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In-flight magazine for Air UgandaTRANSCRIPT
t h e i n f l i g h t m a g a z i n e o f a i r u g a n d a p a r t o f t h e
i s s u e n u m b e r 0 0 1 f e b r u a r y – a p r i l 2 0 1 0
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LAKE VICTORIA SERENAR E S O R T
A WORLD AWAY FROM THE CITYJust 15 Kilometres from Kampala and 35 Kilometres from Entebbe, on the shores of lake victoria, rests a
resort of ultimate beauty, tranquility and peace. This newest addition to the Serena family is the perfect resort to unwind and escape the stresses of city life.
PO Box 37761, Kampala, Uganda, Lweza-Kigo road, Off Entebbe road or Call +256 41 7121000, Fax +256 41 7121550 e-mail: [email protected]
The central lounge and reception The rooms and suites
Maisha Mind Body and Spirit Spa The pool and garden view
y o u r c o m p l i m e n t a r y c o p y
Welcome Aboard!As the Cabin Crew Manager of Air Uganda – a member of Group
Celestair – it is indeed my pleasure to wish you a Happy New Year
2010 on behalf of all the Cabin Crew.
2009 was a very interesting and challenging year for Air Uganda
and I would like to thank you all for supporting us in building our airline.
Air Uganda celebrated two years of operations in November 2009
and by taking onboard your comments and feedback we have strived
to deliver an improved onboard service on a continual basis.
In September 2009, we added the first of the CRJ-100 50-seater
aircraft to our fleet, giving us more flexibility in flight scheduling.With
its arrival we re-launched the Nairobi morning flights to complement
the evening service, giving you more choice and the opportunity for
same day return travel.
December saw us expanding our network to yet another destination: Mombasa. Air Uganda now flies
directly from Entebbe to Mombasa three times a week with very competitive fares.
To reward our customers’ loyalty, Air Uganda, Air Burkina and Air Mali (all members of the Celestair
Group) have recently launched a frequent flyer programme: “CELESTARS”. We invite you to join
“CELESTARS” and gain rewards for travelling on any flights within Air Uganda’s expanding route network
in East Africa.
We value your patronage by choosing to fly with us and know that you have many travel options to
consider.This can be seen by the fact that from your feedback and suggestions, Air Uganda has steadily
improved the in-flight catering to better suit you.
Our Cabin Crew are committed to making your onboard experience as safe, comfortable and enjoyable
as possible. We shall always try to provide personal service, customer care and build your loyalty for our
airline. We want to serve you in a friendly, professional manner in the hope that you make Air Uganda
your airline of choice on all our routes.
With our courteous service, unmatched ontime punctuality performance, the new “Celestars” frequent
flyer programme and great value for money airfares, we in Air Uganda hope to provide more of your
travel solutions in 2010 and become your favourite airline in the region.
We look forward to welcoming you onboard again and hope you have a happy and successful year,
wherever you may travel.
Best wishes from all our cabin crew.
Ms Julie Odur
Cabin Crew Manager
EDITORIAL
t h e i n f l i g h t m a g a z i n e o f a i r u g a n d a p a r t o f t h e
i s s u e n u m b e r 0 0 1 f e b r u a r y – a p r i l 2 0 1 0
4 POLISHING THE PEARLUganda justifiably markets itself as the ultimate eco-destination.
CONTENTS
REGULARS
Editorial by Cabin Crew Manager
Book World
Air Uganda Flight Schedule
Healthy Travelling
Route Map
Air Uganda News
Offices
Tips for the Traveller
Crossword Puzzle & Sudoku
1
30
45
46
47
48
50
51
52
11 WHERE SULTANS RULEDWhen walking in Zanzibar you come to love those curves.
14 MOMBASA AND THE SUNNY SWAHILI COAST These islands have been a ‘barefoot luxury’ hideaway for the rich and famous for many years.
18 A PERSONAL PEAKMountains provide grand platforms to enjoy some of the world’s most dramatic views.
22 DAVID LIVINGSTONEHis numerous contributions to the geographical knowledge of Africa are without equal, even today.
26 THE BIRDS OF PARADISEHere, world records for the number of species seen in a day have frequently been set and broken again and again.
