EAST AFRICAN COUNTRIES TO BENEFIT FROM JOINT TOURIST VISAS!!

East African countries are bound to benefit from the joint visa project is starting in 2014.this will help Uganda Rwanda and Kenya get adopted to a joint visa which will help in facilitating the free movement of tourists and also citizens to all east African countries. This will help in increasing safaris to all east African countries.
This joint tourist visa is to help in boosting tourism in all east African countries and this is to majorly help in increasing the revenues of the tourism sector and also to ease the movement of the tourists to all the east African countries, this will help in facilitating the increase in the number of safaristo Uganda Rwanda and to Kenya.
The tourist joint visa will help in making the three countries border-less and this will help in providing an opportunity for the countries to increase tourists numbers as well as jointly diversifying the tourism products. This will help in increasing the number of safari tours to all the east African countries.
The joint visa will also help in boosting the strategy of repositioning tourism products in the region. This will help in improving the tourism sector of all the east African countries, hence helping in increasing safaris to east African countries.
The joint Visa will also help in removing the tourist barriers, which have been hindering trade among the east African countries. These restrictions, which have been affecting the movement of the tourists, will be removed and hence most tourists who come for safaris will be increased.

RIDING A BICYCLE FROM SOUH AFRICA TO UGANDA

Above, the rider camped at Red Chilly in Mbuya. He stayed in Kampala for a few days and continued his journey to Rwanda. Below, he met Keneth Kaunda when he was in Zambia. PHOTOS BY ISMAIL KEZAALA AND COURTESY PHOTO

In Summary

The bicycle adventurer. Canadian Dave Conroy gave up his job as a computer consultant and set off on the adventure of his life, cycling to different countries in the world. He has already been to 10 African countries on what he calls a “one of its kind” bicycle.

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Dave Conroy’s life story is as incredibly amazing as it is unbelievable. For four years, the 35-year-old Canadian, currently in Uganda, has ridden his bicycle around North America and Africa and is still on the move. He quit a well paying computer job, sold off his life possessions and set out on a mission to discover the world- on two wheels. How long it takes him, he has no idea. Whether he will pull it off or not, he is not sure.

A bicycle, his everything
From first impression, Conroy comes off as a perfect time manager. The appointment at Mbuya based Red Chilli Hideaway is set for 4pm. A phone call at the guest house’s gate to announce our arrival receives an instant, “I will join you in a second.” Hardly had we identified a seat for the interview, than a well built medium height man dashes out, dressed in a tight fitting red t-shirt and pair of black multi-pocketed cargo pants. Walking towards us, his pair of weighty, mountain-climber like shoes stamp the green compound.

When the photojournalist asks to have photographs taken first and then leave us to proceed with the interview, his face lights up with a contagious smile. He reaches for his bicycle, holding it with enviable warmness and murmurs, “this is my wardrobe, kitchen, girlfriend, office, bedroom, best friend and worst enemy at the same time.”

The sports bicycle, he claims, is the only one of its kind in the world. It was specially assembled for him in Britain six months before he hit the road. He will not reveal how much it cost him, but heaps praise on the machine whose rim bears 13 stickers of flags of the countries he has visited so far.
On average, the bicycle’s weight, with all the six bags he travels with combined, comes to 75 kilogrammes.
“It has some amazing features. I charge my electrical devices like the music system and phone using pedal power. The faster I pedal, the more energy it generates, so I only use petrol and diesel for the cooking stove,” he says, holding its tyres that have most recently ridden all the way from South Africa.
When we finally zero down on a comfy place for the three hour long interview, the sight of a tent draws more questions than sheer admiration.
This is his bedroom, anywhere and anytime wherever darkness dawns on him. The water proof, one metre long structure has a cozy yellow interior and air mattress.
“I need a good night’s rest otherwise I won’t ride the next day so it has got to be that cosy,” he shares, nodding his head. With a fairly good rapport established, we are now set to dig into his life.

