Chessells in Africa:

Well our adventure is almost over!. We are in Dubai tonight with an early pickup in the morning to be home Wednesday morning.
What an amazing time we have had!  So sad to leave family but excited to be coming home and connecting with family & friends.
Yesterday we drove to Kampala from Jinja--you really have to experience this city to understand it. The crowds of people walking, riding, meandering all over the street together with cows and goats,the smells and sounds of people, motor bikes, trucks, taxis, the chaotic traffic where anything goes-no road rules here first in or biggest wins. I can't tell you how many near misses we saw.
All in all we were delighted to reach our destination after 3 hours which is a real oasis in the middle of the chaos.
I forgot to mention the police checks along the way. Any car can be stopped and inspected any number of times. At the shopping centre we had to get out of the car at the entrance to the car park and be scanned by a metal detector.  Security is everywhere! Men with guns are everywhere!  Going to the airport this morning took us an extra hour just to get through the security which begins on the road into the airport-more traffic jams. We are about to crash into bed now.
See you soon!

Chessells in Africa:

Packing our bags once again for a 9am start in the morning. We have a 3 hour taxi ride to Kampala where we will spend our last night with the family.  Crying as I write this!
Today we visited Care 4 Kids and met up with all the beautiful people that Janina talks about--a very impressive facility for 65 children.  The staff are lovely and the children delightful. Met the Pooles at Surgios pool for a play before lunch. Late afternoon we were invited upstairs to Surge & Denine's home for coffee and cake. Jas had helped their 2 daughters to make a delicious chocolate cake.  On chatting with Denine I discovered that she had worked with Katie ('Kisses for Kate' fame). Denine manages a home for abandoned babies.
We topped our Jinja experience with Pizza and Mango Smoothies at a restaurant in town.  The whole meal cost us about 60,000 shillings.  It is hard getting one's mind around the money here as everything is in thousands.

Chessells in Africa:

25th oct

It was decided that we should cross Lake Victoria today and visit the Kingfisher Resort where their is a swimming pool and playground so Linda called Joel our Banana Boat skipper and he picked us up down by the lake.  To get to his boat we have to walk through a little fishing village right on the lake,  It is fascinating to see the conditions people are prepared to live in.  Joel decided that we should tour around the fish farm on the other side of the lake before going to the resort.  We were so glad he did as we saw so much bird life it was great.
At the resort we enjoyed several hours in the pool, some lunch and a restful day.  As we were finishing our swim a school group of African children arrived for a swim.  They were fairly young children.  The dropped their bags and just ran to the baby pool & jumped in.  It was like a washing machine the water swirling so much.  The teacher said these were privileged chn to be allowed this activity.
Soon after we headed back across the lake. At the fishing village we arrived in time to see the catch of the day - several huge Nile Perch just dumped on the ground from where they were sold.  This afternoon is a little cooler so the children aree out playing & Linda is cooking a curry for dinner.
Tomorrow we are heading to the Care for Kids orphanage that Janina is involved with.

So many birds on the Lake

Kingfisher Resort

Local school children in for a swim

Chessells in Africa

Life gets slower and slower for us. Today was hot!  Linda and I wandered into town(15mins walk) for a coffee.  Very enjoyable!  The rest of the family played a few games before heading off to the pool where Linda & I joined them on our return,
This afternoon we slept, read, played computer games and hung around and then Linda & Graham went out for dinner while the children.nanny & Poppy had dinner together.  Children all in bed now and I won't be far behind them.

Chessells in Africa:

We all had a bit of a sleep in this morning!
After brekky Linda & Graham went into town for more shopping & the children went for a swim.  Keith also went in for a swim while I watched. After lunch we had a lazy afternoon and at 4:30pm wandered down the road to a little fishing village on the banks of Lake Victoria where we were met by Joel for our Banana boat cruise. We watched fishermen casting their nets with great skill. The bird life along the Nile is incredible.  Birds of all sizes live & fish on the river.
We also went to the disputed source of the Nile=a tourist attraction in the middle of the river.  I guess tourists will believe almost anything they are told.  We were hoping to see a beautiful sunset as the afternoon was very sunny. However the sky became overcast so the sunset was lost but we really enjoyed our cruise along the river till after dark. As the sun sets the fishing boats take to the river with their lanterns. Apparently the lanterns attract the insects which in turn attract the fish and make a great sight with all the lanterns bobbing on the water.  Tired children by the time we walked back up the hill to the guest house.  All in bed now!  I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

what a treat! Icecream! Blessing from a kind Australian friend.

Dinner together.

What more could kids want?

Chessells in Africa:

21-22nd Oct

Paara lodge in Uganda was great with wonderful buffet meals so we could all eat what we liked. An amazing array of food much to the children’s delight.  Unfortunately our last day there Linda & Keith were feeling a little seedy.  The Murchison falls are magnificent both from the bottom & the top and then to top it off we were able to fly over them as we left.  Our wonderful pilot, Dallas, kindly gave us that experience.  It is so great flying with MAF as the pilot prays before every flight.                  After an hours flight we touched down at Jinja airport where we were met by taxi to take us to our accommodation which is fantastic.  Linda’s delight was to have a washing machine. I think she has done 2 loads already—a real luxury as all washing in Yei is done by hand.  Tonight we had Pizza for dinner @ Surgios Pizzaria, also owned by the guy who owns where we are staying.  Jinja is one of the larger cities in Uganda situated on Lake Victoria.  As we wandered home tonight we could see the lights of all the fishing boats on the lake-a very pretty sight.  It is a little cooler here so we look forward to a good night sleep under our mossy nets.                                                                                  We have been waiting for the internet connection to work.  Today, Tues, we walked into Jinja town and did some shopping.  So many little tiny shops packed to the rafters with crafts.  When we had had enough we stopped at a café for a cold drink.  Would you believe it the shop was owned by an Aussie from Tassie.  Linda had met her last time she was in Jinja so we had a great chat. Sue's experiences in Uganda are something to hear.  She came here to help with church work and several years and jobs later she is running the café. Sue would be about my age.  Afterwards we caught bodas back to the guesthouse--a neat way to move about.  We are getting better at riding without holding on and holding our purchases.  One needs to be careful not to be ripped off by the drivers especially if you are white and a tourist.  This afternoon we will probably have a rest(Keith is asleep already.)   The boys are out playing(there is a sandpit here and the young son of Surgo who lives upstairs is with them, Ideal!!) Jas is reading and Linda & Graham are resting.Guesthouse in Jinja 

Jinja town

Chessells in Africa:

20^th October

We celebrated Linda’s Birthday yesterday(happy B/D Maryanne) by rising at 6am for an early morning safari to take in the animals of the savannah in their natural habitat. After lunch we took a river cruise to the bottom of Murchison Falls.  Amazing wildlife along the banks made the 2 hours go quickly. As we were cruising we watched the cloud cover coming—thank you God—which certainly made our walk so much easier.  We disembarked The African Queen and proceeded to the top of the falls-amazing scenes on the way.  The worst part was the drive back to the lodge as we were wet from the humidity and we had to keep the windows of the van shut due to TseTse flies which were prolific in the area. Back at the lodge we showered and had a leisurely dinner finished with a birthday cake for Linda, organised by Ronald our guide.  A full and satisfying day!  Today we are enjoying a quiet morning by the pool before a late afternoon game drive. Apart from a few dizzy periods I am much improved and looking forward to a restful morning.

Late afternoon game drive was a little disappointing but we have been very blessed so far so no complaining.