32 ROMANCING THE ORANGEDo you wish to make someone love you forever?
34 HEALTH, WEALTH & HAPPINESSRevenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash flow is key.
36 TIME MAGICIANSOnce you become consciously aware, then you learn to protect your time from being wasted.
38 TRAVELLING RIGHTTips for surviving that airbus ride.
40 TASTES OF UGANDASo if you’re visiting Uganda, don’t just stick to ‘safe’ western food – if you do you’ll be missing out on something special.
42 ARTS & CRAFTS OF UGANDAUganda’s rich culture features a variety of traditional arts and crafts.
Cover picture: A beautiful bishop bird, fairly
gregarious, nests in colonies and forages
in flocks.
Camerapix Magazines Ltd Rukhsana Haq
Roger Barnard
Cecilia Gaitho
Sam Kimani Fatima Janmohamed Azra Chaudhry, U.K Rose Judah
Rukhsana HaqJenifer B. MusiimeDesire Barugahare
Publishers:
Editorial Director:
Editor:
Editorial Assistant:
Senior Designer:
Design Assistant:
Production Manager:
Production Assistant:
Editorial Board:
ASANTE meaning ‘Thank you’ in Kiswahili
is published quarterly for Air Uganda
by Camerapix Magazines Limited
P.O.Box 45048,00100 GPO Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone: +254 (20) 4448923/4/5
Fax: +254 (20) 4448818 or 4441021
E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial and Advertising Office:
Camerapix Magazines (UK) Limited
32 Friars Walk, Southgate, London, N14 5LP
Tel: +44 (20) 8361 2942
Mobile: +44 79411 21458
E-mail: [email protected]
Correspondance on editorial and advertising
matters may be sent to either of
the above addresses.
Printed in Nairobi.
©2010
CAMERAPIX MAGAZINES LTD
All rights reserved. No part of this
magazine may be reproduced by any means
without permission in writing from
the publisher.
All photographs by Camerapix unless
otherwise indicated.
4 POLISHING THE PEARLUganda justifiably markets itself as the ultimate eco-destination.
WELCOME ABOARD
4 11
14 18
22 26 32
34
38 40 42
36
4 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Uganda is a land
of high plateau and
heat-hazed lowland
plain, game-filled
expanses of savannah
and, in the west,
high mountains that,
for sheer scenic
enchantment, have
few rivals in Africa.
But that’s just the
start, says
Peter Holthusen.
Pearl
Uganda has the widest variety of primates anywhere in Africa, including
chimpanzees and the endangered mountain gorilla, while the remarkable
1,008 recorded bird species provide unquestionably the richest birdlife on the
continent. Much of the countryside is an extravagant, velvety green. Add the majestic
River Nile, the Ruwenzori ‘Mountains of the Moon’ and the vast expanse of Lake
Victoria, and it is easy to see why Uganda is known as ‘The Pearl of Africa’.
Uganda justifiably markets itself as the ultimate eco-destination. Its gorillas represent
perhaps the most powerful eco-image of them all. But there is much more to Uganda
than this. With 20 national parks and reserves, Uganda arguably has a greater diversity
of wildlife than any other African country, and the scenery varies from the dry savannah
lands of the Kidepo Valley National Park in the north to the rain forests of Semliki,
Kabale and Bwindi in the south.
The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country which takes its name from the
Buganda kingdom, which encompassed a portion of the south of the country, including
the capital Kampala. The country is bordered by Kenya to the east, on the north by
Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by
Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. Uganda lies between latitude 4° North to 1°
Polishing the
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february – april 2010 | air uganda | 5
South and longitude 30° West to 33° East. It forms part of the
East African plateau, dropping to the White Nile Basin in the
north. Although landlocked, Uganda contains many large lakes,
besides Lake Victoria. Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert, Lake Edward and
the smaller Lake George lie in the Rift Valley and much of the
territory to the south is swampy marsh. To the east is savannah
and the western part of the country forms the margins of the
Congo forests. Generally speaking, the south is agricultural and
the north is pastoral.