Life of a computer nerd
Born in Canada, the last born of three children of two working class parents admits obsession with computers, calling himself, “a computer nerd.” By the age of eight, he would sit behind a computer for an average of 12 hours a day. Not playing games. And neither surfing the internet. In any case, this was in the 1980s when social media platforms like Facebook or even its founder, Mark Zuckerberg were not yet born.

Whilst other children played about, little Dave busied himself trying to learn how computers worked. Scratching his head to understand complex computer aspects like programming and networking. “My parents were okay with it because they knew where I was,” he quips. Nature however, was not okay with it. The computer without play lifestyle took a stall on him. “My life went crazy, I was not sociable, and I spent a lot of time on the screen, seeing things and yearning to learn everything about them. I could not sleep, I was not happy with life,” he says.

He started to worry about how to be successful, rich and what he was going to do with his life at 70. For a teenager, life was taking him on a rollercoaster of illusion and out of the world fantasies. Perhaps, he suggests, this had to do with his childhood environment. His sister was on special needs education following a pre-mature birth. Today, she is his role model. “The doctor said she would never sit upright. Today she has two children, a degree and is happily married. She inspires me because she didn’t let someone’s opinion determine her life.”

Describing himself as an introvert, architect of ideas, who loves adventure and doing things outside the conventional, almost structured western way of life, this single man, who shoves off the marriage question, set out to do something different with his life. First, he quit high school. A few weeks to graduation. The reason?
“I wanted to see what would happen. But on a serious note, school was too slow for me. It was not giving me the challenge I wanted in life.” That was only a step into a zillion miles of an anew life that would leave tongues wagging. Next on the agenda was to resign from a well paying computer related job that earned him consultancy stints beyond Canada.

Daring to follow his dreams
Then came the bombshell. He sold off all his possessions. From the mansion to whatever came with it, be it kitchen ware, clothes or furniture. Everything had to go. He only remained with two boxes of books and letters from friends.

“He has gone crazy. May be he wants to kill himself,” he quotes reactions to his eye-brow raising actions from family and friends. “I knew what I was doing. I told them you can express your concern, you are allowed to but just sit back and watch, wait and see and wish me well,” he told them.

It is this that amazon.com, in a review of his self published 240 page book entitled, “Tired of I.T. How I learnt to stop worrying and love the bicycle,” calls Dave’s quest to, “reprogram his mind and find inner peace.”

Conroy saw that inner peace in only one thing- the bicycle. It is at this point that the idea to discover the world and its peoples was born. For six months, he did extensive research on the internet and read self help books. About tourism, bicycles, cookery, accidents and first aid and everything he needed for a ride around the globe. The initial plan was to achieve the dream in nine months which later stretched to a year, two years, three years and now four years. He has since stopped counting.

The start of an incredible adventure
He chose July 2009 as the start of his journey. On the D-day, he didn’t sleep, thanks to intense anxiety. Much as he loved bicycles, he had taken two decades without riding one. He awoke, hurried to a restaurant for breakfast and grabbed his bicycle for a ride from Vancouver to the Gulf Islands in Canada. That was in 10 hours for a distance of 160-180km. His speed has since gone on a down ward spiral to 140km in 2010, 120km in 2011, 100km in 2012 and 80km in 2013.

Deep in the woods’ wilderness, he suffered his first set backs. First came mosquitoes and other strange insects that stung him, ripping skin and causing unstoppable bleeding. Then surviving death by a whisker when a suspected poacher shot at him twice, mistaking him for an animal. Luckily both bullets missed him.

That however, did not deter his ambition to cross to the United States, where he spent 30 days cycling across different regions of the vast North American nation. Another package of challenges awaited him in the wild with four legged creatures ranging from wild cats to beasts he had never seen attacking him. He pulls out a small knife, pushes its sharp end to his lower lip and says, “this lip is paralysed for the rest of my life. I got fellow riders in the US and we hang our bikes in trees. Mine fell and hurt me.”

