Jools and Shane's Uganda Adventures

[Shane]

Just got off the phone with Jools discussing his upcoming visit to Uganda in May. Thought we would start a planning thread, which we will carry through after his arrival to post our adventures during his time here. Looks like we will have 10 days, so I am working a loose schedule.

What we have agreed on so far is a trip to Jinja to mix some collecting and adventure sports. In Jinja we will base out of Adrift Riverbase.

http://adrift.ug/about/accommodation/adrift-riverbase/

This gives good access to the Nile itself as well as whitewater rafting, kayaks, the Nile High bungee jump, and a great bar.

We are also looking at a trip to western Uganda towards Fort Portal http://wikitravel.org/en/Fort_Portal near the border with Congo. Maybe Queen Elizabeth Park? http://www.uwa.or.ug/queen.html

"For magnificence, for variety of form and color, for profusion of brilliant life - plant, bird, insect, reptile, beast - for the vast scale … Uganda is truly The Pearl of Africa."
Sir Winston S. Churchill. 1908




-Shane

[exasperatus2002]

That sounds like its going to be a great time! Cant wait to follow along.

[Erlend D Bertelsen]

Africa is magnificent!

I am born and raised in Tanzania. And been visiting Africa many times. For exactly one year ago I visited South-Africa, Botswana and Namibia. A lovely trip with my great friend Tom Halvorsen (some in Uk maybe know him). We collected fishes in the Okavango, shark diving in South Africa and looking for reptiles in Namibia. Very few of you understand Norwegian, but it is an article from the trip her. (At least some nice photos)

Enjoy Africa.


E

[Shane]

This gives good access to the Nile itself as well as whitewater rafting, kayaks, the Nile High bungee jump, and a great bar.

When I say great bar... as many "river junkies" hang out there, they have a kayak suspended upside down from the bar's ceiling. Folks hang upside down in the kayak while guzzling a 1/2 liter of Nile Special beer to demonstrate their skills (can't wait to see Jools do this, we must post a pic). On a really crazy (and stupid) night one might find them self invited to a midnight rafting or kayak run down the Class 5 rapids that swirl below the base camp.

For those familiar with this community Johannes "Hendri" Coetzee's wake was held in Adrift's bar a few months ago. Hendri set off from Jinja down the Nile on 17 Jan 2004 and arrived at the Mediterranean on 21 May. He was taken by a croc while kayaking in Dec 2010.

Hendri said,
"In a way all explorers are journalists. Reporting from places others can't go; speaking from experience and not fiction. Blessed with no special powers or skills. Often simply able to make the sacrifices needed to live and experience things that others can not or will not."
http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2010/ ... etzee.html

-Shane

[Jools]

Well, this will be my fourth visit to Africa, but perhaps my first one drinking like a bat.

Back to logistics, I've chosen to fly BA from Edinburgh though Heathrow to Entebbe. While I used airmiles to get the flight for less than a zebra pleco, it still made sense to use this route as BA fly a flight every hour or so between those two British capital cities. If things go wrong it gives the most options and also that I don't need to collect luggage or change terminals at Heathrow. One has to cross ones fingers to hope they don't strike! However, as Shane found out when he and family flew the same carrier and flight with a 767 all to themselves, you can get lucky with strikes. Arriving mid week also drops the cost and I fly back overnight on a Sunday.

So far not much new gear except a cool new Gorilla Torch Flare.

Maybe Shane would like to post a bit on the climate out there?

Jools

[MatsP]

So far not much new gear except a cool new Gorilla Torch Flare.

Me want a Gorilla Torch Flare!

--
Mats

[Shane]

That is one handy dandy flashlight.

Weather climate? Does not change much I am afraid given our latitude of 0.19N. This is why there are no heaters in my fishroom. Here are our next few days:
Kampala
High Low
Today 25C (77F) 19C (66F)
Monday 24C (75F) 18C (64F)
Tuesday 24C (75F) 18C (64F)
Weds 24C (75F) 18C (64F)

Jinja
Today 27C (81F) 15C (59F)

Fort Portal
next 4 days 26C (79F) 15C (59F)

Political climate has been a bit less stable. Three were killed last Sunday during riots.

http://www.alltrendsnews.info/search/uganda+riots

-Shane

[Shovelnose]

Awesome!!!!! Will be following this thread keenly . Hope you end up with some really cool fish.

[Jools]

OK, so as I pop my first anti-malaria pill, I think it's time to update with my packing list but first, here are the medications and so on.

