This article was published as a Story from the Road on The Long Riders Guild website in February 2012. (Some photographs have been changed.)
Kangaroos in Uganda
Cracking on to the South Sudanese/Ugandan border sounded so simple but 2 things bothered us – Chami stumbling all over the place (which we fixed by me walking most of the way!) and the fact that our visas had been expired for 2 months! In Sudan, you pay penalties per day for expired visas plus the cost of the visa for that time period. It should have cost us about US$1000 to leave! However, Billy had made friends with everyone at the border post during our time with Johan at the road camp, all except the immigration officer – He and Billy were at a Mexican stand- off. He wanted us to pay our fine but didn’t want to upset Billy’s new found friends. He blinked first… and the cost was 40sdg, about US$13!
The Ugandan Border Post (Bibia) is about 10km away across no-mans’ land.
Bars and houses of ill repute flourish here. Don’t worry – we didn’t stay
there! It took approximately 20 minutes to clear customs and immigration at
Bibia and that included standing in a long queue. I was shocked to see Billy
back so soon and thought something was wrong!
Immediately, the differences between the 2 countries were apparent.
Aggressive, suspicious faces were replaced by friendly, excited and most
importantly, welcoming people. There are only about 150 horses in Uganda, all
in the south. Only 2 people we met on our journey to Kampala had ever seen a
horse before and that was in 1966. Billy tells me that was long before he was
born! The schools along the road don’t have windows but large gaps between roof
and wall. As we rode past, we would see one head pop up above the wall, then a
second and third. Children would come pouring over the wall. Angry
protestations from irate teachers meant nothing as 800 children come charging
towards the horses which they must have viewed as strange magical creatures!
Can you imagine seeing a horse for the first time? It’s enough to make anyone
turn and flee, but to the horses’ credit, they took it all in their stride.
Screaming children pulled their tails and rushed up to touch them quickly
before running away again. Prefects chase and beat them with big sticks but to
no avail! This became a regular occurrence as we passed these schools every
5-10km.
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| This is a horse... |
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| A yellow school! |
Dr Tony Aliro, the district vet, and all his colleagues were very
welcoming. Our horses were considered to be fit and healthy and only needed to
be dipped and de-wormed in accordance to Ugandan Veterinary Regulations.
Unfortunately there was only cattle dip available and we found out the hard
way, that it’s not good for horses. It had to be poured along their backs from
withers to tail and it burned. We washed off what we could but the damage had
already been done. We had to wait a week for them to recover sufficiently to
carry any weight again. As with most challenges we have faced on this
expedition, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We spent the week
getting to know Dr Tony and his family (including his mother who is a keen
Arsenal supporter!), the people of Gulu and some NGO workers from England. We
tasted cane rat, smoked and cooked in peanut butter sauce, a local delicacy and
enjoyed “pork ships” – roasted pork and chips. We walked the colourful market
and spent time taking it all in. Although we always used to laugh when people
from northern Africa told us they were part of the Middle East rather than
Africa, it is completely different. For both of us, having lived in southern
Africa our whole lives, arriving in Uganda felt a little bit like coming home.
One unfortunate encounter we had in Gulu, occurred when chatting with a
young political science student at the time of change and upheaval in North
Africa. When we told him the countries we had traveled through he said,
“Tunisia is burning, Libya is burning, Egypt is burning, Sudan is burning. If
Uganda starts to burn, we are coming for you!” I’m not sure what he was
studying at university but he seemed to think that 2 people and 2 horses could
turn the world upside down!
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| Saying goodbye to the Gulu District Vets |
After leaving Gulu, we made the mistake of riding on a Sunday and so
became the pied pipers of Uganda leading a number of kids 25km along the road.
The noise level was tremendous! Cantering didn’t faze them – they merely ran
after us! When we finally stopped for the evening, children of all ages
surrounded us in excitement. A retired doctor, whose land we were staying on,
asked them to go home. They asked if he had just bought these strange creatures
and when he said no, they told him to mind his own business! 4 children were
still missing 4 days later! It seems they had been sleeping in the school
nearby waiting for us to leave so they could follow us again! Heaven knows what
they were eating. Frantic parents put out radio messages. We were asked to stay
put until these children had been found. This was beneficial to the local
polling station next door as hundreds of people came to see the horses and were
quietly taken off to vote whilst there!
The Ugandan presidential elections had just finished as we arrived in
Uganda. Various local elections were taking place as we traveled through. It’s
impressive to see how the system works and how seriously it is taken by
everyone from the poor, uneducated and illiterate to the rich and powerful.
