After our lovely couchsurfing stay in Kampala, our safari through Uganda begins. Stephen from Nature & Wildlife Tours picked us up in Uganda’s capital and took us to Fort Portal.

There I received a naming ceremony from the local Batooro people.

Now we learn more about Uganda’s nature and why the country is also called the “Pearl of Africa”.

We would have liked to see the palace of the Toro Kingdom in its capital Fort Portal, but unfortunately we are late. From Fort Portal we travel first to Kiko and then on to the crater lakes of Uganda.

The view from the observation deck is very beautiful and I am amazed by how green it is here. There is definitely no shortage of water here.

First we drive to a viewpoint over Lake Nyamirima and Lake Nyinabulitwa. We can also see Lake Nyabikere in the distance.

The most beautiful lake is Lake Nyinambuga. It is also a symbol of the country as the lake has roughly the shape of Uganda when viewed from the northern shore.

We also make a detour to the Mahoma Falls. They have little in common with the famous Murchinson Falls in the north of the country, but are worth a little detour on foot if you are already there.

But even for these waterfalls we get a guide who takes us the short way down into the valley and shows us a small cave.

For us the waterfall is a tourist attraction, but for the people in the area it is simply the river from which they get water.

We meet many children who are using canisters to fetch water from the river and bring it to their villages.

It is just getting dark when we arrive at Noah’s Arc Lodge, where Uwe and I set up our tents for the night. We have dinner of rice, avocados and delicious vegetables, drink a whisky and get ready for the night.

There is no question of a long evening by the campfire. The next morning we have to be in the car at 5 a.m. because we have a long day ahead of us: our first safari, in Queen Elizabeth National Park! There are supposed to be unique lions there that climb trees.