A HOME...OR HELL RUN?

This story is a follow up from David K's Excursion to Kibaale National park. It describes the misfortunes of he and his travel companions. We hope that you will read and enjoy this sad.. yet funny story and hope that you will pick a few lessons as regards being fully prepared for your next trip into the Wild! Enjoy!!

We started our 6-hour journey for Kampala city at 2 PM expecting to get there at about 10 pm. After barely driving 25 KMs, our rear tire got a puncture in a prime tree climbing lion territory. We had no car-jack and the spare tire was deflated! Fortunately a truck not too far from us had tire problems too. We used the truck driver’s hydraulic system to inflate our tire and borrowed his car-jack to replace the spare tire. That was when we discovered the car couldn’t start as its battery was empty! The truck driver simply started his truck and drove away shaking his head at our sheer bad luck.

Not too long after, we started flagging down vehicles. To our dismay, they are few, far in-between and those who dared stop asked us whether we had jump wires used to restart the engine. You guessed right we didn’t have any! We were eventually rescued by a well prepared motorist and got back on the road; time check 4.30 pm. We had already lost 2 hours of our day and still had to take a detoured at the Simba Safari camp to pick a journalist Edwin who had asked for a lift. He would later regret this decision.

At 6 pm, we got to Kasese, fueled up, fixed the spare tire (this would turn out to be a crucial decision), and set off for Kampala at 6.30 PM. On the way we stopped to buy fruits in a township 20Kms from Fort Portal and as fate would have it, our driver switched off the car engine. After buying the fruits the car couldn’t start! We were ONCE AGAIN, asked for jump wires. You already know our answer to that. A few moments of discussion ended with us buying the jump wires; however, motorists refused to stop and help us start the car; their excuse, “Sorry, we are in a hurry!” We eventually got a good Samaritan who helped us start the car, but no sooner had he driven away, our car started to stall again. Lucky enough, we had saved his cell phone number and asked for his assistance once again: he obliged to help for a fee, so much for Good Samaritan....; time check 10.25 pm.

We finally set off for Fort Portal at 10.35pm after losing 2 more hours and vowed not to turn the car engine off again. A quick stop over in Fort Portal to freshen up and buy snacks would have us leave for Kampala at 12 am. We got to Kampala at 3.30 am; prime time for traffic police to hassle truck drivers with faults. The police stopped us because our right head lamp was kaput and it took us the better part of the hour to negotiate our freedom.

If you think the worst was over, do you remember the tire we repaired in Kasese. Well when the traffic police finally let us go that tire gave way as if to punish us for the failed mission of frustrating our journey back home. Fortunately there was a gas station nearby from which we borrowed a car-jack from a truck driver and replaced the flat tire. At this point in time, the tire was completely damaged beyond repair.

I finally got home at 4.30 am, almost 14 hours later. It is with this that I warn you to know and take it upon yourself to check the car-road- worthiness on your next trip to the wild. See you around.

Travel to Murchison Falls in Uganda, on the River Nile

Karibuni Safariz now also provides planned trips to the Murchison Falls national park, proudly dissected by the River Nile! The park offers Game drives that start at the crack of dawn, and end at sunset. Allow yourself to get emersed in this savana paradise while seeing such animals as giraffes, buffaloes and even crocodiles. At Karibuni Safaris, we will provide a three-day and two-night itinerary:

 DAY 1.

You will be picked up from your hotel, and wisked away on a panoromic drive Northwestwards through the Luwero Triangle. You will see the Murchison falls and the Budongo Forest( a man-made forest in Uganda).

DAY 2.

A fully guided tour of Murchison Falls National Park will be provided with a tour guide ensuring you see the famous African elephant and the Rothchild's giraffe.

DAY 3.

After breakfast, you will be driven back to your hotel in Kampala.

While at the park, you could choose to live either at the Paraa Safari Lodge  or the Sambiya river lodge

For more information as regards booking and planning that trip, visit us at this sight

We hope to hear from you soon! :)

Karibuni Management.

We have cars for hire in Kampala

Karubuni Safariz now has new cars available for hire in Kampala, Uganda. The  cars range from  saloon cars, 4WD vehicles and omnibuses depending on your need. Karibuni Safaris can also outsource more vehicles for you if you are in need of a fleet of vehicles. Visit our car hire section and see our range of cars for hire in Kampala and other parts of the country.

We can also cater to individuals looks for cars for hire for weddings and other expeditions like cross-country driving. Karibuni Safariz can be contacts at this site for more information on car hire prices and information on availability.

We look forward to hearing from you. :)