Alli's Excellent Adventures!

Nakuru National Park, Kenya, January 3, 2016

Nakuru National Park is only 188 square kilometres and due to a "mystery", the salt water lake is rising, killing trees-

And no longer the home to millions of pink flamingos. Their food - surface algae, is gone. The lesser flamingo, which is white, still comes but in limited numbers-

There are also a few Pelicans-

40 female impalas hang out with one male who will eventually get chased away by a stronger male-

Water bucks secrete a "poison" that keeps predators away-

The Cape Eland is the largest antelope in the world-

Zebras are plentiful and tame-

Young ones have brown stripes-

Zebra have never been domesticated. Our guide said they are too wild to tame.

This lizard has some cool colors-

The wijd (Dutch for wide in English) rhino is named after the shape of its lip. They also have a convex back and a longer horn. They weigh 2.5-3 tonnes, have poor eye sight but good hearing. Their skin is 5cm thick! They have no predators and can live to be 45 years old. There are only 25,000 left in the world. They are poached for their horn- it's seen as an aphrodisiac-

Finally they stood up-

Water buffalo are also plentiful. Egrets eat ticks and bugs hanging around the buffalo-

The Hoo Poe bird is one of the most colorful in Africa. The head feathers fan out-

The black rhino is VERY rare. They aren't social at all and are "browser" - eating leaves from bushes. Their back is also concave and their mouth is pointier than the wide rhino-

The Makalia Falls were rushing well. Look at those shorts! Believe it or not they are clean! However, they aren't coming home with me! How about the hair!

The landscape is very savannah like-

No lions today but looking forward to heading back to Nairobi tomorrow!

Unforgettable Uganda

I spent about 2 weeks here and enjoyed my time. The people work very hard, doing most things manually, especially farming. I saw only one team of oxen the whole time. Usually men and women work side by side, hoeing their plots.

Rent is cheap at $20/month for a 12 x 12 room which contains a bed, sofa and chair. Cooking is done outside on the covered veranda. Power costs $8/month. They seem to eat only to fill the hole, which was disappointing - rolexes being the best thing I had - it's fried egg rolled up in a chapatti. It can be augmented wth avocado, onion, tomato and cabbage etc.

Highways are mostly good except there are numerous speed bumps and rundle strips at every village and or town and there seem to be one of them every few kilometers.

The children are sooo cute. I visited a couple of orphanages and in spite of their situations, they seem happy.

The landscape is hilly and very lush. Main crops appear to be corn and sweet potatoes which are hilled everywhere. I've eaten the sweetest pineapple ever and of course tons of bananas. Avocado are gigantic and excellent. Meat (chicken) on a stick is popular at roadside stands.

JInja is an adventure capital where I did some white water rafting in class 4 and 5 rapids! I also had a warm shower everywhere I went and believe it or not, that's a bonus!

Women must hate their Afro hair because most get some kind of extensions. I decided to go African so I have long, tiny braids. I'm not liking it too much because it feels like phentex, is hot and heavy and takes hours to dry. I'm not sure how long I'll keep it.

Uganda is definitely a place to visit. It's fairly cheap, the people are great and there is lots to do. If, however, you're hoping for a "foodie" tour, you might not enjoy it so much!

Jinja, Uganda, December 29-January 1, 2016

We stopped at a "meat on a stick" spot for cook group shopping. When a vehicle arrives, the 'blue shirts' attack, running to the vehicle, trying to sell drinks, meat on a stick (usually chicken), fruit and vegetables. If I could post a video, you wouldn't believe it-

We arrived at Nile River Explorers close to Jinja and from the bar we have a fantastic view of the Nile-

We went on a booze cruise for 2 hours and Rob, Jess and Adam had a great time-

So did Mark and Poppy-

The Nile-

So I've gone African! 95%+ of all African women have extensions in their hair. Few have Afros - only the poor it seems. If you see an African with straight hair, it's extensions. They ALL have Afros.

So, I went to see Rose at the Best Lady Saloon-

The interior is decorated with posters of extensions. Anything you might imagine is available-

Not sure I did the right thing!

Before, with Rose, who by the way is now in the hospital with malaria-

And after-

Kind of crazy! It's heavy and feels like plastic but apparently it will soften up in a week or two. It took 2 women 4 hours to do it and cost $26 US. It will last 2 months or so and then I'll have 'roots' although I'll be surprised if I can stand it that long! Maybe I'll come home with it or get it removed in Cape Town. It just has to be twisted out of my own hair. I feel llike Taj!

We have had 4 nights here - yesterday was rafting on class 4 and 5 rapids - pretty sweet. We tipped twice - the first time freaked me out: the water was rushing past my face and I couldn't breathe. It was only for a few seconds but it was enough to scare me. I ended up underneath the raft and there is about a foot of air there so I was all right. That was only in a class 3 rapid! Pussy! I think I must have drowned in my last life! The second dump was on the last of 8 rapids and it's a class 5. There is a 75% chance of upsetting. Our guide grabbed me first and I watched as 3 walls of water consecutively crashed into me and pushed me under. I was more prepared so wasn't so scared. We rafted 28 km in the Nile and went through 8 rapids. It was a great day. These photos are not of me, the cd cost $50 US, but this is what it was like-

The road outside our commune is mental. Not sure how cars survive-

New Year's Eve was low key for me, just the way I like it. I was asleep by 10 pm. January 1 was a quiet day - reading and a few beer. We're off at 4 am tomorrow morning for Nakuru, Kenya!

Croc Farm, Near the Equator on Lake Victoria, December 28, 2015

The latitude at the equator truly is 0-

Tilapia and catfish mongering along the road-

Chicken for supper??

Ankole cattle-

Entering the Croc Camp, we were warned-

And-

The largest crocodile at Croc Camp weighs 500-700 kg and is 67 years old-

They have 290,000 crocs and sell them when they are 3-5 years old for their skin and meat-

This fellow must have been in a fight because he's lost some of his snout-

Their feet and skin are very interesting-

Feeding days are Monday and Thursday. They are given dead chicks that smelled horrible-

As the employee was handing me the croc, I was a bit nervous-

Then it got better-

Until I went to give him back and-

He snapped again!

I wasn't bitten but I was concerned!

We're camping on Lake Victoria-

And heading to Jinja for 4 days of water fun and relaxation!

Kabale, Uganda , December 26-27,2015

We drove from Musanze, Rwanda to Kabale, Uganda.

Lake Bunyonyi is beautiful with many terraced fields surrounding it-

The Lake Bunyonyi Orphanage is high in the hills across the lake-

Poppy, Rob, Rhod and Jess are enjoying the ride over-

There are 142 kids: 98 are true orphans and live with family in the area. 11 have no where to go so they live with Edison, the manager of the orphanage. 33 have only one parent.

It's Christmas holidays so a few kids came just to entertain us-