Jonathan Proud

1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6

Mountain hut near the summit	Jonathan on the crater rim
relatively warm. The porters had lit a fire in the hut, which gradually died down during the night. Fri 17th: In the morning the volcano was shrouded in cloud. After a peanut butter sandwich I started the descent which was very leisurely compared to the previous day's efforts. I photographed some of the forest flowers and some butterflies. The descent took three and a half hours. We went back to the hotel we had been to the previous day and I had a good wash and then swam in the pool. Kate was fine and had rejoined the group. We spent most of the afternoon by the pool before returning to the campsite of two nights before. We had an excellent dinner of fish and salad. I slept well. Sat 18th: A large crowd of children watched us	Jonathan near the summit
View into the crater	have breakfast and pack up. We set off for Rutshuri waterfall. On the way we stopped at a village market to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. I tried to photograph an old man with two pigs. He was furious and threatened me with his machete. I had some pens to give to children, and gave him one as a peace offering, but he was not satisfied. I walked away and he followed for some distance before eventually giving up. I then photographed two children with wooden bicycles, after giving them 'un cadeau' of pens. We continued on our journey, passing through lots of villages of mud huts and women and children carrying huge loads of sugar cane or firewood on their heads,
or on wooden bicycles. We arrived at Rutshuri waterfall which is very spectacular, falling through the tropical rain forest. Sørn found a six foot green snake up a tree, extremely well camouflaged. The vegetation is true jungle, teeming with insects, huge butterflies etc. We had a delicious lunch of salad, cheese, fresh pineapple and peanut butter on bread. Some of the group swam in the river during the afternoon. The current was very strong. Later we walked up the road towards the village and were led into the banana plantation by an old man. He took us to his hut and showed us how banana beer was brewed in 'beer canoes'.	Hippos sunbathing
Hippo out of water	We had another excellent dinner of macaroni cheese and salad. Saturday night festivities included dancing on the truck roof. Sun 19th: Set off for Rwindi Lodge. The road took us through lots of mud hut villages where the children ran out waving excitedly. After a long stretch of woodland we entered the National Park and stopped at a lake where we had lunch. There was a hot spring running into the lake and hippos were enjoying the warm water. We then went through more open scrubland, seeing baboons, buffalo, Uganda cob, warthogs, kudu, herons and guinea fowl.
When we arrived at Rwindi Lodge, a baboon tried to climb into the truck. We went on a game drive in the late afternoon and came to a pool of thick black mud, full of hippos. Had a good meal at the lodge, with soup, avocado, fish and chocolate pudding. The evening dancing finished at about 10:30, when the generator went off. Mon 20th: Got up at 5:30 for a game run. Saw elephants in woodland near the river and lots of hippos all along the river banks. Then we found a pride of six lions with a fresh kill. We got very close to them and I took lots of	Baboon, Virunga National Park
Baboon, Virunga National Park	photographs. We also saw a hyena with a freshly killed cob calf in its mouth. We stopped for breakfast at a spectacular viewpoint looking down the river with hippos, herons and other birds all around. Saw buffalo, topi, baboons and fish eagles. Stopped at a hippo pool packed with animals wallowing in the mud. Came to the village of Vitshumbi on Lake Idi Amin (Lake Edward) where the truck was surrounded by children - hundreds of them. A child gave me his address and asked me to take his photo and send it to him. The village was amazing, with marabou storks wandering about the streets and standing on the thatched roofs of mud houses. There was a large bull elephant on the outskirts of the village. On the way back to the lodge we got very close to a troupe of baboons and also saw a herd of buffalo. Had buffalo stroganoff for dinner, in the lodge.
1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6