Another Sunday and another chance to get out and explore. One of the teacher’s from Emma’s school, David, is also keen to see as much as possible, and he has a car. Result. So he said he will drive if we do the map reading, sounds like a deal to me.
So off we set with the aim of getting out of Kampala and investigating an area we hadn’t been to before. The vague plan was to leave Kampala in an easterly direction on the Jinja Road and head out onto the peninsular that protrudes onto Lake Victoria at Gobero Bay.
The northern by pass was refreshingly quiet but we soon hit church traffic on the Jinja Road. No problem, after half an hour we headed off the main road at Mukono towards the mighty lake. It was incredible, after ten minutes we thought we were in the middle of nowhere, you wouldn’t believe we had just left the huge city of Kampala moments ago. The road turned in to an orange dirt track and the scenery was a lush verdant green. Now THIS IS AFRICA.
We weren’t entirely sure where we were going but we were heading in the general direction of the lake, well if my map reading skills were anything to write home about that is. We passed through a couple of small villages with the kids running out to wave and shout “muzungu, muzungu!” before we hit the end of the road and the shores of Lake Victoria. There were a few local boatmen here and they offered to take us across the lake to Gaba in Kampala, a mere ten minutes boat ride away. It had taken us about an hour and a half by car. We declined as the car wouldn’t really fit on a small canoe but we may come back for a boat ride on Lake Vic at some point in the future.
We were getting peckish by now so u-turned back to a resort we had spotted on the way in. As we drove down the small track to Lagoon Resort, a spot of luncheon didn’t look too promising. We were totally amazed to find a top class luxury resort. The way to get here is by boat and we had snuck in the back door. The resort is set in beautifully landscaped gardens leading down to a small beach with a jetty. The views across the lake were expansive and it was a sight to behold. The slogan of the place is “A million miles away” and you really do feel you are in a remote and extremely peaceful hideaway, yet it is only 40 minutes by boat from downtown Kampala. We got talking to the owner who seemed like a nice guy and it turns out they have 6 cottages with plans for 2 more soon. The restaurant/bar is very tastefully done in African chic and we had a nice sandwich and drink on the outdoor decking. There is also a pool and loads of birdlife in the adjacent forest. An excellent place to relax from the noise of Kampala and definitely a place for the parents or a treat for us. Think we may be back at some point.
www.ug-lagoonresort.com
After lunch we looped back via different roads and were treated to more incredible views of the lake and surrounding hills. Emma, as always on wildlife watch spotted vervet monkeys, hornbills and kingfishers. We tried to find a waterfall that was marked on our map but the road deteriorated somewhat, so we cut our losses and headed for the main road and the hustle and bustle of Kampala.
Looking at the map there appears to be loads of areas to wander around Kampala and we fully intend to visit as much as possible.