SAFARI TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Hippos at Kazinga Channel. Photo by Jude Katende 

By Jude Katende

In Summary:

At the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This haven of wild life is one of the must visit places in Uganda. The most incredible thing about the park though, is the fact that each visit is a novel experience and maybe even better than the first.

Like a colleague quipped, you can never get enough of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This statement is very true. Every time you get there, there is still something new to discover. Although I had been to this place before, it was still quite refreshing to revisit what Uganda Wildlife Authority dubs as Uganda’s most popular tourist destination.

A light drizzle accosted part of the morning ahead of the wonderful safari. On that Friday morning, a group of journalists and I set off from National Theatre at 11.15am, one hour late from the originally scheduled time.

A journey of learning
Our two vans were to move together, as matter of policy from Great Lakes Safaris, our hosts. A stopover at the equator which divides the earth into the northern and southern hemisphere was made and as usually happens here, Kodak moments took centre stage. “Smile, say cheers,” and other such requests combed the air as camera flashes shone on our faces.

Noel Edroma, our guide and driver was good company as he explained several things along the way, things he had learned over the years from when he was an “intern” of sorts, like he were reading from a book about the park.
Going through its unique selling points, he said the park used to have rinderpest and tsetse flies in the past. These helped drive away many people who had started encroaching on the land. When it was sprayed and eventually rid of the “enemy”, people moved back into it but are now mostly live on its fringes.

At the haven of nature
We arrived some minutes past 7pm, exhausted. After we were allocated double and triple rooms, dinner and sleep occupied our minds most ahead of Saturday’s game drive. On Saturday, we woke up for a 6am breakfast and Edroma spread out the itinerary.

“The park has about 2,500 elephants. Males have rounded foreheads,” he explained. The park has a network of many game tracks which end at the Kasenyi fishing village. As Edroma had intimated, we saw elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, the Uganda Kob and herds of Buffaloes.
Kobs make sharp sounds to alert each other of potential danger in case they see strange faces or a lion in vicinity, such sounds were made when our vans inched forward. When mating is a whole different game.

However, our highlight was when we quietly watched lions at their mating ground. With the aid of binoculars, we saw about four lying down quietly around a rock. Not far from them were the Kobs, also at their mating ground, north east of Mweya. “Males have their own territories they keep from fellow males,” says our guide.

He added that females search for strong males to mate with preferably those with better genes. Uganda Kobs prefer flat areas because they can then easily see the lions from a distance. We saw a female Kob trying to win the hearts of some males but by the time we left she had been unsuccessful. Edroma told us that unlike humans, the female Kobs search for their mating partner.

They swing their tiny tails as a sign that they are ready and available. Although the males sniff at the tails when wooed, it is the females to make their pick, a tumultuous task, so we learned with first-hand experience. We don’t know if our presence and prying cameras made life hell for the animals, but we let them have their peace and off we continued to Kasenyi.

The Kasenyi community
At Kasenyi crater where Lake Bunyampaka lies, Edroma told us, plots (portions containing salt in the lake) are demarcated and sold the way land is sold. In the Kasenyi community, we saw how life entirely depends on fish. Most people here say they do not benefit from the animals and that the animals sometimes encroach on their land. Life is slow and residents have many children. Most houses are made of mud and wattle and people spend time conversing as they wait for the fishermen.

At Kyambura Gorge, Bernard Ejadu, another guide told us that the 100 metres deep place has five primate species. It comprises the gorge, Kyambura River and Kyambura Forest. I was lucky to have visited this gorge sometime back, unlike my colleagues because it wasn’t on the itinerary. Seeing that this large expanse is also within Queen Elisabeth National Park, it tells you how big this park is. Touring it in two days may seem quite hectic, but you won’t have seen everything.

