Uganda Spine Surgery Mission 2016 Day 14

​After a long week, Dr. St. Clair decided it was time for the team to have some fun. We took a trip out to Queen Elizabeth Conservatory for a safari. Monkeys, baboons, elephants, antelope (known as ‘kobs’ in Uganda) and crocodiles were amongst the many animals seen that day from the (relative) comfort of our group bus
 
We left at 5am and arrived just in time to see the sun rising over the nearby hills.

A scenic drive through the Ugandan countryside on the way to Queen Elizabeth Conservatory.

​This group of baboons sauntered up to our bus as we were entering the road to the park. Some of the team members threw them a few g-nuts, and they decided to let us pass. Gotta pay the troll toll.
 
The road to enter the conservatory had seen a lot of travel over the years and relatively little restoration. The resulting road surface was littered with massive potholes, and riding in a 20-person bus on said road was a bit terrifying at times, as the bus often seemed to tilt to an almost 90-degree angle while swerving to avoid potholes, but our driver (Hassan) managed it like a pro.
 
Dr. St. Clair: “You thought the other roads in Uganda were bad. They have names for some of these potholes.” 
 
We stopped briefly for breakfast, which was a local dish known as a “rolex”. A rolex is nothing more than warm chapatti rolled around a thin omelette, or “rolled eggs” (you get it).  More importantly, there was coffee. Lots of coffee. 

A rolex and coffee. Mikey likes it!

After driving around for a bit longer, we stopped at a hotel and restaurant on the conservatory grounds for lunch.

Our view from the hotel patio over lunch.

​After lunch, we went on a 2-hour boat tour of the Kazinga channel, a wide body of water connecting lakes George and Edward. There was a nice breeze on the upper deck of the boat, and those that managed not to fall asleep from exhaustion were treated to a guided tour of some of the local wildlife. We made it all the way to the Congo border before turning around and heading back to the bus.

Birds, and lots of them.

My iPhone camera doesn’t do it justice. The views were truly stunning.

​We made it back to the hotel around 8pm and had a group dinner before heading off to get some sleep in preparation for the last leg of the mission.