The initial plan was to cross the Queen Elizabeth's National Park in Eastern Uganda. Me and my friend Roman headed to Kassese with bus starting from Fort Portal. After reaching the bus station of that city we started walking down south aiming at the first city after the southern boundaries of the park.
On the first day, we managed to walk the whole afternoon and were happy after counting more than twenty kilometers, some of those already in the northern areas of the park. Most of the time we were following tracks off of the road avoiding the proximity to the trafficking lorries.
Along the way we could observe the foggy mountains, the Rwenzori chain, growing in the west. We passed fields populated by butterflies and amused ourselves with the nest bearing trees. Every now and then, the local wildlife, like impalas or baboons, came out of the bushes to greet us.
It was hot, humid, and late in the afternoon we were exhausted. The Rwenzori could no longer be seeing. Our legs were tired and our feet already had gotten blisters. We stopped at this hotel by the road, had some food and, literally, crashed.
Next day morning we started as early as our legs allowed us. We reached the north of the park right after leaving the village where we slept_ well, that was more kinda few houses at a traffic junction than a proper village. At the very same point we had crossed the Equator, stop for pictures, then we moved on and kept counting down the kilometers.
We were already counting the 15th kilometer of the day as we were approached by these policemen, or national park guards, or something similar. There was kinda check point out there. They explained us the danger of walking in that area and prohibited us to continue. Right away we had to take an available vehicle and reach the next village. So much of our "crossing the National Park by foot."
We head to our next destination earlier than planed and this attempt became a traveller's tale.
Cheers ;)