Cruising along Kazinga Channel
The following day we set off at Kazinga Channel at 3pm. Edna Pukwatsibwe, our guide, took us through the history of the place as we sailed on the waters. It is then that I remembered she was the same guide some years back when I visited the park no wonder she knew the channel like the back of her hand.

Edna says the channel is within the Albertine Rift Valley. The natural channel is eight metres deep and stretches 40km long. It is home to 95 mammal species and 612 bird species. Hippos, which live for 45 years, can kill but donot eat people. Hippos stay in groups called schools. A school has 40 members usually with one dominant male.

Elephants have a 80-100 year life span, we learned. Edna said an elephant has a sharp memory. It can take revenge if you encounter it again, years after doing something bad to it. Along the channel, there are plenty of fauna to see.
There were lots of bird species such as Egyptian geese, the yellow billed stork and white pelicans as well as hippos swimming side by side with buffaloes. Elephants and crocodiles were also a good sight attraction. The two hour journey includes a point where Lakes Edward and George “meet.”

At 5pm, true to the guide’s word, we were back at the shore with our vans waiting for us. Departure on Sunday morning at 7.50a.m made us yearn to reach our respective homes.
Viewing lions on our way back made the whole trip worthwhile. Several tourists’ cars inched close to the animals who felt agitated seeing cameras flashing away and disrupting their seemingly peaceful and quiet evening.

Celebrating Bukusu tradition at the cultural Festival

A group of kadodi dances performing at a cultural event.


In Summary

A community separated by history and physical location comes to together to share the beauty of its cultural wealth.

It was pomp and colour when the Bamasaaba in Kenya welcomed their leader, Omukuka Wilson Weyasa Wamimbi on December 30, 2011 at the Bungoma Cultural Centre. Leaders from the Bukusu community led by the minister for Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetangula, were at hand to welcome him on his arrival from Uganda.

Accompanying the Omukuka we inzu ye bamasaaba, head of the house of bamasaaba), who reigns over six million subjects in Kenya and Uganda were several cabinet ministers, cultural leaders and traditional dancers from Uganda.

In attendance were politicians, Bifwoli Wakoli, an assistant minister, and MP for Bumula, Musikari Kombo, a nominated MP, and Alfred Khang’ati, MP for Kanduyi.

Wilson Wamimbi, a former Uganda High Commissioner to Canada, was installed as “Muyinga” (an equivalent of king) of the Bamasaaba in December 2010. He took over from Omukuka Yonasa Mungoma who had been at the helm of inzu ya Masaaba ( house of Masaaba) from 1962. Before then, each of the 26 Bamasaaba clans in Uganda and over 200 in Kenya had its own leader. Wamimbi was elected by the clan elders to serve a non-renewable term of five years.

The now annual Bukusu Cultural Festival held at the newly commissioned Bungoma Cultural Centre was the second, the first one was held at Kanduyi stadium in December 2010.

The aim of these festivities, says Florence Nabwala, the Bungoma District cultural officer, is to preserve the rich Bukusu culture which has significantly been permeated by foreign cultural imperialism. She thanked the Bungoma County Council for donating more than seven acres of land for the construction of the cultural centre and Nzoia sugar factory for partly funding its construction. The centre cost Kshs5m(about Shs137.9b) to build.


Speaking at the same function, Dominic Wetangula, the chairman of Bukusu Council of Elders, said the unity among Bagisu of Uganda and Babukusu of Kenya would help to solidify socio-economic and political relations between the two communities ahead of the proposed East African Community federation.

In his book, An outline history of the Babukusu, F. Makila says, Mubukusu, the forefather of Babukusu, and Mugisu, the patriarch of bagisu, were both sons of Masaaba. Disagreements between the two sons resulted in Mubukusu leading the proto-bukusu across river Malaba (Lwakhakha) into Kenya.

