Gone is the land of flush toilets and hot showers (except perhaps for the campsite at Eldoret, Kenya, - a haven created by a monied man permanently smoking cannabis. His campsite with its extravagant 'landscaped garden' bar which resides at the bottom of a stone tunnel and its luxury showers with cedar wood floors I believe were dreamt and created by the owner in an inspired, drug-induced state. I have been told by our truck driver, Ves, that this man has much money to play with. Anyway, back to the cold showers and holes in the ground made specifically for toileting - anyone who tells you that living like this is good for the soul...well, perhaps, they are right. Makes one appreciate the inventor of the sit down, flush toilet! Sitting is a luxury I tell you, crouching is no fun!! Camping in the bush is no fun either. Our truck, with my fellow adventurers, spent our first night camping in the bush at Lake Nakuru National Park. Pitch black, no facilities and peeing behind a mound with an audience of baboons was my introduction to overlanding in Africa. Since this first night I have wandered through Kenya and Uganda seeing many wonderful and some disturbing things. We had a long drive to Bujagali Falls near Jinja where we stayed for 3 days. I spent this time exploring the local village and one day doing voluntary work, painting buildings at a school (with a charity called Soft Power Education). This was a lot of fun and the school choir came to sing for us. I also had the chance to teach in the classroom (wearing my clothes inside out so they would not become covered in paint). I taught English (plurals) and science (food hygiene). The children thanked me for my rather haphazard teaching which was a delight. I also went to a nursery school with 120 orphans and wanted to bring them all home - I walked out of the village with several children hanging off my arms, almost one clutching each finger!! We stayed at the Nile River Explorers outside Jinja (well known for its white water rafting - a sport of which I did not partake, though many of my friends did - becoming very sunburnt as they did). Here we had spectacular showers (cold though). They were built up on three sides and the fourth side was left open facing the Nile and the falls. An outdoor shower amongst the trees on a hillside is something to behold. From here we drove to Lake Bunyoni. On our way we stopped at the Equator line in Uganda for Chai and Chapati (all very Indian for Africa). At Bunyoni we spent one very wet night. I pinched one of the plastic table cloths to get me safely back to my tent, not havng taken any waterproof clothes. We then made our way to Bwindi Impenetrable Rain Forest and Conservation Camp which was our base for walking to the gorillas. We stayed at Nkuringo campsite on Nkuringo mountain to see the Nkuringo gorilla family (in case you're wondering Nkuringo means round). There were only bush toilets (hole in floor - bad smell) and an outside bucket bath with a screen made of reeds for privacy - very basic but I enjoyed. With a group of seven I trekked into the rain forest and after a few hours walking found the family of gorillas. The trackers had gone ahead of us and radioed their whereabouts. It was a spectacular experience to come so close to these beautiful creatures. I was standing only a few feet away watching them groom each other and take a nap, with an energetic baby not allowing any of them to rest properly. Twas a very exhausting walk down the mountain, through the rain and back up the mountain again. As I went around each bend on the way back up, I thought to myself 'surely were gonna run out of mountain soon' but the mountain just kept on going - a much longer walk than I'd expected and in the pouring rain. At Bwindi we also had a group of orphans come to sing for us. I was very saddened by the experience of having these beautiful, parentless children sing for us monied westerners just so they could afford shoes. Now I am in Kampala. Today I visited the church where my parents were married, the flat in which they lived, the school where my mother taught and the company where my father worked. I am sure it has changed a great deal but I feel very priviledged to have had the chance to see these things. Well, tomorrow I go back to the wonderful campsite at Eldoret (with its great showers and amazing bar) for one night before returning to Nairobi. From here I will go the Masai Mara before heading down to Tanzania (Arusha, Dar es Salaam, and Zanzibar). I'll upload photos of gorillas, showers and the like when back in Nairobi. xx