May Day is a national holiday in Uganda, so instead of kicking our heels around the flat we decided to test Ravi, our troublesome Toyota Rav 4 with a day trip out of Kampala. We had read about a small tract of forest only 40km down the Masaka Road so thought that the ideal place to head for.
Being a bank holiday, the traffic was mercifully light as we set off on the ring road towards the Masaka Road and we were soon out of the chaos of Kampala and feasting our eyes on the colours of Uganda. Green flora and red dirt roads being the dominant overwhelming hues of this beautiful country. Last time we were on this road it was getting repaired and now most of the road is decent tarmac, so we got to Mpanga only an hour or so after leaving home. The forest reserve lies a short distance after Mpigi trading centre and a small sign on the right hand side (travelling from Kampala that is) indicates the ‘Mpanga Eco Tourism Site’. You need to head down a dirt track for a few hundred metres before forking right and entering the HQ.
There were no cars in the car park but a friendly park reserve member of staff welcomed us, took our 5,000 shilling ($2) a head entrance fee and gave us a briefing by the map board. The park is about 45km squared and is home to a variety of birdlife and small mammals. As we were being briefly briefed we watched a troop of red-tailed monkeys playing in the trees above. We were informed that there were 3 trails in the reserve, the short Butterfly Loop, the longer Baseline Trail and the Hornbill Trail. The guide reckoned the Hornbill Trail was a bit boggy and advised us to stick to the Baseline Trail. This was a shame as the Hornbill was a round trip and the Baseline a ‘go and come’.
But we took her advice and set off down the Baseline Trail which turned out to be a lovely trail, quite wide in places so you get a chance to spot the birds flying over the canopy. Even though we were not on the Hornbill Trail, the most visible birds were in fact hornbills. We spotted lots of them as well as blue turacos and a plethora of smaller birds. We also came across another 2 troops of red-tailed monkeys and they are always a pleasure to watch. The trail wasn’t very long, about 3km, not very strenuous so suitable for all. It was very peaceful in the forest with only a gang of kids collecting dead wood to encroach on the tranquillity. The trail ends at a swamp just past an big ancient fig tree, a favourite food source of our hornbill friends.
We ate a snack while watching the monkeys and birds before retracing our steps back to HQ. There is a pleasant grassy camping area at the main entrance and some huts where we ate our picnic lunch. In all we spent about 3 hours enjoying this very tranquil slice of Ugandan forest and it is well worth a day trip from Kampala. You could even camp overnight if you are self-sufficient and this would have the benefit of being there in the early morning when I’m sure the birdlife would be even more prolific. Ravi made it back to Kampala in one piece and in under an hour. Let’s hope this is the end to Ravi’s mechanical failures so that we can explore more of this amazing country which is Uganda.