Kampala, the sprawling Ugandan capital is a most handsome
city, set among seven hills, with a wide range of comfortable
hotels, al fresco eating places, exciting nightlife and one of the
finest public gardens in Africa. The city has plenty to keep visitors
with a cultural or historical interest occupied. The Kasubi Tombs
are a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site where four former
Bugandan kings lie buried. The Bahai Temple, often called the
‘Mother Temple of Africa’, with its panoramic views of Kampala,
is about 6 kilometres north of the city. On Buganda Road and
behind the National Theatre you can buy local handicrafts in the
African Craft Village. The nearby city of Entebbe is the home
of Uganda’s international airport and the spectacular Botanical
Gardens. Approximately 23 kilometres southeast of Entebbe on
Lake Victoria lies the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary,
while birdwatchers can make a half-day trip to Mabamba, a good
site for seeking the illusive shoebill stork. The Ssese Islands
in the northwestern part of the lake is an increasingly popular
tourist destination.
The roads in Uganda are well-maintained with immaculately
clean verges, and the easiest way to see the country is by a four
by four safari vehicle, travelling with your own private driver cum
guide. High quality lodges are now found in most of the national
parks and game reserves. Flying by light aircraft between
reserves, although expensive, has become increasingly popular
as a means of seeing the country’s highlights in a single trip.
Six hours drive southwest of Kampala, the Semliki Valley
Wildlife Reserve lies in a flat crater bordered by the escarpment
of the Rift Valley which rises 1,500 metres on the eastern side;
the dramatic Ruwenzori foothills to the south, and Lake Albert
and the Congo to the north and west. Habitats here include
papyrus swamps, lakes, rivers, marshes, gallery and tropical
rainforest and savannah.
Semliki protects a variety of mammals such as chimpanzees,
colobus monkeys, giant forest hog and leopard. There are also
populations of Uganda kob, lion, elephant, buffalo, reedbuck,
bushbuck, sitatunga and waterbuck. Large wildlife is fairly shy
here. Semliki is the only Ugandan park where visitors can take
night drives. Of particular significance to birdwatchers are
16 species of the Guinea-Congo forest belt, which reach their
easternmost limit here.
In western Uganda, the Kibale Forest National Park is one of
the most beautiful forest parks in Africa. Perhaps best known
for its chimpanzees, it contains another 12 primate species
– the greatest variety of any forest in central-eastern Africa,
including the rare blue and red-tailed monkeys and grey-cheeked
Right:
Women
joyfully display
vegetables for
sale.
Kampala, the sprawling Ugandan capital is the most handsome city set among seven hills
country focus: Uganda
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6 | air uganda | february – april 2010
chimpanzees and a wealth of forest birds such as the
golden-breasted starling, D’Arnaud’s barbet and red-billed
hornbill. Further north there is excellent game-viewing around
Mweya. A launch trip down the Kazinga Channel provides an
opportunity to see elephants, hippos, waterbucks and many
waterbirds.
In the early 1930s, the British explorer Sir Vivian Fuchs
discovered fossils from the
early Pleistocene period along
the Kazinga Channel, but it
was not until some years
later that prehistoric material
was found. From the finds,
and from work in the Queen
Elizabeth National Park, it is
possible to indicate a little of
the prehistory of this area.
Fossils of water snails and
other molluscs, crocodiles
(which do not occur in Lake
George or Edward), hippos
(including the pygmy variety),
members of the pig family
and various fish, including Nile
perch have been found.
On the eastern edge of the Albertine Rift, the Bwindi
Impenetrable Forest National Park – one of Uganda’s UNESCO
World Heritage Sites – holds roughly half of the world’s
remaining mountain gorillas. The rest find sanctuary in Rwanda’s
Parc National des Volcans. This dense jungle contains another
10 primates, notably chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus and
blue monkeys. Around over 80 other mammals are present,
mangabey. Kibale protects virgin lowland tropical rainforest,
montane evergreen forest and mixed tropical deciduous forest.
Among the over 300 bird species present are the African grey
parrot, black-billed and great blue turacos and green-breasted
pitta. The guided walking trails focus on tracking habituated
chimpanzees, and provide access to Kibale’s different habitats,
with the chance to see birds and other primates.