Wetangula’s side of the Bamasaaba history
However, Wetangula argues that Mubukusu and Masaaba were both sons of Mundu and that babukusu are therefore not bamasaaba. John Osogo in his book, A History of the Baluhya , tresses Bukusu and Bagisu genealogy to Wele, a god or first ancestor and father of Sela and Mwambu her brother. Sela and Mwambu bore two children, Malaba and her brother Mugonma, ancestors of present-day Bukusu and Ugandan Bagisu respectively.

Dr Vincent Simiyu of the History department, University of Nairobi, says estimates using various chronological methods show that the separation of the Bukusu and Bagisu occurred in the 12th and 13th centuries. Some Bukusu populations are today still found in Yembe and Cheptui divisions of Mbale district and also in Bugisu and Sabiny (Sebei) districts in Uganda.

Bagisu and Babukusu speak dialects of Lumasaaba and live astride Mt Masaaba which European colonialists renamed Mt Elgon after the local inhabitants of the area, the El-kony. Bifwoli Wakoli’s clan, Bayemba like many other Bukusu clans is found in Uganda. Interestingly, one of his brothers is named Mugisu, after the Bagisu ancestor, Mugisu.

During the festival held at Sang’alo village, the visitors from Uganda spoke in Lugisu which their hosts, Babukusu understand very well. Omukuka Weyasa urged closer ties between the Bamasaaba through sports and joint cultural events. He invited babukusu to attend the Bamasaaba cultural day to be held in August which will mark the beginning of the circumcision ceremony, imbalu among the Bagisu.

The crowd was entertained by Kadodi dancers from Uganda and Tindikiti and Namatete bands from Bungoma. Unlike their counterparts from Uganda, Bukusu musicians regrettably wore modern European suits instead of traditional attire. The dress code was not consistent with the music.

The Dini ya Msambwa adherents mesmerised the crowd with their singing and drumming. However, none of the speakers at Sang`alo explained to the crowd the origins and philosophy of this religious outfit. Conspicuously absent during the function were professional historians and anthropologists from Bungoma County.

In an attempt to explain the ancestral ties between Babukusu and Bagisu, Kombo amused many when he called the host community the Kitosh a derogatory term used by colonialists to refer to Babukusu. “It is significant that professionals are involved in the planning and execution of cultural events so as to enable participants to benefit from their key note speeches,” avers Prof Simiyu Wandibba, a seasoned anthropologist who has published widely on Bukusu culture.

We have now tailor trips and tours to Uganda for groups, schools, families and individuals

We have now tailor trips and tours to Uganda for groups, schools, families and individuals who want to go out to Africa, see the people, the culture , the music , the wild life but also be useful and help out at various projects.

There are various projects for you to work with while in Uganda including:
Animal care and Conservation projects involve hands on work with a range of wild and domestic animals African animals in Zoos, animal sanctuaries, and Safari parks. There are also Land restoration and conservation projects where you can help out with term conservation initiatives in Uganda

Community based volunteering including building projects, health care and professional roles.
Join a variety of local building projects in rural remote and poor villages in Uganda, no prior knowledge or specific skills are required for this kind of work, just willingness to have a go. You will work with very friendly people in some of the most beautiful locations in the country, working with a small charities and projects.
There are also opportunities for those with professional skills like teacher, Doctors, nurses, social workers, Knitting and crafts,conservation and environment and so on

Volunteer in child care, care homes, orphanages and other children related projects in Uganda.
This is a unique opportunity to play a life-changing role in the lives of some of Uganda’s most under privileged children. No previous experience is needed here as well, just an abundance of enthusiasm and a desire to make a difference even if just for a short time.

Teaching volunteering work projects in Uganda , including teaching English, Music and drama, art and other subjects at primary and secondary school level.Education is very important to Ugandan young people and those who can be educated to Secondary level will have much better opportunities in life.All lessons are taught in English which makes it easier for our visiting teacher. For people who do not have formal teaching qualification, there are opportunities for you to work as an assistant in a class with local teachers.

