Hi there, here from about May 2 2026 will be the travel blog of exploring Uganda and the fabled Ruwenzori Mountains of the Moon. Look often for updates…
…Blog late due to sub sub standard internet at first 6 day stay…
After lovely 15 hour flight to Johannesburg, a 4 hour flight to Entebbe and then a fun 1hour flight in a small plane to the western side of the country.
Uganda shares the giant famous Lake Victoria with 2 other countries , and Entebbe is on the north shore, exactly on the equator. Here be never ending waters seen from tiny plane.
The baby plane landed near the Ruwenzori Mountains, the Mountains of the Moon, covered in jungle, cloud forest and weird alpine veg all the way to 5100m !
on the way, evidence of the industrious 45 million humans was total. Every square inch used for food crops, and the trees are eucalyptus stands for building and firewood. Not one native plant or creature outside of the National Parks. What is amazing is that slopes well above 45 degrees are farmed, without even doing terracing. The humans must have one leg shorter than the other to move along these extreme slopes.
Last part of trip was by safari truck to a grand jungle lodge on the edge of the National Park, (with the cute name The BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST), at a cool altitude of 2000m. Perfect temperature day and night, and it is still wet season, so a good storm every nightish
View from verandah is very shmick, and creatures pass by to say hello. Many birds, but the great reward was seeing a family of the handsomest monkeys in Africa, the black and white colobus…
not one of my pics alas, but you get the idea of their cool handsomness… and that tail goes way longer off the picture
now the next event was unexpected. A whole tribe of vividly dressed gals arrived and danced and sang a storm till the earth shook. Quite amazing – until they proceeded to get to the point – buy our souvenirs….
Being wet season, the daily storms make the forest very very very slishy muddy slippery. Added to the unfriendly surface, the so called trails, are often clinging to steep hillsides without being cut-in to be horizontal. I died a thousand deaths, and then some more, navigating their often super steep grades. A guide confided that some of these poor excuses for trails, are so, because in parts they are just borrowed from where forest elephants shuffle along. Cute.
and finally, yes there are some insects to reward the frenzied efforts, a few dudes below – a Geometrid caterpillar in question mark pose/a seed bug/ and two cute weevils.
and lets not forget this super duper moth
Between the mud and the fear, there are glimpses of double plus good birdies. Like these Crested Cranes, which are the national symbol of Uganda.
In times gone past, Mr Haldane, a contemporary of mr Darwin, said that “God must have been inordinately fond of weevils”, as they are the most numerous species on the planet. Here however the local god must love ladybirds more, as they feature in my camera very often…
More days in the wonderfully named BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST. See the wonderfully silly ‘antler’ fly. The antlers have the eyes on the ends, and like deer, the flies fight with the antlers, bashing eye to eye.
One of the highlights today was seeing a trail of the nasty yukky “safari ants”, also called driver ants in other parts of Africa. They are always on the move, with the workers forming long trails, and the very nasty soldiers on the edges protecting them. Many years ago in Ghana I was atttacked by these evil critters.
And see the wonderfully silly Mr spine, a leaf beetle that wants more protection than the usually shiny harmless species in its Family, the Leaf Beetles, the Chrysomelidae
and one last critter tonight, a very silly bogle-eyed beetle in the Attelabidae Family, who curl leaves into a tight roll and lay their eggs inside, so the larvae is protected as they eat their way to the outside
Hold Press. Big thing happened today. Went to a local farm where they rehabilitate and pamper poor little PANGOLINS, the cutest armour plated termite and ant killing, seriously endangered mammals on the planet. They are taken out of harms way as they accidentally interact with humans, and then released deep in the forest. The super tail is prehensile and curls around branches. Sooooo cute..
And on another non insect subject. The village nearby has several of these amazing pure wooden jalopies. Apparently up to 6 kids ride at the same time, with, of course, bags of potatoes and other luggage at the front. Love the bit of old tyre break at the back. The roads here are all super hilly….
I had decided before the start of this expedition that I was too scared of the muddy horrible tilted uber-steep trails, to survive a trek to where the Mountain Gorrilas dwell. However i changed my mind last week, and got onto a trek yesterday. Hard work well rewarded. Words not got the power to describe the feeling of being not just near them, but right among them, as a few of the groups have been habituated to humans over the years since the first contact by humans like Dianne Fossey.
This group had one silverback daddy, and 3 females, one with a addorable baby !