South of Kibale, the
spectacular Queen
Elizabeth National Park
contains a rich diversity
of ecosystems – acacia
grassland, papyrus
swamp, rainforest,
flamingo-lined volcanic
crater lakes and
magnificent scenery.
It is bordered to the
southwest by Lake Edward
and to the northeast by
Lake George, and has
the greatest variety of
mammals in Uganda,
including sitatunga,
elephant and great herds
of Uganda kob. Among the primates there are black-and-white
colobus, L’Hoest’s, red-tailed and blue monkeys. Twenty species
of predator include spotted hyena, lion and leopard. Among
the 568 birds are papyrus and black-headed gonoleks, lowland
akalat, swamp flycatcher and black bee-eater. The Ishasha
sector, in the southern part of the park, is home to a population
of tree-climbing lion, while the Maramagambo Forest contains
Left:
The endangered
mountain
gorilla.
Below:
Rüppell’s
griffons are
among the most
gregarious of
raptors – they
roost, feed and
breed in flocks.
It’s gorillas represent perhaps one of the most powerful eco-image of them all
country focus: Uganda
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february – april 2010 | air uganda | 7
including elephant, bush pig and various duikers. Clouds of
butterflies are often seen at bush pig mud wallows near the
trails. Bwindi is very rewarding for forest birding. Among the
over 345 recorded species are 23 Albertine Rift endemics,
with 14 found nowhere else in Uganda. Birdwatchers should
stay at least two nights in Buhoma – the lower sector of the
park for gorilla tracking – followed by an additional two nights at
simple, well-tended accommodation in high-altitude Ruhija. The
mountains of Ruhija hold localised species of bird such as the
rare African green broadbill and dusky twinspot. Because gorillas
are Bwindi’s main attraction, lodges servicing the park are near
the park office from where gorilla tracking commences daily.
The Murchison Falls National Park is the largest national park
in Uganda, covering an area of nearly 4,000 square kilometres
in the north, and offers some of the most spectacular scenery
in the country. The park was briefly known as Kabalega Falls
National Park in the early 1970s, having been renamed by
President Idi Amin after the King of Bunyoro, famous for resisting
attempts to colonise his kingdom. Here, the waters of the Nile
are forced through a narrow gap in the rocks to fall through a
series of foaming, roaring cascades down a drop of about 50
metres, creating one of the world’s most spectacular waterfalls.
The Murchison Falls is another good spot to see the rare shoebill
stork and the solitary hammerkop.
Fishing for Nile perch and tilapia attracts many anglers to the
Murchison Falls National Park. The fast-flowing waters above
and below the falls are probably the best places from which to
cast off. The king of the freshwater fish is without doubt the
Add the majestic River Nile, the Ruwenzori ‘Mountains of the Moon’ and the vast expanse of Lake Victoria
Right:
Fishing for the
massive Nile
perch attracts
many anglers to
The Murchison
Falls National
Park. Pho
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Pet
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olth
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country focus: Uganda
8 | air uganda | february – april 2010
massive Nile perch, while the much smaller, rather bony tilapia
which makes good eating, can be found on the menus of many of
Kampala’s finest restaurants.
The White Nile near Jinja has become known as the adventure
sports capital, for the river here has several grade five rapids
which offer exhilarating white-water rafting at par with the
world-renowned Zambezi Gorge. All the rapids at the Bujagali
Falls are named to heighten the anticipation, for instance: ‘Total
Gunga’, ‘Silverback’, ‘Rib Cage’ and ‘Surf City’. Jinja is located
at the head of the Napoleon Gulf on the northern edge of Lake
Victoria and lies on the east bank of the Victoria Nile. The town
is perhaps best known for being close to the source of the Nile.
Even as it leaves the lake, the river is surprisingly large and it is
hard to imagine that it wanders north for 4,000 miles until it
reaches the Mediterranean sea.
In southern Uganda, the Lake Mburo National Park by
comparison, lies in dry acacia woodland. The 68 mammal
species include topi, roan antelope and giant eland. Jackals,
leopards and hyenas prey on the abundance of herbivores.
A cruise on Lake Mburo may reveal crocodiles, hippos and
aquatic birdlife. The park supports 310 bird species in its acacia
woodlands, papyrus swamps, grasslands and on its open waters.
