KENYA & UGANDA IN THREE DAYS OR LESS

The start of a new Drago trip is always interesting - is it a good group or a bad group? What's the truck like? What about the crew? Will there be any issues? So, here is how the "Gorillas, Chimps & Game Parks" is shaping up as of Day 5.

• Newest Drago truck in use. Named "Fuffie" (pronounced "foo-fee") based on license plate and not real name, which means faith or something in Swahili. It is HUGE and posh and is seriously more like a big tour bus than a Drago truck. The only thing it's missing is an on-board bathroom. Seriously.
• Twenty-one pax. Healthy mix of ages, sexes, nationalities, couples, singles. Everyone is really friendly, really helpful and pitches in on all the duties. Most everyone likes to drink, which makes for a lot of pee stops once the beer escapes the Eskee.
• Three crew, WHICH INCLUDES A CHEF. What????!!!!! Yep, I kid you not. We have a cook and he is awesome. So cook group/set-up take on a whole new meaning and huge amounts of my personal stress are relieved since he coordinates EVERYTHING. Yeehaw!
• Leader/co-driver are great, although we had to leave our driver (Hannah) behind in Kenya because she has had a recurrence of . . . malaria. Yikes! She is hoping to meet up with us en route, but now we have only Nick (a trainee) doing long drive days and everything else, although he has been a super star so far.
• Crossing into Uganda was pretty easy and not that time-consuming. Still unsure about Rwanda. Our leaders had heard nothing about the entry issues and Drago has not responded to them yet. There are at least five of us (2 Canadians, 3 Americans) who are very antsy, but cautiously optimistic that it will all work out.
• Been doing lots of driving through gorgeous, lush Kenyan & Ugandan countryside. Roads, though paved, are in bad shape and it's slow going. Did a game drive at Lake Nakuru, where we saw masses of pink flamingos and white rhinos, and where our mini-van got mired in mud. It took an hour, a ripped blanket that did NOT hold as a tow-rope and a rescue van with a chain that DID hold to make it out.
• Went to the Saidi Orphanage in Gigli, which was humbling to say the least. Ate a massive Indian dinner at the Naiberi River Campsite that, while delicious, was a "hot in, hot out" kind of experience. Have had some fantastic campsites so far, with hot showers, flush toilets and full bars . . . and often upgrades to rooms are available, although have only done that once so far. (Then again, it's only been three nights. Ha!) Ah, the rough life of an overlander:-)
• We have penalties for the # of times we call the "truck" a "bus." People have to buy shots for the last night Punch Party based on how many times they f-up. One shot per "bus." Some people are racking it up fast, although neither me nor Dad has a bad mark.
• We also have an "Idiot of the Day" contest, the winner of which has to wear a dorky miner's hat for the evening. Dad won it last night, with the double combo of stepping in shit during a bush pee AND not knowing the name (on Day 4) of his "truck buddy." (We all have a buddy so we ensure no one gets left behind inadvertently.) He did look cute in his hat, though:-)

All for now, long drive day (around 400 km) to Kibbale Forest. We'll be looking for chimps tomorrow!