Tailor made school expedition, tours and field trips to Uganda with a focus on student development through training, planning, challenge and cultural immersion. School tours and trips are mostly done during the summer holidays for school groups. The School teams are given chance to take part in community projects, volunteering, adventure & cultural activities in a range of exciting and challenging locations in Uganda.

Have a look here on our website if you want to organize a trip for your school, youth group, Church group, family or just want to go out as an individual. get in touch now or check Rafiki Adventures

Delights of a coastal paradise

Swimming in the Indian Ocean is very exciting.

If you want to escape the madding crowds in the capital the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page, I can proudly tell you that reading pages on my four-day leisure trip to coastal Mombasa was memorable.

With seven journalist friends, Michael, Nisha, Hillary, Andrew, Barbra, Robert, Moses and our host, Regina from Air Uganda, we set out to kick the white sands in the coastal town.

Forget your favourite resorts, beaches in Mombasa have the white sands and the experience comes in full measure.

Our first stop was at Hemingsway Resort where the language of hospitality starts at the welcome lounge with a glass of fresh juice and cinnamon-scented face towels to cool us of the effects of the approximately 90-minute direct flight on the wings of East Africa.

There is a bit of a stretch from the airport to Hemingsway, but the little fatigue will all vanish once you drive into this resort of tropical splendour. “We need to check out the beaches, guys,” Hillary, visibly excited, beckoned us.

“Let’s check in first and then we’ll have all the time to experience the resort,” Regina calmly suggested. The hotel staff checked us in and led us to our hotel rooms that directly face the sparkling blue self-imposing Indian Ocean. Well, our trip came a week earlier to Christmas Day, and the festive cheer was in the air with the coastal stretch crowded with tourists from all over the world who chose to take a break from life’s routine to relax all day and experience the coast’s grandeur.
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Bumping into white old wealthy couples, as well as middle age Kenyan couples with their young families is common place here. Nicholas, our tour guide told me that there are many hotels and every resort will have to put their best foot forward.

We split our short holiday between the south coast and north coast, and thinking that Hemingsway was Mombasa’s beauty, was for a moment. On our second day, we crossed to the north coast and Leopard Beach Hotel and Spa proved its worth as a beauty in greenery along the coastal Diani beach on the northern coast.

“Tycoons and International dignitaries come to enjoy their holidays here,” the hotel’s management told us as we toured Serena Breach Hotel and Spa after a sumptuous lunch.

The hotel opens up to lovely traditional Swahili architecture and designs and décor of heavy wood, sukkah embroidering on the ceilings and lanterns along the walkways. When we visited, the hotel was fully booked and further on in the compound, the presence of tourists was heavy, all the way to the lawns that are dotted with palm trees. The palm garden overlooks the coastline where white tourists bask in shades, taking portions of the sun as they chat, read novels or simply take an afternoon siesta along the sandy pristine beaches.

The beach boys who partly provide tour guide services, are in business too, enjoying the company of the white ladies. It is a generally happy mood and you would want to have this experience forever in this home to some of the world’s best beaches.

And what is more, nightlife is also an experience on its own in the south coast. At Hemingsway Resort, we were entertained by Vivian & the Jazzy Souls that musically took us places and to different times, from Aretha Franklin to sounds of the Beatles, Regina Belle, Michael Bolton and back home to Juliana Kanyomozi’s duet with Burundian star Kidumu, Haturudi Nyuma.

Although its Christmas Day today, 2012 is not far into the future, you can start saving for a trip down to the coast for your chance to sample wonderful beaches, Swahili cuisine and culture.

If you go
Fights
Air Uganda flies direct to Mombasa three times a week.
Cost of flight is Us $400
Accommodation
At Hemingsway Resort Ksh13,000 ( Shs300, 000) for Sea View Superior Singles,Ksh20,000 ( Shs540,000) for Sea View Superior Twin/double and Sea View Executive Suite of one and two bedrooms for Ksh42,000 (Shs1.1m) and Ksh68,000 (Shs1.8 million ) respectively. These rates apply for East African residents.