Uganda has a fantastic climate, an ever-changing landscape
and people who are honest, polite and genuinely pleased to
welcome you. Whether you want to concentrate on Uganda’s
primates, tick off Albertine Rift endemics, land a giant Nile
perch, explore the ‘Mountains of the Moon’, experience the
vibrancy of its people, seek adventure or observe the diversity of
its game, Uganda will not disappoint. It will leave you with a deep
sense of respect for the lands and the people who safeguard its
wonderful natural heritage.
Above:
A launch
trip down
the Kazinga
channel in
Queen Elizabeth
National park
provides an
opportunity to
see Hippos.
Far left:
The magnificent
Murchison
falls where the
mighty Victoria
Nile drops 43
metres (141
feet).
country focus: Uganda
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Conveniently situated in the leafy, up-market residential suburb of Kololo, within 5 minutes of the CBD and close to all major embassies.
Protea Hotel Kampala is the brand new alternative in luxury accommodation, offering a variety of services and facilities. GUESTs can unwind and refresh with a cocktail on the terrace, overlooking the plush
landscaped garden.
For more information, visit www.proteahotels.com
>>
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 9
country focus: Uganda
Conveniently situated in the leafy, up-market residential suburb of Kololo, within 5 minutes of the CBD and close to all major embassies.
Protea Hotel Kampala is the brand new alternative in luxury accommodation, offering a variety of services and facilities. GUESTs can unwind and refresh with a cocktail on the terrace, overlooking the plush
landscaped garden.
For more information, visit www.proteahotels.com
*Rate is for a single and double rates are higher. **The approximate dollar rate will fluctuate daily.
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 11
destination: Zanzibar
Zanzibar! It’s the kind of place you feel compelled to visit,
if only for its name. The word ‘Zanzibar’ smacks of
exoticism and intrigue. Did Bob Hope and Bing Crosby
really go there to make The Road to... film? If so, the town they
were in would have looked just like the one that I was seeing
now. Zanzibar is virtually unchanged in the last 200 years. It’s a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The old Stone town, Arabic in origin, is a maze of curved
narrow streets, some so skinny only one can pass at a time. The
curves, it is said, are there to ensure the broiling sun can’t sting
you for too long as you walk.
When walking in Zanzibar you come to love those curves.
Each one leads to what, for you, is a brand-new part of the
ancient town. There are minarets and spires, and crumbling
ruins; there are great hanging balconies, some overhung with
tropical shrubs; there are sets of window shutters, some warped
and flaky, while others freshly painted green, grey or blue; there
are bulging whitewashed coral walls, and doors – fabulous
doors – intricately carved with either Indian or Arabic motifs.The
bigger doors are studded with sharp brass bosses, which in India
stopped the elephants (of which there are none in Zanzibar) from
rubbing up against them. They certainly stopped me from rubbing
up against them!
You are hot in this town. The temperature averages 30ºC;
You sweat and walk, and sweat some more, and still you walk,
always around the curves. You come to busy little streets, like
Kiponda, where cloves amortise the air; you come to Baghani
Street where curios and batik cloth are sold. You see the famed
Zanzibar chests stacked in the doorways of the shops. They
are exquisitely crafted from teak or mahogany, and lavishly
embellished with brass. You would love to buy one.
You come often to the foreshore – in the north to the ‘Big
Three’ - the Sultan’s Palace, the ‘House of Wonders’ and the
18th century Arab fort; or in the south to the grand white
frontage of ‘Africa House’, its rear upstairs terrace giving hotel
guests the same spectacular sunset view that its club members
It was from here that Dr. Livingstone launched his
expedition to the Zambezi and Victoria Falls; from here
Sultan Sayyid Said ruled the Omani Empire; here where
Britain first gained its foothold in East Africa; here too, a
quarter of a million native Africans were sold to slavery.
Tom Cockrem reports:
Where Sultans Ruled
>>
When walking in Zanzibar you come to love those curves
12 | air uganda | february – april 2010
destination: Zanzibar
got a 100 years ago. You are reminded that old Zanzibar
straddles a peninsula which, located on the west of the island,
points directly to the African coast 30 kilometres away across
the channel.
The island where the town is situated, Unguja (86 kilometres
by 39 kilometres), is one of a pair that make up the province.
