I’m sure we can do a breather after all the days blogging and I bet you are further interested in what accommodation the Leeds-Uganda Group stayed at throughout their time.
Majority of the time, we stayed in either tents (due to an unforseen bat problem – watch this space) or in the hut as I just described in my last post at Paraa Primary School but we did stay at some more upmarket accommodation for various activities. My comments and reviews about the below reviews are based from 2007, 4 years ago and the standard may have changed so please bear that in mind.
Jinja
We stayed at the NRE Campsite all of the time we were in Jinja. I’m sure you are scratching your head and wondering what the heck does NRE stand for especially throughout my last posts…it’s stands for Nile River Explorers! This campsite was highly useful to us as it allowed us to acclimatise to the climate for a couple of days from landing in Uganda.
It had everything you can expect and more. The staff was excellent, they kept a tight control of things, organised good nights in the beachy bar, an immense porch to watch out over the River Nile, and many spaces! It’s all situated in a secured compound so all the time I was there, I felt safe at all times. Also, they provided a safe service so we were able to leave our passports and money with them while we went out gallivanting to Murchison Falls.
The secluded showers and flushing toilets were joys to behold. The best thing they did was organise WhiteWater Rafting for us, which I will be blogging about later on. All in all, it was a great campsite to stay at and everyone had a good time there.
However, not knowing what the cost was of the room as this was organised through the Uganda Project organisers, I did feel the rooms we stayed at, dormitory style rooms with bunkbeds, needed improving. The bunkbed creaked a lot and I wasn’t sure about the mattresses although fairly comfortable. I think it could have done with a spot of decorating inside and as I was sleeping on the top bunk, seeing hooks protruding from the ceiling (to hang your mosquito net) looked imposing and kept falling off in the night. This may have changed in the 4 years since i was there, but overall, I felt fine in the rooms as I only used it for sleeping as there’s a gorgeous compound outside! If you want to find out more about the NRE Campsite, please click on the link —>> NRE Campsite LInk
Murchison Falls
We stayed at the Red Chilli Rest Camp in Murchison Falls. I felt really ethusiastic about this rest stop…perhaps it was definitely a stop to quench your thirst on your routes!
This was very much located in the centre of Murchison Falls and offer a wide variety of activities such as ferry to the Falls itself or safari games or jet boating and many more. It has an absolutely fantastic semi-circular bar staffed with some of the kindest staff.
They let us charge our many cameras, mobile phones etc behind the bar and kept watch over it. The bar is very international and provides a gateway for the tourism industry that was about to be kickstarted then! The bar shows this with the many notes of international money that is plastered around! Very intriguing indeed.
Also, after the Ferry Trip we undertook, it was lovely to come back and collapse in the deep chairs and look out in the open air at the River Nile and Murchison National Park. As this was just a rest stop most of the time, we did stay here for 1 night and unfortunately, this co-incided with a night that it absolutely downpoured!
Some of us opted to stay in the many simple but pleasantly furnished rooms that could hold 2/3 people or sleep in the tents provided. I opted to sleep in the tent and within minutes of settling down to sleep, the heavens literally opened and thus the ground turned really muddy and several tents collapsed. thus soaking many of us and our belongings.
We didn’t complain and it was no way the fault of Red Chilli so some of us that were sleeping in the tents moved to our private tents or in my case, a very lucky boy, managed to get a space in one of the huts provided. I enjoyed the hut and it was very comfy and I felt safe despite nearly coming face to face with a hippo on my way to the toilet!
But that’s what you expect in the middle of a National Park! I would definitely stay here again if it remains secluded and private to this day. If you would like to more about the Red Chilli Rest Camp, please click on the following link —->> Red Chilli Rest Camp
Many thanks to NRE Campsite and Red Chilli Rest Camp for providing us accommodation. All opinions, as always, are my own.
Now we can continue back to the Journal. Watch out for fun facts of Uganda coming soon!
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