Burundi the country with Rich culture

Drummers are a must see when you are in Burundi. They reflect the rich culture.

In Summary

The civil war may have set Burundi back by some years, however, today things are looking up in the country. Even if you are like to face language barrier, a visit to the capital will leave you impressed, especially by the rich fruit basket and cuisine.

Wedged between Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda, Burundi occupies a high plateau divided by several deep valleys and its road from Rwanda meanders round, very steep, with beautiful scenery.
Coffee plantations welcome a visitor to Burundi and in the outskirts of the city; you will see women carrying hoes, babies on their backs – probably evidence that people are hardworking.

The phrase I can use to best describe Bujumbura and its people is “there is an information gap” and it’s evident when even a cab driver fails to know places one could think obvious like the parliament, big hotels and shopping centres like supermarkets. Other people in town don’t even know there is a big conference in their town. “Some of them don’t just care,” says Edward Ndavuze, a cab driver, speaking in his local Kirundi dialect. Ndavuze spent a few years in Uganda as a little boy, so he speaks some English.

Information gap, language barrier and the French man’s bug still eats up the Barundi, in almost all aspects- and they will probably take more years to learn the language of East Africans- English.

Whoever you meet is speaking Kiswahili, French, complicated Kirundi and some speak Congolese- this is a trying time for a Ugandan visitor. “What do you expect of a people that have known nothing but wars?” a colleague asked me.
The war that finally ended in May 2008 had claimed close to 300,000 people. In August 2005, former Hutu rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president by parliament. The peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected leader seemed to indicate that Burundi’s 12-year civil war was truly at an end- and indeed it had come to the real end.

President Nkurunziza says Burundi has transformed from “a relatively isolated country, which was associated mainly with internal civil unrest, to a land- linked country with a vibrant economy, improved infrastructure, and a stable socio-political system.”

“Our ability and capacity to accommodate, not only international conferences, but also to attract increasing incidence on foreign direct investments, are clear positive indications of the tangible benefits of regional integration,” President Nkuruzinza said.

Many Ugandans who have visited Bujumbura for long have testimony to the growth of the small city. “When we first started coming here for parliamentary sessions, we would all maneuver to fit in the single hotel that was around those years, but a few years down the road, the capital is booming with hotels and even more are coming up,” says Bernard Mulengani, a Ugandan East African Legislative Assembly(EALA) member.

Roads in the capital are wide, and well made. I am told that all the new developments and infrastructure seen in the capital have been built in less than five years. I didn’t see potholes, I didn’t see any dirty streets expect in the central market.

“A lot of developments that I can’t count have happened in a flash of an eye. The East African community has been the best thing that can ever happen to the country and I’m sure they can never regret joining the community,” says Mike Ssebalu, also a Ugandan EALA member.

The central market closes at 4pm Burundi time, no lunch is available in any hotel or restaurant because the Barundi leave their work places, go home and eat from their traditional cuisine, then take a siesta. The restaurants only operate in the evenings and with the slow reception and service, patience is what a visitor should carry when they go to Bujumbura.

However, on the plus, all the hotels in the city have free internet connections, so even as you wait for that food order which if you are lucky will take not hours; you can make yourself comfortable with internet. And finally when the food comes, it will assure you that Bujumbura is a city of fruits, each type of food will come with fresh fruits in plenty.

Together with their neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi became a full EAC member in July 2007 and thanks to the membership, Burundi which had almost died, has resurrected. “Potholes were the order of the day, the whole town was dirty and there were hardly any cars on the streets. I can now see traffic jam, the speed of development is terrific,” Eriya Kategaya, First Deputy Premier reminisces of the old days in Bujumbura.

