Monday 6.15.2009

Rhino Sanctuary – So, Saturday morning we woke up and had a roundtable discussion about the issue of aid in poverty stricken areas. I have had many debates with my teachers here and have come to the conclusion that I am not sure what the role of a Muno should be in this society. But, what I do know is that Invisible Children is going about the process correctly. I believe, 95% of the staff is comprised of locals. Therefore, the work is sustainable…if that makes sense. I could talk about that for a long time but maybe when I come home we can debate...

After the talk, we got on a mutatu (which is like a small, hippie van) to travel three hours south to the rhino sanctuary. I was so excited about the ride! One thing I have known about myself for a while, but have confirmed on this trip, is that I love road trips. I got to just relax and listen to my iPod…music is really helping me get through the tough times. By tough times, I mean, those times when I feel homesick or stressed. It was a great ride. But, we did get stopped at a police checkpoint and I know my heartrate was speeding the whole time. They were speaking in Lwo (the local language), so I didn’t know if he was telling the driver to get the Muno’s out of the car. But in reality, the officer was just going off on a power trip. Asking our drivers, Joe and Sunday, to show him every permit that they had until something was wrong. I come to find out that he was just looking for a bribe. Which I think that Joe must have given him because they walked to the back of the car and after they were out of our sight, all of a sudden we were free to go and there was no ticket. Curiouser and curiouser.

We got to see many baboons crossing the road when we were crossing the Nile. They are such amazing creatures! And they crack me up because they seem to have such an attitude about them.

Then, we arrived at the sanctuary. It was beautiful. The whole weekend was very peaceful. Just to be out in nature and not have to think about school…it was lovely. The sanctuary is funded by Disney’s Animal Kingdom actually…Crazy tunes…Disney in Uganda.
The rhinos became extinct in Uganda during the war because it is still legal to poach here. So, this sanctuary was created to re-introduce six rhinos into existence. Four came from Kenya and two came all the way from Florida! Three of the ladies are pregnant, so there will be more soon.

But the sanctuary is managed by a South African family. They were very nice. The son is a volunteer (not by choice) and he offered to take us on a walk Saturday afternoon when we arrived because we were not trekking out to see the rhinos until Sunday morning. So, we went on a long walk through the sanctuary. It was beautiful. There is such a quiet peace here. I got some good pictures too…

I got to see a fish eagle and a pyke kingfisher. So huge! Apparently, we also walked by a leopard and her cub…I did not see it. I think maybe Chris was trying to scare us. But then again, there are leopards in the sanctuary. I would have had an “Out of Africa” moment… “Shoot her! Shoot her!” “Let’s give her a minute”.

That night we had barbecue chicken…it was amazing! And there was a guitar at the sanctuary so I finally got to sing for my teachers. A little concert under the stars…good times. We woke up the next morning and had breakfast. Then, we piled into the mutatu with our guide Francis and rode about 30 to 45 minutes into the sanctuary. It must be a huge reserve! We made jokes that we felt like we were in Jurassic Park for a while because the land is surrounded by electrical fences. The ride in the mutatu was pretty wild…definitely an off-road experience. Then, when we could not drive any closer to the rhinos we had to get out and walk. The park guide who was on duty to follow them had written arrows into the dirt to show Francis where to take us. After about a 20 minute hike, we finally arrived to meet the three ladies. They were all pregnant. I wish that we had longer to spend time with them. But we only stood around them for about 20 minutes. There was a good bit of bush between us so the pictures were difficult to get. So I took a few videos. At one point, one of them turned around so that she was facing us head on…I saw my life flash before my eyes. I was about 50 feet away from the tip of that rhino horn! But she was just turning around to scratch her bum on the tree. I got a video of that! Awesome. It was a fairly majestic experience, but I think it could’ve been better. Slightly anti-climatic.

So, then we walked back to the mutatu, piled in, and realized that it was broken down…in the middle of the bush. Amazing! The men got out and pushed the mutatu up the hill and then let it roll backwards really quickly and it finally started. However, our three hour ride home turned into four or four and a half hours because it broke down many times along the side of the road. Excellent! Thank God I packed snack bars! All in all it was a good weekend.

I love y’all! And of course miss you terribly! Counting down the days, but enjoying my time here as well.

Talk to you soon,
Lisa a.k.a. Nyeka Maber J