasting the fruits of our labour - DELICIOUS!

We returned to camp and ate lunch before heading out on a second trek - a cultural walk around the local area with Moses again our guide. We learnt about local agriculture, the building of mud huts and were then shown into a small hut to try the local 'brew'. We sat round a small pot which was filled with a maize, wheat and hot water mixture. We were given straws about a metre long and tried the local delicacy - DISGUSTING! But interesting to try it...

We returned to camp and got an early night.

Day 14 - Day Trek in Sipi

2009-08-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

We awoke early to start our day trek, a good 4 hours down to the base of the first Sipi Falls. We were greeted with a stunning view at the base of the falls before trekking up the steep slopes to the second falls via a bat cave set into the mountain side. We scrambled inside to see the bats before eating our jam sandwich lunch and trekking on to the falls. They were beautiful and well worth the trek!

We returned to camp and did some washing before meeting to chat about the next few days treks. We wanted to make sure we used our time wisely and talked to Moses our guide about more challenging treks. We ended the day with dinner and games - a brilliant way to get everyone together. The A Team won, much to the dissappointment of the B Team (who all thought the game was a 'stupid, poopid game' after losing!).

Day 13 - Kampala to Mt Elgon

2009-08-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today we travelled to Mbale on the Elgon Flyer. A very comfortable ride was only interupted by the front tyre bursting just outside Iganga. It took them 2 hours to change the tyre on the roadside but we were eventually on our way.

We arrived in Mbale and soon took mutatus to our campsite at Crow's Nest up in the mountains. It was a beautiful campsite overlooking waterfalls and the valley below. The peaceful surrounding were soon disrupted however by the screams of Harriet as she tripped, fell over and was covered in ants! Despite Jamie B's best efforts to help, the only thing to do was jump in the shower and wash them off!

After cooking dinner we settled in to a comfortable little area to play some games before heading to bed.

Day 12 - Admin Day

2009-08-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

Today we had a very chilled day - almost too relaxed as many jobs and preparation got left! This caused us to have a detailed meeting to plan the next few weeks. However, with the news that we could start a tab at the bar, most people ordered a chicken salad sandwich and treated themselves to a nice lunch! Yum!

Later that day we prepared a vegetable soup with crusty french bread under the awning by our campsite before heading to bed.

Day 11 - Lake Ruzongo to Kampala

2009-08-06T04:38:00.001-07:00

We got up early to ensure we didn't miss the bus and reached the main road bus stop at 7.15am. 2 hours later the bus arrived!! It was another cramped bus journey all the way to Kampala, taking around 8 hours! Whilst on the bus we tried some local food, buying samosas through the bus window - DELICIOUS!

Finally we got off the bus and had a relaxing evening in Kampala. We also decided to spend the following day doing admin at the Backpackers Campsite in Kampala meaning we could have a nice lie in!

Day 10 - Ishasha to Lake Ruzongo

2009-08-06T04:32:00.000-07:00

Today we travelled from Ishasha River Camp to Lake Ruzongo. When we arrived we weren't sure it was the right place as there were loads of motorbikes covering the park area. We sat around on our bags eating raisins and nuts until it was confirmed that it WAS the right campsite beside the lake. We had attracted alot of attention from the locals who were playing football on the campsite.

We then trekked up to the crater lakes with our full packs - very hot and very tiring, but with amazing views. We passed lots of children asking us 'how are you?' and eventually returned to camp after around 4 hours.

We cooked dinner and finished the day singing songs around the camp fire with the night guard Morris.

hope all is well

2009-08-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

hey everyone just hoping your having a good time!
hope your all safe and cant wait for you all to get back,,
love ben (veritys bffl)

2009-08-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

I've read all your blogs and think you are all wonderfully brave for taking on such a different and exciting adventure. You will have stories to tell about this for years to come. Best of luck to all of you and enjoy the rest of your time in Uganda. Michael (Sophie's uncle)

2009-07-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

It sounds great - especially the elephants! Makes Staplehurst sound really dull save that Anna passed her driving test and we celebrated with food nearly as good as yours. Hope the next stage goes well. Give us a wave from the top of the mountain. Rory & Mary Silkin

Enjoy

2009-07-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hi all , have just read your latest blogs , sounds like you are all having an amazing time out there. Enjoy every minute of it and stay safe xx P.S message to Jamie D , banners isn't coping very well with your absence says part of him died the day you left..lol x from Donna (Jamie D mum)

Heroes

2009-07-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Just read all your last six blogs at once. What an adventure. We are well jealous! All sounds fantastic. Hope you've taken hundreds of photos. Good luck with next phase. Pip (Soph's mum) XXXX

2009-07-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

WOW it all sounds fantastic - a different world and hard to imagine here in rainy Kent!
Sounds like you're all coping really well, WELL DONE ...carry on looking after yourselves and having an amazing time..love to you all, look forward to next installment x :) jo hunn

Day 9 - Game Drives

2009-07-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

The morning started with our first game drive at 8am. Departing in two vehicles we set off around the north circuit of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Both groups spotted countless number of Topis and Cops as well as a huge herd of Elephants crossing the savannah.