Yellow Fever, my second as they only last 10 years. Comes with a certificate that I need to travel with to prove I've been inoculated. Upper arm. £34.50.

Anti-Malarial - Lariam - taken weekly. Newbies should start the drug a few weeks before travel so that if they start hanging out at bridges, looking longingly at razor blades or otherwise feel the onset of suicidal tendencies, then it's time to stop medication before you are in a place where there isn't an alternative. While I've made light of a very serious issue, it's important to recognise a couple of things. (a) This is all risk reduction, not risk removal and (b) once you're "in country" your options will be very limited. I've taken this brand a few times before and it's my "choice", as while it does make me feel a bit rough, but it doesn't do more than that (to me) and it's robust enough even for areas where malaria is more resistant. Thus I can take it on a chosen day about a week and a half before travel. It was around £20 for 8 weeks.

Hep A,B & C boosters, free on NHS. Injected into arm.

Polio I didn't need an update for.

Typhoid, injected into arm, free on NHS.

Rabies, injected into left arm, £18. This one is a dog, really. My arm feels dull for a couple of days and the next day I feel hungover.

I always travel with some basic bandages, plasters for small cuts, germoline and imodium for ensuring I can control diarrhoea if and when I need to. Solpadeine for pain-relief. Into that bag also goes a towel (Douglas Adams was right) and a small sponge.

Although I can get all this locally, I enjoy the trip to Edinburgh's Exotic Diseases Unit for the sheer notoriety of putting the appointment in my work calendar. You also get to meet very well travelled Doctors who have treated (or indeed been infected by) many of these maladies. You don't get that much in West Lothian.

Jools

PS Amusing (to me) youtube link added as Shane & I are both ex-skaters and listened to this kind of stuff as kids.

[RickE]

Just out of interest Jools:

Yellow Fever, my second as they only last 10 years. Comes with a certificate that I need to travel with to prove I've been inoculated

Is this a must for Uganda, or only if you have been to a yellow fever area?

Rabies, injected into left arm, £18. This one is a dog, really. My arm feels dull for a couple of days and the next day I feel hungover.

We were advised a couple of years ago not to have rabies injections. Can't quite remember the reasoning, although I think it was something to do with the inoculations don't prevent, they only buy you time. Has that changed?

Hope you don't need any of them and have a great trip.

[Jools]

Is this a must for Uganda, or only if you have been to a yellow fever area?

I believe it's a must but Shane can confirm. It was "strongly recommended" by the NHS.

We were advised a couple of years ago not to have rabies injections. Can't quite remember the reasoning, although I think it was something to do with the inoculations don't prevent, they only buy you time. Has that changed?

I'm not sure that's good advice. I understand it's a preventative vaccine.

I should have also mentioned Travel Turtle - http://www.travelturtle.co.uk/ - a useful resource.

Jools

[davidkozak]

Into that bag also goes a towel (Douglas Adams was right)

David

[Shane]

Is this a must for Uganda, or only if you have been to a yellow fever area?

Yes, yellow fever is a must for most of Africa. Many countries, like South Africa, will not even allow entry without it.

I did the rabies back when it was three shots. I think it is worth getting even if you never come to Africa. My father, many years ago in California, actually contracted rabies from, of all things, a neighbor's bull. He had to go through the series of many shots in the stomach afterward.

Thoughts on malaria and malaria drugs could fill an entire forum. It is a common cocktail conversation in these parts. I personally prefer the old colonial British preventative, drink lots of gin and tonics.

-Shane

[bigbird]

wow sounds like a great adventure. I did 5weeks Kenia and the same, wildlife and nature spectacular...will follow you during your trip on the web ? Lots of photos cheers jk

[Jools]

OK, so now technology packing list. This is the bulk of "what I bring to the party" as Shane has quite a lot of the collecting equipment locally.

Tech
Downsizing to my studio XPS laptop for this trip. Would normally ensure a backup with me, but Shane has at least a laptop and desktop for backup in and off field. I've looked at ruggedised laptops and, frankly, the good ones cost so much it's cheaper just to buy laptops you don't mind if they melt. That said, most computer use is inside. Spare power pack for laptop.

Camera
Trusty Canon EOS350D, macro, telephoto and general purpose lenses with two sets spare batteries and independent flash. Rechargeable batteries for the flash x2 + charger. These are a pain as they are heavy but need to bring lots as one set charges as the other set is in use. Limits field use to 2 days max but that should be OK for this trip. iPhone for off-the-hip use, and if bw allows, quickly share online, but the quality is not good.

Hoping Shane still has his underwater camera and, perhaps more optimistically, we will have clearwater enough to use it.