The other is Pemba. Zanzibar now belongs to Tanzania but it
didn’t always for Zanzibar once exerted considerable power over
much of East Africa.
In the mid-19th century, when Britain first became interested
in Africa, it was from the Sultan of Zanzibar that they had to
lease their land. The Sultans had been there for at least 900
years. Apart from the 16th and 17th centuries (not too long
when you say it fast), when the Portuguese held sway, the island
was their power base. Control of Zanzibar meant control of trade
to India, Arabia, Persia and the West; control of trade in spices
(especially cloves), copra and in human beings.
The notorious Arabian slaver, Tippu Tip, had around 10,000
African slaves working on his plantation. You can see his house in
town. Of course, it has a gorgeous wooden door, complete with
pointed studs. You wish someone had rubbed him up against them
– very hard.
You can also visit the old slave market, a Mkunazini. A big
Anglican Cathedral now occupies the auction site. But the
dungeons are still there – small and almost airless. Scores of
people died here, as my guide informed me, just waiting to be
sold. Only the strongest survived – just as the crafty slavers
would have liked. Slavery was abolished many times – in 1845,
in 1876 and finally for real in 1897. By this time the island
was a British protectorate, the Sultans having undermined their
own authority through feuds and usurptions. The last of the
long-serving Sultans, Say Caliph, was reduced to the status of a
figurehead. His palace is now a museum. Its furnishings, half of
them exquisite Indian pieces and the other half ‘contemporary’,
reflect the taste of his two wives, Bi Matuka and Bi Nunu
respectively.
Between the palace and the fort is the imposing ‘House of
Wonders’, so called because it was the first building in town to
have electric lights. It also had an electric lift, a ride on which
necessitated prior notice to an engineer who would have to
crank the generator into gear.
Zanzibar is a Muslim town. Around 95 per cent of its
citizens follow Islam. A few are Christians and even fewer,
Hindu. Zanzibaris are a dignified people, hospitable and polite.
They also like to have some fun.
On my last afternoon in town, my wanderings drew me down
to the foreshore yet again. The sun was big and low, and the
‘big Three’ were getting freshly painted in a glowing tangerine.
But my focus was elsewhere. In the Jamhuri Gardens across
the road, a crowd had gathered, as they do around this time.
>>
Above:
‘Their women,
segregated
and in purdah,
dressed in
simple Islamic
robes’.
Left:
Fisherman’s
nets hanging up
to dry.
Top right:
Visitors might
laze on the
coral sands,
lulled by the
soporific surf
and the rustle
of the palms.
© C
amer
apix
© C
amer
apix
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 13
destination: Zanzibar
There was music, and hawker stalls were already doing a
sprightly trade. There were barbecues – fresh squid sizzling in
spicy oils, meat balls and kebabs getting dipped in spicy sauce. I
was shown how to make my own chapati sandwich – laughter as
my meatball dropped into the salad bowl.
I sat and ate. A string of promenaders, aglow with smiles,
asked my opinion of the food – ‘really delicious!’. Here in this Air Uganda flies twice a week to Zanzibar
© C
amer
apix
leafy park, away from walls and skinny streets, Zanzibar was a
very different place. Here was space for congeniality, or space
enough for me to notice it. There was a place to simply sit, as
visitors and Zanzibaris like to do, to watch the sun go down, and
across Shangani street, to watch it painting crimson now the
Sultan’s Palace, the ‘House of Wonders’ and the old Arab fort.
The Onyx Jewellers has been established for over 35 years and has earned the reputation
as one of Kenya’s most prominent retailers of fine jewellery, precious and semi-precious
gemstones namely Tanzanites, Tsavorites and Diamonds as well as exquisite hand-
crafted sculptures and carvings.
Boasting a range of jewellery that is as diverse as its client base, our shops have
over the years, been frequently visited by various heads of state, dignitaries
and other high-profile personalities who have all enjoyed the Onyx
shopping experience and regularly commission pieces that today serve as
a continued testament to our commitment to, aesthetic designs, expert
craftsmanship and attention to detail.
The Onyx Jewellers remains dedicated to creating exquisite and delicately
designed pieces of fine jewellery that would suit any occasion.