A short lunch preceded some time to relax in the afternoon before heading out on our second game drive. Both groups saw Antelope, Warthogs, Monkeys, Baboons, Water Buffalo, Eagles and Elephants before Jamie casually announced ‘are those Lions?!’ We circled round to follow a small pride of Lions off road and eventually came across a tree climbing Lion, relaxing on a branch.

We headed back via the river to observe a large group of Hippopotomous’s at play before cooking dinner and sleeping to the sound of the Hyenas.

Day 8 - Travelling to Ishasha

2009-07-27T09:25:00.002-07:00

A breakfast of cereal and porridge preceded the bus journey to Ishasha River Camp in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The trip down was long and dusty, but we saw Baboons shortly before hitting camp. We also managed to beep our way round a very stubborn water buffalo.

Upon reaching camp we had the problem of organising transport for the next three days and managed to persuade our drivers to stay with us for a fee of 800,000 USH. During the group briefing we were lucky enough to spot a herd of elephants just outside our camp!

The rest of the evening quiet as everyone was very tired. The night was a bit rough too due to the constant animal noises outside our tents.

Day 7 - Ruccochi Falls

2009-07-27T09:25:00.001-07:00

G’day! We started the day at 7.30am with breakfast and a short meeting, before meeting Bongoman (who we love by the way). We then met our guide Jerome and set off up the hill, it was incredibly hot and Katie returned with Mo partly up the hill due to fatigue, leaving the rest of the group to struggle on up the mountain side. It took us 4 and a half hours but was well worth the trek as the water falls was incredibly pretty and there was a real sense of achievement amongst the group. After a refreshing dip and lunch we started the HILARIOUS journey back down the ridiculously steep mountain side, the highlight of which was Harriet’s tumble, slip and slide into Dave ending with them both flat on their backs. Harriet explained that she ran with the grace of a local but we have yet to be convinced. Almost everyone at some point fell or slipped down the trail, but we eventually reached backpackers to find dinner had already been prepared by Katie and Mo (RESULT!)

After an amazing dinner we sat at the bar chatting with a ‘proper buzzing’ atmosphere before heading to bed. G’nite.

Day 6 - Acclimatisation trek 2

2009-07-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

The team woke up at 7am, greeted by the cheerful porters and a swift breakfast before heading off down the mountain. Stopping occasionally on the steep trail to listen to Bongoman (our guide) telling us about yams, kasava, monkeys and ferns, we reached Kilembe backpackers in just over 3 hours. After a quick drink at the bar, and a luch of rice and tomatoes, Jamie B and Katie were taken into Kasese to food shop, whilst the rest of the team showered and washed clothes.

After the shoppers returned and a few games of make shift rounders and Frisbee the group was taken into the village by Bongoman for a night of local African culture. We enjoyed a traditional dance show, put on by the locals accompanied by explanations of each dance by Bongoman. The show ended with the whole team showing off their dance moves much to the locals delight.
After returning to the campsite we began the slow process of cooking fresh vegetable soup before heading to bed.

Day 5 - First Trek

2009-07-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

TOday we started the first day of our acclimatisation. The first part of the trek was extremely challenging. We made it about 20 minutes up the side of the mountain before the first slip occurred. After this it was decided we would make use of the porters and just carry our day sacks. After 3 hours of hard work we happily stopped at a local school for some jam sandwiches and chocolate, which we had prepared the evening before. The mouldy crusts gave us "extra energy" to make it to the top. After an enjoyable stop, two of the group decided to try and get the children to high five each other, but made everyone laugh, because the children wouldn't play along!!

For the remainder of the hike the group were split to accommodate the different levels of fitness of the group. The first group were given a lesson in how not to ride a donkey by one of the porters, ending in the porter being violently thrown to the ground whilst the donkey passed wind!! :-) Both groups eventually made it to 2100m where we pitched tents and made camp on the side of the mountain, with magnificent views of the valleys. After a short snack and team briefing, we had time to relax and enjoy the views, before the local women made a delicious meal of potatoes, noodles, rice, cabbage and beans. After the meal everyone went to bed but not before Jamie B's sleeping bag took a roll of the side of the mountain. Luckily the porters found it and we were able to get a good nights sleep.

