Two weekends ago, Robert, Renate, and I travelled to the far southwest of Uganda to a town called Kabale. Next stop after Kabale is Rwanda and nearby is a huge cold-water lake called Lake Bunyonyi ("place of many little birds"). It is filled with islands and is set amongst green hills. We caught the Post Bus from Masaka on its way through and the journey took about six hours. The Post Bus is actually a bus that runs for the purpose of delivering mail; it just happens to take passengers as well. It stops at a lot of villages along the way but it was a pretty comfortable ride. Every time we stopped, vendors selling drinks, kebabs, snacks, and chapatis would accost the bus and shout out for us to buy their wares.
The views on the ride were pretty spectacular. Most of Uganda's southwestern region is mountainous so there were endless green hills, fields, and because we travelled up and down the mountains, some pretty amazing views.
By the time we arrived at the lake, the clouds had rolled in so we had a bit of a wet ride to the island where our resort was. We stayed at Byoona Amagara, an eco-lodge in the middle of the lake and it was really gorgeous. Most of the buildings were open-air with a focus on providing great views. We stayed the first night in a dorm and turned in shortly after dinner.
The following day, I woke up early and went to take pictures of the lake in the morning. The dawn light was gorgeous and provided some really cool reflections off the surface of the lake.
After breakfast, we hiked around the rest of the island and were led by various members of the community whose village is on the other end of the island. At the highest point on the island, there were more amazing views of the lake and the other islands inhabiting it.
After the hike, we moved into our geo-dome, which is essentially a hut with the whole front wall missing.
The rest of the time we spent socializing with the other residents and watching movies. It was a really relaxing time. The following morning we had to leave, and to return to the mainland we took a dugout canoe...which we had to paddle. It took close to an hour but was a great workout and provided nice views of the lake as well.
The trip home was long but mostly uneventful. I would definitely recommend going to Lake Bunyonyi and hope I'll have a chance to return!
The views on the ride were pretty spectacular. Most of Uganda's southwestern region is mountainous so there were endless green hills, fields, and because we travelled up and down the mountains, some pretty amazing views.
By the time we arrived at the lake, the clouds had rolled in so we had a bit of a wet ride to the island where our resort was. We stayed at Byoona Amagara, an eco-lodge in the middle of the lake and it was really gorgeous. Most of the buildings were open-air with a focus on providing great views. We stayed the first night in a dorm and turned in shortly after dinner.
 |
| Before the rain... |
 |
| View of the sunset from the open-air lounge/restaurant area |
The following day, I woke up early and went to take pictures of the lake in the morning. The dawn light was gorgeous and provided some really cool reflections off the surface of the lake.
After breakfast, we hiked around the rest of the island and were led by various members of the community whose village is on the other end of the island. At the highest point on the island, there were more amazing views of the lake and the other islands inhabiting it.
After the hike, we moved into our geo-dome, which is essentially a hut with the whole front wall missing.
The rest of the time we spent socializing with the other residents and watching movies. It was a really relaxing time. The following morning we had to leave, and to return to the mainland we took a dugout canoe...which we had to paddle. It took close to an hour but was a great workout and provided nice views of the lake as well.
The trip home was long but mostly uneventful. I would definitely recommend going to Lake Bunyonyi and hope I'll have a chance to return!
No comments:
Post a Comment