Burundi’s economy is estimated to be $2bn. The country has two distinct ethnic groups: the Hutu and the Tutsi. While these cultures have coexisted for centuries and now share a common language and many cultural elements, they remain separate in terms of group identification.

Notwithstanding the language barrier that a first time visitor with no knowledge of French and good Kiswahili will face, Burundi is a place to visit because it has interesting sites.
by Rafiki Adventures

Family tour with Rafiki Adventures

A tour in Uganda with children will be a memorable experience for the whole family. Rafiki Adventures designed a great trip whereby you pass all the "must see" of Uganda. What makes this trip special is that we shortened the travel distances compared to our general tours and where possible we included accommodation with a swimming pool.

Note: Chimpanzee tracking is only allowed for persons from 12 years and older. We don't visit Bwindi in this tour because gorilla tracking is only allowed for persons from 16 years and older. For this reason we go to see the chimpanzees at Ngamba island and Chimpanzee permits in Kibale Forest are optional.

Program

Day 1: Pick up from Entebbe Airport.
Day 2: Monkeys and birds in the Botanical Garden. Chimpanzees at Ngamba Island.
Day 3: A safari walk to the rhinos. To Murchison Falls National Park.
Day 4: A morning game drive and an afternoon boat safari in the park.
Day 5: A morning game drive. Transfer to Hoima.
Day 6: To Kibale Forest National Park: "A world of monkeys!!"
Day 7: Chimpanzee tracking and walk through Bigodi Swamp (monkeys & birds).
Day 8: Relaxing and game drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 9: A morning game drive and an afternoon boat safari in the park.
Day 10: To Lake Bunyonyi + relaxing on one of the island.
Day 11: A whole day relaxing on the island.
Day 12: To Masaka.
Day 13: Visit the equator. To Kampala.

Rates

We can't give you a fixed price for this trip because all accommodations and activities have different prices and discount for children of different age groups. As well the amount of adults and children will change the price. Please ask for an offer.

Accommodation

Mainly luxurious lodges plus a few middle class lodges/hotels.
Meal plan

During this trip your have 2 nights accommodation based on 'bed only', 1 night on Half Board and 17 nights on Full Board.
Inclusions / Exclusions

Inclusions:
Transport in a 4wd mini bus with pop-up roof for excellent safari viewing.
English speaking driver/guide.
All fuel.
Accommodation based on Full Board (6 nights) in Paraa Lodge (Murchison Falls), Primate Lodge (Kibale Forest N.P) and Mweya Lodge (Queen Elizabeth N.P.), based on Bed & Breakfast in Entebbe, Hoima and Masaka (4 nights) and based on 'bed only' in Lake Bunyonyi (2 nights);
Entrance fees for Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Murchison Falls N.P., Kibale Forest N.P. and Queen Elizabeth N.P.
Ferry Murchison Falls N.P. (3 days).
Hike to the Top of the Falls (Murchison Falls N.P.).
All game drives as mentioned in the program in Murchison Falls N.P. and Queen Elizabeth N.P.
Two boat safaris (Murchison Falls N.P. and Queen Elizabeth N.P.).
Ranger fees (Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Murchison Falls N.P., Queen Elizabeth N.P.).
Exclusions
International air fares, entry visas (Visa Uganda is 50 US$).
Airport transfers before and after the trip (though this can be arranged at an additional cost, please enquire on booking).
Personal (medical/travel) insurance.
Tips and gratuities to your driver/guide, porters, hotel/camp staff etc.
All expenses of a personal nature (e.g. drinks, laundry, souvenirs etc.)
Optional activities (Swamp walk Bigodi).
All activities not mentioned in the program.
Chimpanzee permit (for all who are 12 years of age or above).

Meal plan

During this trips your have 2 nights accommodation based on 'bed only', 2 nights on Bed & Breakfast, 2 nights on Half Board and 6 nights on Full Board.