Today team morale seemed very high, and we all bonded a lot better!

Day 4 - Travelling to Kilembe

2009-07-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

We started the day with a brief breakfast before taking a local bus to the Kalita stop in town, where we boarded a bus for Kilembe. The bus took 7-8 hours, travelling with the boys from Norton Knatchbull. We arrived in Kasese where the boys brought cement for their project before travelling on to Kilembe Backpackers.

That night we ate rice, sweetcorn, mayo and tuna in a beautiful spot beneath the Rwenzori Moutains. We finished with showers and a team meeting in the bar.

Day 3 - Admin in Kampala

2009-07-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

After a well apprechiated lie in we prepared for an admin day. We spent morning buming around and had breakfast in the backpackers bar. A small group went and met with JOhn Hunwick. After a lot of questions and phone calls we established plans for the acclimatisation phase. After this we split off into two groups, one group shopping in Kampala for food and fuel, whilst the other half guarded the tents and relaxed on the camp. When the shopping team returned we had a review of the exped so far using a game called stop, start and continue.

Finally, we cooked some pasta using the trangias for the first time and headed to bed.

big bruv

2009-07-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

oh and sorry, forgot to say that Carly went out of BB, 5 new housemates, one of which was her boyf who is bit of flirt, one hunk(who marcus hates coz the girls esp noirin likes him and marcus still busy making fool out of himself wiv her),one homely girl,one gay guy and a hot girl. xxxJo H

:)

2009-07-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

sound like you're getting organised, well done, hope the acclimatisation trek goes well.xxx Jo Hunn

Day 2 - Admin and Shopping

2009-07-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

After a well appreciated lie in we prepared for a chilled out admin day. The morning was spent in discussion with the elusive John Hunwick, our in country agent. Groups ate breakfast while others discussed travel arrangements, embassy packs and shopping lists before sending a group of 5 into Kampala. Money was changed and food purchased whilst others guarded the tents. When both groups were reunited we had a review of the trip so far, then cooked dinner (pasta and tomato) with the trangias for the first time. So far we have seen a small troop of monkeys and preying mantis around the camp.

Tomorrow we head towards Kilembe, where we will prepare for the acclimatisation trek!
All well and having a great time, starting to 'feel like home!' (Jamie B 2009)
Verity M

Day 1 In Transit

2009-07-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

After leaving Angley at 1.15am we travelled in two minibuses to Heathrow, Challengers in one bus and bags in the other. After waiting 20 minutes at Clackett Lane services for the blue mini bus that never did break down, we arrived at Heathrow at 3am to find that check in did not open until 5 am!!! The flight to Amsterdam was over quickly and the flight to Nairobi lasted just over 7 hours, with little incident.

Most watched the films, or the Sahara Desert, with Verity getting very excited about the strawberry ice cream. The flight to Entebbe was short with good views of Kampala. We were greeted outside the airport first by hordes of mosquitoes and then by masses of taxi drivers, but eventually found our way to the pre-arranged transport. Arriving at Backpackers we pitched tents in the dark and eventually made it to bed at 3am!! zzzzzzzz

This is it!

2009-07-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

This is it guys, you're there and doing it!

Hope you get everything and more out of it that you wished for.

Sooo excited for you all. Debbie x - Katie's mum

are we there yet??

2009-07-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

Hope you guys and all the kit arrived safe and sound, and you're all ready at the start of your adventure xxxJo (jess's mum)

Enjoy!

2009-07-18T02:15:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the first blog.
Hope you get some sleep eventually. Have a wonderful time.
Love from Pip - Soph's mum. XX

Build Up Day.

2009-07-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Today was different to say the least. Kit check went well as least until we had to pack every thing back up again, but we rose to the challenge - the first of many.

The whole day was quite surreal as it is such an in between phase, it felt as if we did nothing but we covered so much.

Now it is getting late but we have to be ready soon - scary- and everyone is a little out of sorts but having a fun time.

It is 11:40 and only 50 minutes till the Dave double act arrive to pick us up, so much for catching a couple of hours sleep, every one is awake and buzzing.

That is it for now, hope to update you all again when we arrive in Kampala.

Katie and Co.

xxx

This is a test

2009-05-07T02:54:00.001-07:00

Test blog posting