Even the most insignificant people have a say. Local Councillors (LCs) 1 to 5
are chosen to lead villages, parishes, towns and districts. This is really
democracy from a grass roots level. However, not all voting officials found us
useful. We stopped in a village for a cup of tea during voting and were such a
distraction that we were asked to leave!
The Ugandans are a very friendly people and full of laughter… They
certainly kept us smiling with the following questions and sayings:
- Is that a camel or a donkey? No madam, it’s a horse.
Ah, a kangaroo!
- Do they eat people?
- You must be very rich – those animals cost more than
a car!
- Is it faster than a bus?
- Good morning for tomorrow! (Meaning, have a good day
tomorrow!)
- I too would like a wife skilled in the art of
fighting so she can give me one when I disturb her! (This in reply to Billy
joking that Christy beats him at arm wrestling!)
- How is your body with the environment?
- Aren’t horses desert animals?
- What is the gestation period of this animal? (This from
young kids!)
- Are horses edible? (When we explained that they are
but we chose not to eat them because of the relationship we share with them,
the Ugandans understood immediately. Their ploughing bulls are never eaten but
buried in respect of all their hard work.)
Northern Uganda is rather dry but the terrain changes as you near
Kampala. There are more hills, trees and grass. The horses enjoyed the grazing
and we fell into a routine of stopping every 3km to let them graze for half an
hour. They are now eating maize, the only grain readily available in Uganda,
but there isn’t much hay or fodder available so it was important for them to
graze as much as possible. We also alternated riding and walking every 3km to
save their backs after their nasty encounter with the cattle dip. We were
informed the rainy season would start on March 15th and sure enough,
down it came! We got more than a little wet with water seeping into our tent
and through our kit!
On the subject of water, most Ugandans in the countryside rely on hand
water pumps. Many have to walk several km to reach these pumps and then wait in
long queues for hours. This water, often brackish, tastes and smells awful.
Most of these pumps were installed by the UN and various NGOs. Although they
make life easier, I do think better water supplies could have been provided –
wells, windmills etc. Ugandans were terrorized for decades by Joseph Konyo and
his Lord’s Resistance Army, suffering unmentionable atrocities on a daily
basis. Many people lived in camps during this frightening time and are only
returning to their land now. The vast majority of these people lived their
whole lives in these camps and survived on WFP hand outs and have no idea how
to farm. All these NGOs are busy with various projects but I think they are
working at cross purposes. Teach people how to farm. Teach them how to market
their product. Use what is available in Uganda. Try to make their lives easier
for example, provide free contraception for women instead of them using local
remedies that often leave them feeling ill. I’m going to stop before I get
carried away…
Whilst having a break on the side of the road near Murchison Falls, Nali
spotted his first baboon. This really wound him up! He watched its every move!
Chami wasn’t bothered! He seemed to be more concerned with pigs. Whenever he
heard them squealing he would neigh back… I wonder what they were talking
about! At this same place we met John Hunwick, an Australian who has lived in
Uganda for 40 years! He runs the backpackers in Kampala and he invited us to
stay when we arrived there! He also organized for us to stay at the Kawanda Research
Station on our way into Kampala. This is an agricultural research station and
the hot water and comfy beds were much appreciated!
John guided us to his place through a very busy Kampala. It’s hard to
explain just how much traffic there was. There are hundreds of cars, taxis,
buses and motorbikes known as boda bodas, most of which are used as taxis with
the occasional ice cream bike complete with music! The horses were
heroes! They didn’t even blink with all the hooting, pushing and shoving. John
also organized a journalist to follow us and write a lovely article in a local
magazine. Arriving in Kampala was a completion of a goal and a real
achievement. We immediately started to plan the next stage of the journey – who
knew that would be such a long time coming!
As you all know, whilst in Kampala, Billy went and had blood tests and
was sent back to South Africa where he was diagnosed with leukemia. I am
pleased to report that his treatment is progressing well and he is doing great.
He has 2 chemotherapy treatments left to complete, some reconstructive surgery
to fix his nose, part of which he lost due to a complication during the first
chemotherapy treatment, and then we should be back on the road! Before I
followed Billy to South Africa, I met a real life saver! Katia, a serious
animal lover, with 16 of her own horses offered to look after Chami and Nali
for us which she has been doing since April 2011. When she moved house, they
moved with her. They are currently living the life of Riley on the banks of
Lake Victoria. Without Katia, her family and her many animals, we would have
been in a real fix. I have been back to visit the horses twice and had a
fantastic break each time, making new friends and enjoying life in Entebbe,
even joining in the salsa classes!
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| Our boys and their new herd in Uganda |
Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts, prayers and wishes. They
have touched us beyond words.
Christy Henchie
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