Mr silverback daddy was sooo relaxed. He spent much time with us sleeping in cute pose,and then woke up to show what laid back really means
and lets not forget the very cool and calm mama, now and then hoisting the baby onto its back by one leg, and sauntering off a little distance before continuing eating leaves and the bark of certain bushes
After that, and the steep long trek back, had to have a cup-of-tea and a lie down. Still buzzing but.
Another day (still buzzing from gorilla day) but there be insects in this World Heritage Forest awaiting my camera for fame and fortune. A group known as Tortoise beetles, which have a shell with a see-through outer circle and often spectacular colours, be in abundance here
and lets not forget how luverly highland forest damsel flies can be…
and dig the attitude on the damsel below checking out the camera dude
Before leaving the rainy, sodden muddy mountains for the verdant but drier savanna, there is one more picture I neeed to share. Forget your rugged revolutionaries, Che Guevara- shmegevara ! My Ugandan friend below is the real deal.
Ulala. A few hours drive north from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the land is still at about 1000m altitude, but has flattened out into the classic African savanna. Here be many big and great 4 legs and winged beasties, the stuff of legends.
and those hills in the background is the border of even deeper darker Africa – the CONGO. At this end of the wet season, the savanna is at its best, still verdant and not dessicated, and the animals are spread over the whole landscape with oooaaa surprises. This is the famous Queen Elizabeth Nat Park, protected since 1950. It is particularly known for its lions, which have developed the habit of climbing trees and sleeping therein.
Day one was ridiculously fortuitous vis-a-vi what we saw on the drive around the tented camp area. The tree lion yes, but also an animal in my many visits to Africa, I had never seen before. The mighty leaopard, what spends much of its time high up in trees, perusing its large territory. It even drags whole antelope prey up that high, to have an undisturbed munch. Is this a cool dude or what …
Before sunrise a family of hefalumps went past too, but day before caught sight of a magnificent old bull with a regal stance. Dont see tusks that big everyday
The camp is on the banks of a fast flowing river, and many grassy roadlets fan from it in every direction. Safari is serious stuff. We get up before sunrise for first drive around, breakfast, next drive to lunch, and a afternoon evening drive, dinner, and then a walk in the dark to see insects. A bit of sleep. Phew !
Sunrise in the artistic landscape
Hefalumps do fabulously large and moist poopoo. And they like doing it on the roads. Even before the fabled dung beetles find them, great hordes of butterflies descend and munch with abandon. When you drive past, or when antelopes walk through, the white flutterbies soar up in such numbers it looks like snow.
and then the hard working dung beetles arrive and proceed to roll it all away, bury it and lay eggs in it. The boys do the hard work, usually going blindly backwards (to the right), and offer it to girl dungs
and if you think elefant poo is great, see how apeshit the butterflies get for elefant peepee
back to four legs. One of my fav creatures are the lovely laughing hyeans, with their super acid tum tums that dizzolve everything, no bones or nuthin is left of the carcases they feast on
and what could the carcases be of ? The savanna here has huge, multi hundred strong herds of two gazelles, and sometimes these become lion and leopard food. And hungry hyenas can bring them down directly too. First the delicate Ugandan Kob female staring at me (love the ears) , followed by the very shiny beautifully tinted skin Topi
The Nat Park has myriad birdies. Twitchers could die and go to heaven here. We stop constantly to admire them from huge storks to tiny super red finches. One of the fav birdies in Africa for me are the weaver birds. The males keep making these very clever upside down nests, and hope a female will fly in. In such luck, they mate inside, and raise a family. If females do not like his nest, he abandons it and builds a bigger better one. Below one starting the job with a ring of tough grass, and one hanging at the entrance of a finished product.
This species is known as the Village weaver as dozens of them crowd one tree, usually a Thorny Acacia. Note on the left how formidable these 5-8cm long spines are. See below with a finger for comparison. Yet this species of tree is elefant number one good tucker. Nothing fazes an elefant digestive system.
And a last word about water. My driver/guide said that this part of the Nat Park had no crocodiles. All safe and smiles. See what I photoed across the river from my riverside tent – at least 4m long. Very pretty too.
OK – second last word about water. There be many wonderful wallows in the Park, some made by elefants, some bigger swamps, and lots of animals from warthogs to buffalo loves them. See the very happy happy joy joy buffalows in their morning mud bath.
SIX-LEGS-GOOD 