Video
HD Camcorder and iPhone for set pieces and off-the-cuff footage repetitively. iPhone also for facetime with the kids at home.

Comms
iPhone, Blackberry, and USB modem all with global roaming. I don't doubt the bandwidth will cost me more than the plane fare (probably ~£150). Hopefully able to post updates as we go, at least low bw tweets if not the ideal of more via this topic. iPhone doubles as GPS and going to try out http://trailmapping.com/ so you chaps can follow our movements as recorded via iTrail (http://sites.google.com/site/iphoneitrail/).

Associated
The most important thing of all, I need to double check with Shane that I don't need power converters and that Uganda uses 240V, 50 Hz plugs like this:

G Type plug, UK and Uganda?

I'm not stopping outside the UK, so no need for any of these things - or indeed adding to the burgeoning collection of them that I already have when I've either forgotten to buy them or brought the wrong one and have to pay top $ for them at an airport.

Jools

[Shane]

The most important thing of all, I need to double check with Shane that I don't need power converters and that Uganda uses 240V, 50 Hz plugs like this:

Power is 240v and we can support both UK three (square) and two (round) plugs. We also are running a half dozen step down transformers (to 110v) that will accept either US three or two prong plugs. Much easier than South Africa, where they use a plug type (three round prongs) not used in any other country.

It still baffles me from time to time that by the 21st Century mankind has still had not standardized electric plugs.

-Shane

[racoll]

It still baffles me from time to time that by the 21st Century mankind has still had not standardized electric plugs.

Or shoe sizes!

[Jools]

iPhone, Blackberry, and USB modem all with global roaming.

That's £8(Tesco mobile), £6(O2) and £12(O2) per mB in Uganda respectively. Ouch. Given I normally consume around 400mB per month, some usage will be curtailed!

Jools

[Jools]

I don't want to be in a battle but waiting on the edge of what I can't escape is even worse.

I really enjoy the whole experience of air travel. I enjoy the procedure, enforced offlineness, the gradual osmosis from people who look like and sound like me to those that don't and the fact that it, relatively quickly, gets you to where you are going. However I do not like the period before flight. It comes close to loathing, like changing bed linen.

I address this by writing a big list of things I still need to do while watching the second half of tonight's Champions league match. I leave the list for tomorrow and have a Cobra beer with my wife before turning in.

Tomorrow I fly to Africa.

Jools

[racoll]

Have a good one chaps. Best of luck.

Looking forward to updates...

[Shane]

Just checking in before bed. Jools arrives in Entebbe at 0745 tomorrow, so I'll depart Kampala just before 0630.
-Shane

[Jools]

Just sitting down to a cold one in London Heathrow T5. Boarding for Uganda in about an hour.


Jools

[Shane]

Jools touched down safely at 0725 and we made it back to Kampala. So far we had a big breakfast, which was immediately followed by a couple of Tusker lagers.
Reservations are set at the Nile base camp for tomorrow and we will spend the rest of the day packing up collecting kit.
-Shane

[Jools]

Arrived at Kampala HQ, connectivity is a limited as Shane has been extolling for ages! Anyway, will post what we can when we can!

Jools

[wrasse]

Jools, the pockets on that shirt are HUGE! What were you thinking?

BTW- when do you start taking fish orders...

6 synodontis robertsi please
and a herd of giraffe for the back garden.

Cheers, Richard.

[crkinney]

Looks like the catfish in that area could be wearing a bikini

[Jools]

Back at Jinja Base, a long day with many 4x4 stories but got to 1km of lake Nawanpasa in search of a pretty Haplochmid. No joy, but got beautifully lost.

Net result, one Killie,one hap and a few cool Ctenopoma. Local fishermen had Clarias and lungfish.

No ids and will work on photos tomorrow. Connectivity seriously tricky, but did record gps collection data.

Jools

[Shane]

We, and my poor Landy, are pretty beat up, but had a great time. I had some good laughs at Jools' expense... a giant leech on his ankle plus the face full of biting ants he caught this morning. Poor Jools brushed against a bush full of ants while we were hauling in the big seine and about 30 ants immediately bit into his neck. He dove under water immediately, but they had locked their pincers and had to be forcefully removed, ouch!
Today was the day of barb spp (at least three) and, finally, our first cats of the trip. Two small, 8 cm, Clarias.
Pics to follow.
-Shane

[MatsP]

Ouch, poor Jools!

Sounds like you're having a good time tho'.

--
Mats

[Shane]

Unnamed creek, GPS co-ords to follow.