Gabun / Gabon – Un voyage ardu

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Auf unseren Reisen in Ostafrika haben wir uns in den vergangenen Jahren immer wieder der DR Kongo angenähert – und damit auch dem großen Regenwald des Kongobeckens, dem zweitgrößten Regenwaldgebiet nach dem im Amazonasbecken. Beim Besuch in dessen östlichstem Ausläufer, dem Ituri-Wald, der im äußersten Westen Ugandas im Semliki Nationalpark geschützt wird, hatten wir im vergangenen Jahr bereits einen flüchtigen Eindruck dieses majestätischen Waldes bekommen. Aber wir wollten ganz hinein.

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The Q-Files: Of wood & water & time – Von Holz, Wasser und Zeit

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The Q-Files: Summer feeling

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Nkhata Bay, Malawi

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On the lookout – Auf dem Ausguck

Lower Zambezi River, Zambia.

Smoke on the water – Lake Victoria – Der Victoriasee

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On our first trip through Uganda five years ago, we´ve already heard some stories about Lake Victoria´s lake flies, small insects spending their early life cycles in the lake before transforming into flies and swarming out in vast numbers, all at the same time. It would look just like columns of smoke on the open lake, we were told. Back then, I got so curios, so desperate on taking pictures of that phenomenon, but we hardly had any time left for exploring the lake.

Buggala Island, a place of retreat I – Buggala, ein Rückzugsort I

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From Kalinzu Forest, we caught a minibus to the east, to Mbarara where we had to change transport and took a big bus eastward on to Masaka near the shore of Lake Victoria. After the delicious Friday night BBQ buffet at the Frikadellen, a Danish-run eatery linked to the NGO Childcare Denmark, and a night at the Vienna Golden Hotel in Masaka (we couldn´t figure out why the hell this is called Vienna), we tried to take a minibus to Buggala Island, the largest island of the Ssese Archipelago which comprises 84 islands just off shore on Lake Victoria. There is a free ferry service commuting all day between the mainland east of Masaka and the western tip of Buggala Island, covering the three or four kilometres in around 40 minutes.

Toro Crater Lakes – Die Toro Kraterseen

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Starting north of Fort Portal, a concentration of crater lakes runs down south alongside the western border of Kibale National Park with its groups of habituated chimpanzees. The crater lakes south of Fort Portal sprawl over a large region with a lush, hilly countryside and a patchwork of cultivated areas and remnants of swamps as well as indigenous forest with a profusion of birds, monkeys and butterflies. One of the most beautiful is Lake Nkuruba, where the community-run Original Lake Nkuruba Nature Reserve is protecting the surrounding rainforest which is bursting with black-and-white colobus, red colobus, red-tailed and other monkeys. The lakes tend to be quite deep, and the water is clear and cool (but not too cool)– perfect for a relaxing swim.

See-Idyll – Lake idyll

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