A bird that does not fly will never know where the millet is
ready, goes a local saying. If you have not visited the Kyambura Gorge and
Kazinga Channel in western Uganda, you do not know how much you are
missing. Lawrence braved the six-hour
journey and long trek in the valley and gives you a feel of the memorable
adventure.
Part of the gorge through which a river flows, It is one of
the most beautiful scenes in Kyambura.
As an artist, I have always thought of a woman’s body as
God’s most beautiful creation. But that was before last month when I joined
seven tourists on a Uganda safari that turned out to be the most
exhilarating adventure at Kyambura Gorge and the Kazinga Channel.
Both are situated in the western Rift Valley of Uganda,
which stretches through Queen Elizabeth National Park. At these two spots, I
got the real feel of perfection in beauty.
We took an exhausting six-hour drive from Kampala along the
Bushenyi-Kasese highway under the scorching African sun. After that, nothing
sounded so sweet and relieving like the sound of “we’re finally here!’ as said
in the husky voice of Samuel, our driver, who also doubled as our guide. We
were 38km away from the Congo border.
One after another, we stepped out of the tour taxi setting
our feet on the rich soils of Kyambura that was densely covered by dark green
grass. Naturally, it was not long before most of us punched the air in triumph
as we were fuelled by the excitement of having arrived safe and sound.
Mysterious Kyambura Gorge
Suddenly, our attention was stolen by the roaring sound of a
waterfall. However, it was confusing to discover that even with all-round turns
of 180 degrees, our eyes could not see any falls. It then dawned on us that the
roar was coming from a river down in Kyambura Gorge.
From what I saw, I can define a gorge as a sunken forest in
a wide valley. In the particular case of Kyambura, the valley was 100 metres
deep, the reason our eyes could not sight the waterfall we were hearing.
Being the coward I am, I kept my distance from the gorge’s
elevated viewpoint which was situated on the edge of the land.
But I guess I have little regrets over this decision because
those who dared to go there seemed to develop cold feet immediately. They
deserted the place as soon as Bayer Anyesiga, the Kyambura guide who would take
us for chimpanzee tracking, appeared.
Chimp tracking is one of those activities that Uganda is
famous for and it was something I looked forward to doing.
However, the fact that Anyesiga armed himself with a panga
before the tracking began almost made me reconsider trying it out. To me, this
was a clear signal that ahead of us lay immense danger.
Luckily, 10 minutes into the tracking, I discovered that his
only reason for carrying the panga was to trim off the branches of the wild
thickets to open a path on our way into the dense forest.
That is when my speedily pounding heart normalised as I took
a deep sigh. My gaze kept dropping on every tree branch we approached because
my heart was quivering with immense anticipation.
To see the subtle primates, we calculatedly walked down the
slippery slopes into the dense tropical rainforest that covers the gorge’s
floor. Anyesiga advised us to resort to whispering if we found it impossible to
keep mute because the primates often turn violent if their peace is disturbed
with noise.
Save for the roar of Kyambura River and the tweeting of
crickets, it was absolute silence down there, probably more silent than a
grave.
When all my attention was inclined upwards, having heard the
sound of a chimp, I felt a smooth creature as cold as a snake slither up my
legs. In micro seconds, my knees began wobbling dangerously and I found myself
yelling my grandmother’s name.
In a flash, I was already three feet up the huge mahogany
tree before me, only to discover that it was a prank that Otim, another
tourist, had pulled off.
He had come up with the brilliant idea of sliding a wet shoe
lace around my legs and got the effect he was looking for.
Yes, I felt like sinking my fist into his head. In fact, I
folded my fists like I was going to knock him down, but my fists just froze in
space before I painfully chickened out because the chap was almost three times
my height and weight.
Minutes after I had composed myself, the guide pointed us to
a family of five chimps nestled in a tree branch about 180m from our track.
“That is Brutus, the leader of the chimps with his family,”
Anyesiga explained. “They are part of over 25 chimpanzees that live here.”
It should not matter, but there was something about the way
Brutus tilted his eyes sideways and flashed a smile at us that I found
fascinating.
“Brutus, together with his team, prefers living in the
corridors of the gorge in fear of being confronted by other wildlife like
leopards and lions, which live on the Savanna grassland surrounding the gorge,”
Anyesiga continued.
It soon dawned on me that there is a lot more to see in the
gorge than just chimpanzees. Such included gigantic tropical trees, beautiful
flowers, unique chains of spider webs, a variety of birds, colourful
butterflies and different species of monkeys.
Fortunately, everything about the tracking was happening so
fast. While I expected to spend hours walking and straining to see the chimps
in vain, here I was getting a better feel of the forest with every tick of the
clock.
I was also swept off my feet by the rays of sunlight that
filtered through the forest canopy. In effect, my camera clicked more than once
as it took pictures to retain memories of the visit to the unforgettable gorge.
Content with what we had witnessed, we soon found our way
out of the forest and headed for our next destination — Kazinga Channel, a
30-minute drive away.
Kazinga Channel
After a brief by our guide, whose name I might have
forgotten as soon as it was mentioned, the tour boat was ignited to flag off
our trip along Kazinga Channel to the mouth of Lake Edward.
On the map of Uganda, Kazinga Channel is that thin strip of
water that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. As the boat made its way
through the tranquil channel, I climbed up the upper deck, joining nine
tourists there to get a clearer view of the wildlife on either side of the
boat.
Birds and game
We espied a kingfisher that had successfully hunted out a
medium sized tilapia fish, which it swiftly ferried onto the nearest branch of
a whistling acacia tree by the water banks.
What a pity it was to witness the helpless fish poked
lifeless like it was its predator’s last meal for months.
Thankfully, it was not long before my spirits were fired up
again upon the sight of elephants mating in the open as some white egrets kept flying
above them. If my guess is right, they must have enjoyed every bit of the
uncensored act by the elephants.
It was also a blessing to discover that while some tourists
spend hours and hours peering in vain for game, we were fortunate to experience
lots of wildlife after another, especially along the banks as the boat sailed
on; all courtesy of the good schedule of the boat ride, which takes place at
5:00pm when most animals are relaxing by the banks as they enjoy the warmth of
the golden brown sun as it buries itself in the horizon.
Some of the game to be seen here include water bucks,
elephants, antelopes, a school of 12 hippos, crocodiles, birds and monkeys.
Like most of the bird lovers aboard, I cheered aloud as I
relished over 150 bird species of 319 in the park. However, this excitement was
soon tamed when an ugly black and white vulture flew slightly above my head and
dropped its watery droppings on my nose.
Fellow tourists could not resist laughing at me and staring
like I was another wildlife creature aboard the boat. Most annoying, some did
not hesitate to click their cameras at me.
At the end of such a fulfilling exploratory day, nothing
felt as good as devouring lunch at Simba Safari camp. We watched the calm
waters of Lake George and listened to waves gently brush the branches of the
trees surrounding the place
The icing on the cake was the different species of birds
that soon conquered these trees and put up energetic aerobic performances as
they whistled different sweet melodies that pierced my heart with the sharp end
of their vocals.
