We are on our way to Lake Bunyonyi where we will spend 5 nights so everyone in the group can complete their gorilla trek. 
We stop at a campsite in Kampala on the way there and have a look around the town centre. We don’t have much time here but it appears on the surface to be a modern, bustling city with a vibrant community. It is still a third world city though and I am sure behind the snazzy restaurants and cafes there is a lot of poverty.
We leave our campsite at 5 in the morning as we have a long drive to Lake Bunyonyi. The most interesting part of our journey is that we cross the equator on our way there. There are only 10 countries in the world, where you are able to cross the equator and quite a few of them are in Africa so it is exciting to be here.
After more than 12 hours of driving we finally reach our destination. The camp site is beautiful set beside Lake Bunyonyi, one of Uganda’s most scenic places. A number of islands are scattered in the lake and locals get around using dug out canoes. In the morning the surface is like glass and the reflections amazing.
We choose a spot down by the lake and set up our tent. We will be here for awhile so we might as well get comfortable. Another room with a view for a fraction of the price you would pay at one of the fancy lodges that we passed on the way.
I will be one of the first to do my gorilla trek but I have a free day on the 3rd and join some of my fellow campers on a boat trip to visit the local Batwa pygmies.
The Batwa have been forced out of their homes in the forests where there lived a nomadic lifestyle. As in many other countries, they have not adapted to modern life and are often looked down on by most Ugandan people. As with many other aboriginal peoples, they too are considered to be lazy and just interested in smoking the pipes and getting tipsy. It is hard for the older generation who were used to a completely different lifestyle in the forest to adapt to one of farming.
While there is some debate on whether going to see them turns out to be a bit of circus, the Batwa now survive on the income generated travellers who visit them. The boat trip to their island is lovely and we get to admire the surrounding scenery and hear a little local lore.
One of the more interesting stories is about Punishment Island where local women who were pregnant before marriage were banished to die. Those who could swim were tied to a tree (bottom left) so they couldn’t swim back to shore.
Fortunately a few women survived to tell the tale. Local men who were too poor to afford a dowry for a bride (yes, men pay the dowry here!) would come and rescue one of the banished women and take them as his bride!
We reach the island and are greeted down the bottom by the local children. They escort us up the hill holding our hand all the way back to their village. The local pygmies are not as short as we expected as there has been a lot of inter marriage with other local village folk in the area.
The Batwa are obviously proud of their culture and perform a number of their local songs and dances for us and invite us to join them. Katrina is brave enough to do so!
The woman especially have very interesting and expressive faces and I have fun practicing my portrait photography!
The day after my trek I’ve decided to visit a local school with Ali, a fellow New Zealand traveller who also completed her trek on Day 1.
The Mwendo Needy Children and Orphans Project was founded by Richard Tusasibwe and Musinguzi Duncan in 2005. The school cares for over 560 needy children, many of whom are orphans.
Duncan (centre) picks us up mid morning and we travel African style on the back of his motorbike. We are not travelling far and it is lovely to see the surrounding countryside but we go up hill on a dirt road and the bike stalls at the last incline and we all end up in a heap in the dirt – fortunately no one is hurt!
We are taken around the project before being shown our classes. Ali and I have a go at teaching the kids. I introduce myself and tell them a few facts about Australia. Ali teaches them a few songs and gets them singing, “If your happy and you know it, clap your hands”!
The kids appear to know the song and take part noisily. The classes are all right next door to each other and the voices of neighbouring classes mingle with those of our kids. The noise is deafening but the kids seem used to it and don’t seem to mind. The class rooms are built of wood and the kids sit squished together on wooden benches. A new set of class rooms are under construction but funding will determine how soon these kids are able to move.
We go outside at break time to take part in a bit of exercise. I have about 10 kids clinging to me as we walk out and make a circle for PE.
Once again I have the questions about my skin colour, my hair and if I am sure I am not African! The teachers are as intrigued as the students. I chat to the head master who invites me to come here and volunteer on a more long term basis! I promise to think about it. They are looking for sponsorship of the kids here, so if you are interested, do have a look at the website.
The kids are absolutely adorable and I am really happy to have had this experience. As the day comes to an end, we wave goodbye to the kids of MWENDO and brave the bike ride back home which thankfully proves to be uneventful!
Man can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as... from a lack of bread. ~Richard Wright
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