A JINJA JAUNT

Last week was extremely busy at school. As well as all of our usual lessons, we have also  been preparing for Ugandan Independence Day next week. Each class has had to make models of, or draw images of, Crested Cranes, the Ugandan national bird.  In addition we have to learn a traditional Ugandan dance or song to perform in a parents' assembly next Friday.  


As you

I know that it looks like something out of
Dr Who, but these are actally Y5's 3D geometric
Crested Cranes drying out in mid-construction in
my store cupboard

can imagine this really played to my twin strengths of craft in the classroom and dance.  I have had a number of sleepless nights this week, especially as I made the rash decision that my class would write their own piece of performance poetry celebrating all that they love about Uganda.  We have even composed the backing track for it in Music Tech lessons.  The result has been better than I had anticipated and I am trying to convince myself that with a few more rehearsals next week Y5 will blow away the rest of the school - not that it is a competition or anything, but those of you who are teachers know what such events are like.  All I will say is that do not be hoodwinked by stereotypes - not all Africans have natural rhythm, or even any sense of rhythm at all in some cases!  I will not comment on this any further, but rest assured Independence Day at GEMS Kampala is likely to feature large in next week's blog!



In order to recover from our exertions, and to fortify ourselves for the rigours ahead, some of us members of staff decided to take ourselves off to Jinja, about 90 Km North of Kampala at the source of the Nile (in fact there are several sources and much dispute, but Jinja has a good a claim as anywhere).  It is a small unsophisticated town (albeit that it is second only in population to Kampala) that is renowned for its adventurous activities.  Jinja is the place to come for white water rafting and canoeing, quad biking and bungee jumping etc.  

The NRE campsite advertising one of its most popular
beverages - Nile Special.

Needless to say, there are plenty of places there offering accommodation and refreshment facilities - and we chose the Nile River Explorers camp, about 7Km outside of town on the banks of the Nile itself.  The first hurdle was getting away from school on Friday afternoon in good enough time to beat the madness that is the Kampala rush hour - sad to say we failed that test and it was actually closer to eight o'clock than seven o'clock when we finally arrived in the dark to find our rooms (or tents depending on how well off we were feeling).  After that it was straight down to the bar which was already filled with fifty plus multinational backpacking types intent on having a good time.  The two South African guys who were playing the music were outstanding and a good time was had by all and we fell into our beds tired, but suitably unwound and with barely a word spoken about school (one of the rules of the trip).

Debra (Y4), Maria (Y2) and Sally (Y1) unwinding
(Sally is enjoying it more than she appears to be)

Some old bloke trying to look cool with the band

The only Rasta in Jinja (a good guy but
I can't remember his name - perhaps unsurprisingly 
given the circumstances of our meeting)

The next day was spent in a variety of ways depending on the degree of unwinding that each individual had participated in the night before.  Interestingly this seemed to correspond to the age of the individual concerned, with Maria (the youngest and wildest of the crew) not surfacing until nearly lunchtime, and then only to groan and disappear for the rest of the day.  A few of the oldies, myself included decided to hire kayaks and a guide and explore the Nile and it's wildlife from the surface of the water itself.  This proved to be a fantastic way to see the birds in particular as they were not fazed by the silent canoes at all and allowed us to get very close before flying off.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

Abraham our very knowledgeable guide.  He also knew a lot about the politics of Northern
Uganda and the LRA so I have to admit to monopolising him much of the time - apologies to the others.

A young boy (8 or 9?) we came across out fishing in his canoe.

A cormorant posing for a photograph.

A bunch of cormorants, with an African darter in the background.
These have very long necks and look like a snake when the rest of them are submerged.

An egret - amazingly graceful birds.  Little egrets have beautiful bright yellow feet.

My best picture of the day - a Malachite kingfisher with its catch in its mouth.

That evening we were all back on the water (except Maria of course who waved us off from the bar as she started to warm up for another evening of partying with her local, long-suffering boyfriend Godfrey).  We decided to take a sundown cruise around the lake formed about 3 years ago by the flooding of the once spectacular Bujagali Falls, part of a controversial hydro-electric power project.  I won't get into the politics of this, which not surprisingly split public opinion very strongly.  However, whatever your views on it, it has produced one of the most amazing water habitats in the world.  So with a cold Nile Special in hand we resolutely motored out onto the water to watch the sunset.  Once again a picture speaks a thousand words.

Debra (Y4) and Sherrie (Y6) on the boat
with our South African host at the wheel

A very impressive monitor lizard just before 
he slide off into the water (he was about 2m long!

Sunset on the Nile - what else can I say.

Finally, to bring this picture-focused blog to a close I should mention one or two unrelated, but noteworthy, high and lows.

Breakfast overlooking the Nile ...

Highs:     

... with red-tailed monkeys running up and down the
roof behind me on Saturday morning. 

The fun of driving Lucy the Landcruiser in 4WD around the wet and muddy backroads from Jinja after 
a monumental downpour during the night before (if you don't like 'Lucy' then hard luck, 
you should have come up with a better name yourself, you had your chance).

Downs:

Getting badly sunburned legs whilst kayaking (my own fault - I put on my sunscreen before
deciding to unzip the legs of my trousers).  Photo taken before discovering my schoolboy error!