Entebbe - Last Day

It was lovely to be back at 2 Friends and having been used to early starts for the last 2 weeks we decided to get up early once more and head out before breakfast in the hope of seeing the fishing catches being landed.

We did spot a few fisherman but they didn't look like they'd be returning to the shore any time soon.

So we wandered along watching the birdlife.  

Little Egret.

Open-billed Stork

Open of the many, almost tame, Marabou Storks around here.

Here's the same chap again and is still heading out.

The area where the ladies were selling the fish before was also deserted; just an old stool covered in fish scales.

Hadada Ibis

Very colourful in the early morning light.

Interestingly these ladies are carrying loads of fish and heading to the beach - maybe the catches are landed elsewhere and arrive by lorry.

The ever reliable Pied Kingfishers

I'm not entirely sure but I think these are Bronze Mannikins.

And this little cutie, posing so nicely, I think is a Blue Waxbill (I originally though Red-cheeked Cordon Blue but of course if doesn't have the red spot on its cheek - doh!)

Woodland Kingfisher.

Back at the fish area there were a few people around now and the start of a market but the feeling wasn't quite as friendly as it had been the other evening and so I was a little unsure of overtly taking pictures.

But this lady only has herself to blame - I was trying to photograph the bucket of fish and she just walked into shot.

Durian Tree

We walked the other way too, but there wasn't much to photograph.

Back to our hotel for breakfast 

I know the one on the right is a Canna but not sure about the other one.

There are several similar statues around the hotel.

Breakfast was delicious, Lilian had remembered that I liked fried yolks and Patrick wandered in for a chat.  Their driver is taking us to the airport around 1330 but we need to be out of the room by 1100 so we headed back to finish the packing and have a last sit on the balcony.  We then left the suitcases at reception, settled the bill and went across the road to the lakeside bar where we spent a lovely couple of hours watching the pied kingfishers.

This bird was a long way off and I didn't realise at the time it had a fish in its mouth.

The kingfisher then spent quite a long time (15+ minutes) beating the poor fish against the tree, apparently this is to dislodge or break protective spines and bones before they eat it.

Anhinga 

Patrick came down for another chat, he really is a lovely guy - so friendly, yet thoroughly professional.

At the appointed time the driver took us the short journey to the airport and that's when my plans went awry.  The airport is very small and not busy at all so we were through check-in, security and passport control in no time.  After the lounge problems on the way out we knew for sure that we could access the Premium Plaza lounge in Nairobi and receptionist Stephanie had gone as far as telling us not to worry it we were there more than 3 hours before our 2240 BA flight and so we were content enough to just sit around in Entebbe Airport for a couple of hours before our short Kenya Airways connecting flight.  Except that the flight was delayed and delayed so we ended up buying lounge access at Entebbe at US$45pp, the food wasn't much but there was a least wine and the staff were delightful.  To cut a very long and boring story short we arrived into Nairobi just in time to board the plane.

For lots of reasons this blog has taken over 3 months to write and I know I have forgotten many little details with the passing of time.  Overall the holiday was brilliant; Uganda is a lovely country and all the people we encountered were delightful.  But safari wise apart from the main reasons for the trip - Shoebill, Gorillas and Chimps - the rest of the animals were just too scarce and although we saw many new and beautiful birds, the search for specific species at times was a little tedious.

Murchison Falls to Entebbe

Packed and ready to leave the lodge at 0700, we headed across the park for four hours to the Kichumbanyobo Gate.  The total journey time back to 2 Friends Beach Hotel is about 7 hrs.

Heuglin's Spurfowl posing nicely in the early morning sun.

Another African Grey Hornbill, or maybe it's actually the same one as yesterday.

Crossing the Murchison River for the last time.

I can't believe this baboon could be comfortable perched on the sign.

Here you can see the type of boat we had for our river cruise, the larger double-decker.

Fork-tailed Drongo

A large troop of modern day highwaymen - baboons ready to jump on unsuspecting vehicles.

Just along the road we were fortunate to spot a group of Mantled Guereza.

They were to be the last wildlife we'd see before leaving the National Park.  From now on it's back to people, their heavy loads and whatever else I snapped through the truck window.

I don't believe this guy could actually see where he was going.

Passing through one largish town we saw this group in yellow who Gerald informed us were prisoners and the majority would have committed drug related crimes.   He said it would be OK to take photos as long as we were discreet. 

Female prisoners too.

Plastic is a problem here as it is all over the developing world.  At least in some places they are doing their best to keep the villages clean and bottle free.  I'm guessing his spoils can be sold to make a few shillings.

Back into Ankole Cattle territory.

I love the different shapes, the spotted one's horns practically touch in a perfect arch.

I really don’t know how these guys keep their motorbikes upright, the loads must be really unbalancing.

Driving through the towns north of Kampala I felt a little less comfortable with photography as we weren't experiencing the welcoming smiles and waves we had done to the west of the capital.

A dreadful photo but this stall fascinated me - all they were selling were black lacy cardigans.

Most of the houses appeared to be one or two rooms only so goodness knows how they manage to fit in  huge bed frames like these.

This large lorry's entire load was just sticks.

This makes me laugh, logic tells me there is someone else driving the motorbike - but I can't see anyone!

These chairs are just massive.

A pile of durians for sale.

Yes, we have plenty of bananas.

I wonder what's in this young lad’s sack - garbage I would guess.

Obviously I was taking the pots etc and didn’t notice the white faced, blonde haired doll in the bottom right until later.

I think these are coffee/occasional tables but they look more like coffins.

No comment!

This is of course a genuine wreck of a building but at a quick glance it almost looks like a trompe l'oeil.

We're now in the middle of Kampala and some interesting things get carried on motorbikes here too including the guy in the middle carrying his orange crash helmet aloft.

Table and 4 chairs.

Lorry wheel complete with hub which must weigh a ton.

A few shots as we sped past on the freeway down towards the airport and on to Entebbe.

Back at 2Friends Beach Hotel Ian and I were greeted like old friends (which of course we are) and shown to the same room we'd had on the first night.  The others are all leaving for the airport just before midnight and so were given "day rooms" for a few hours.  

There was a bit of confusion about dinner which to be honest left a bit of a bad taste; Olly assumed he would be paying for everyone's dinner as he had done all holiday, although the itinerary clearly said it was at our own expense.  Gerald then confirmed because we were staying the full night our meal wouldn't be covered whereas the others would.  Not a fortune, 2 pizzas and a bottle of wine so why not just pick up the tab for everyone which would be less than£20pp on a £6,000+ holiday, besides which we’d paid extra for the whole night plus breakfast anyway.  Olly was most embarrassed but we didn’t want it to spoil the last evening.

Rather than go back down to the beach bar, we opted to stay in the reception hut as the kitchen is right there and the food only gets cold being carried across the road.

After another delicious meal we kicked off the goodbyes and said our thanks to Olly and Gerald who were both very grateful for their tips (Olly certainly didn't expect one).