Jinja is apparently known as the adrenaline capital of East Africa. There's whitewater rafting, kayaking, bungee jumping, rock climbing, mountain biking and all sorts of similar thrills for the adventurous spirit.
I came for the bird watching. My guest house, a scenic rafting camp, is located on a tranquil dammed off section at the the headwaters of the Nile. Because of the dams, hippos and crocodiles are absent from this section of river. The gardens teem with life. There is the familiar lunatic laughter of plantain eaters, and the mocking toy trumpet calls of Haddada ibis. Troops of red-tailed and Tantalus monkeys collide through the treetops. A black kite and an ibis both have nests within twenty feet of my bedroom window. Ross's turaco, kingfishers, sunbirds, cormorants, egrets, house geckos, Goliath beetles and all kinds of creatures lurking in every corner. I filled three sketchpad pages and encountered five species that I haven't seen before without leaving camp. I like it here.
I enquired about the advertised bird watching tour, which required four people to book. The negotiation led me to book two river cruises with a cheerful local guide. One in the morning and one at sunset. I had taken a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel on a two tiered barge in Queen Elizabeth. There was some decent wildlife veiwing, but it also featured a guide who was very much on script and several pensioners who decided that I would make a good substitute guide when they couldn't hear what he just said.
This promised to be different.
My guide, Luther, led me down to the dock early this morning to find a carnival bright wooden river cruiser with a vivid orange tarp canopy and an outboard motor that loudly belched blue smoke. It was probably the least stealthy vessel available. Fortunately the local wildlife didn't seem to mind. My pilot proved to be sharp sighted and patient. Cruising slowly along the banks we were able to spot numerous openbill storks, herons, several kingfishers including the aptly monikered African giant kingfisher, Nile monitors, fish eagle, a cave full of drowsing Egyptian fruit bats, cormorants, darters, songbirds and even glimpse an African clawless otter.
Every naturalist has a mental list of animals they want to see in the wild. Some of them are obvious like orangutans or tigers. Others are more at the whims and preferences of the individual. These might not be the rarest or most unusual, but for whatever reason, to sight one of these provides a personal thrill. For a long time, one of mine has been the purple heron. My affection for the species definitely stemmed from the idea that they are thought to be the source of the Egyptian phoenix myth. They are large attractively marked herons that have for me the skulking awkward grace that makes wading birds so appealing. To find one on the shores of the Nile is an especially pleasing notion. I think we saw around seven.
Purple herons are common enough birds with nothing about them that would excite your average naturalist, but seeing them made my morning jaunt on the river much more enjoyable.
The sunset cruise had two more passengers, featured less birds, more beer and a small monsoon.
I came for the bird watching. My guest house, a scenic rafting camp, is located on a tranquil dammed off section at the the headwaters of the Nile. Because of the dams, hippos and crocodiles are absent from this section of river. The gardens teem with life. There is the familiar lunatic laughter of plantain eaters, and the mocking toy trumpet calls of Haddada ibis. Troops of red-tailed and Tantalus monkeys collide through the treetops. A black kite and an ibis both have nests within twenty feet of my bedroom window. Ross's turaco, kingfishers, sunbirds, cormorants, egrets, house geckos, Goliath beetles and all kinds of creatures lurking in every corner. I filled three sketchpad pages and encountered five species that I haven't seen before without leaving camp. I like it here.
I enquired about the advertised bird watching tour, which required four people to book. The negotiation led me to book two river cruises with a cheerful local guide. One in the morning and one at sunset. I had taken a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel on a two tiered barge in Queen Elizabeth. There was some decent wildlife veiwing, but it also featured a guide who was very much on script and several pensioners who decided that I would make a good substitute guide when they couldn't hear what he just said.
This promised to be different.
My guide, Luther, led me down to the dock early this morning to find a carnival bright wooden river cruiser with a vivid orange tarp canopy and an outboard motor that loudly belched blue smoke. It was probably the least stealthy vessel available. Fortunately the local wildlife didn't seem to mind. My pilot proved to be sharp sighted and patient. Cruising slowly along the banks we were able to spot numerous openbill storks, herons, several kingfishers including the aptly monikered African giant kingfisher, Nile monitors, fish eagle, a cave full of drowsing Egyptian fruit bats, cormorants, darters, songbirds and even glimpse an African clawless otter.
Every naturalist has a mental list of animals they want to see in the wild. Some of them are obvious like orangutans or tigers. Others are more at the whims and preferences of the individual. These might not be the rarest or most unusual, but for whatever reason, to sight one of these provides a personal thrill. For a long time, one of mine has been the purple heron. My affection for the species definitely stemmed from the idea that they are thought to be the source of the Egyptian phoenix myth. They are large attractively marked herons that have for me the skulking awkward grace that makes wading birds so appealing. To find one on the shores of the Nile is an especially pleasing notion. I think we saw around seven.
Purple herons are common enough birds with nothing about them that would excite your average naturalist, but seeing them made my morning jaunt on the river much more enjoyable.
The sunset cruise had two more passengers, featured less birds, more beer and a small monsoon.
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