It is said that the birth of human kind was from Africa - this remotely tickled our senses the day we landed in Africa.
Kampala - the capital of Uganda and our destination for the next 10 days. Its always nice to touch base with basics - the unpolluted air, the greenery around, storks and pied crows as common company, over and above are the people. The simple very gracious Africans who have never lost their touch with their basics.
The spirit and vibrance of the people with their music and age old traditions are found everywhere - on roads, in the structure of houses, people on roads.
Soaking in the spirits of African drumbeats and simplicity of people - we headed for Jinja on the first day. Jinja happens to be the source of Nile. The source itself is mystic with water sprouting from underground and feeding the largest river in the world. We got the first visions of the vastly major fauna in Jinja itself - birds of different kinds gave us the visual treat which was overwhelming. We saw kingfishers, pelicans, storks, comorents and many more in our hour long trip in and around Lake Victoria.
The day 3 was the start of our travel to the African Safari. After a 5 hour drive from Kampala we reached Murchsion Fallls National Park. The park approx. 4000sq kms was home to a wide variety of animals like Girraffe, 4 of Africa's 'Big' - elephants, Lion, Cape Buffolo,Leopards. Keeping our fingers crossed we perched ourselves in the Paraa safari lodge in the park.
The first day was spent in the game drive from about 4 hours which opened the world of African Savanna in all its glory. In the first day itself we got treated to Elephants, Cape Buffolo, Baboons and ofcourse the Hippo. Once back in the lodge to settle for the night which itself was charming with its dim lights and sans technology(no telephones or TV), we realised that we are truly living in the wild since the lodge faces the Nile which had the Hippos and few of them frequented the Lodge scribbling the grass and very much oblivion of human presence.
In the next two days, we went for 2 more game drives encountering different kinds of birds of prey as well as the small cute ones, antelopes and Gazels, wathogs and ofcourse the mighty Lion and Lioness.
Among all of them the Hippos seized to amaze us - we constantly kept watch on our visiting friends. On the third day we were taken on a Nile Cruise which took you to the bottom of Murchison Falls. We had the pleasure of spotting the Nile Crocs which has a major star presence in Nat Geo and Animal Planet.
The whole experience and specially the Savanna itself looked like we were existing in one of the Animal Planet shows - transported to our dream land of Africa.
Back in Kampala, we realised that major parts of Africa was ecnomically controlled by Indians while the locals live a peaceful and simple life. I felt that it was good in one way that the locals were not loosing their basics by getting involved in cut throat rat race, so they were embeded in nature and spiritualism providing the mystic sense which Africa is still holding on.
I pray it holds on and beyond when the whole material world gets destroyed by 2012 - isn't it the Norstadamus prediction??!!!