Today these prestigious jewels and more are available from our shops at
the Nairobi Hilton Hotel, at our fine jewellery gallery located in Nairobi’s
ABC Place on Waiyaki Way and at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
If you would like to make an appointment or to visit any of our shops please contact us on;
+ 254 (0)733 786 117/118/119 or email: [email protected]
We look forward to seeing you!
14 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Pho
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Kat
e N
ivis
on
This is a place of great traffic and has a good harbour in
which are moored small crafts of many kinds and also
great ships . . .’ This was how a 15th century Portuguese
adventurer described Mombasa, and it is just as true today.
Kenya’s second city and East Africa’s largest port has a setting
that sounds as if it has come straight out of the ‘1001 Arabian
Nights’ stories.
The heart of Mombasa is an island situated at a river mouth
fringed with coconut palms and mangrove forests. The river silt
created a break in the great series of coral reefs and white-sand
beaches along East Africa’s coast, and for questing sailors,
whether from the east or the west, the opening must have
seemed like an invitation to explore and eventually to trade. That
feeling of openness remains one of Mombasa’s most hopeful
characteristics. Karibu! (meaning ‘welcome!’ in Kiswahili), can be
heard all along the coast, and far beyond Kenya’s borders.
Mombasa City has now spread well beyond its original island
base, and modern port facilities dwarf the original Dhow Harbour
by the Old Town. Business visitors or those looking for big city
buzz often opt for modern hotels, perhaps around Moi Avenue
and Mombasa Railway Station. Those in search of something
quieter with a more traditional ambience before ultimately hitting
the beaches may prefer a night or two in the Old Town. Many of
the old merchants’ houses have been
renovated back to their Swahili glory days
– all dark wood furnishings, glowing brass and drifting
white draperies – with of course every modern
convenience and delicious ‘fusion’ cuisine.
The Old Town was always Mombasa’s main attraction, from
the days of the great explorers such as Burton, Livingstone and
Stanley, to Karen Blixen of ‘Out of Africa’ fame and her colonial
contemporaries. Renovations are continuing, and while it is not
as extensive as Zanzibar’s Stone Town, the Old Town’s
atmospheric narrow streets offer lots of photographic
opportunities in the form of fine old houses with their iconic
brass-studded wooden doors, antique treasure trove
boutiques and craft workshops. The highlights include the grim
old Portuguese-built Fort Jesus, the Dhow Harbour with its fine
views across the creek, and other reminders of colonial times
such as the Mombasa Club, the Levens House (formerly
Government House) and the Old Post Office.
Other attractions in the city itself include the famous
ceremonial arch over Moi Avenue shaped like massive elephant
tusks forming an ‘M’ for Mombasa, and many fine mosques,
colourful temples and local markets. The oldest mosque in
Mombasa (the Mandhry Mosque, 1570) is in the Old Town,
Mombasa and the Sunny Swahili Coast
By Kate Nivison
destination: Mombasa
Above: Shanzu beach, home to a wide range of World Class resorts with fine cuisine and beaches.
‘
© C
amer
apix
© C
amer
apix
destination: Mombasa
as is one of the newest, the Ithna Asheri, with its shady
courtyard overlooking the Dhow Harbour, and there are
many others.
For visitors in search of sun and sand somewhere along Kenya’s
400 kilometres (250 miles) of Indian Ocean beaches, the range
of accommodation is growing, with around 500 hotels along the
coastal zone. The first decision is whether to head north or south of
Mombasa. Some claim the best beaches are to the south because
the reefs are further off-shore here than to the north, giving wider
stretches of pure white sand. On the other hand, the north has
even longer swathes of beaches and reefs, although in many places
the reef is very close to the beach. This results in considerable
expanses of coral being exposed at low tide, making swimming
difficult at that time. To compensate, the northern coastal scenery
is more varied. The beach-fringed low coastal forest skyline is broken
at intervals by winding freshwater creeks, rugged promontories and
occasional off-shore islands,with sisal plantations and giant baobabs
along the road.
South of Mombasa
There isn’t a bridge from Mombasa Island
across Kilindini Creek to the southern beaches,
but many travellers consider that taking the
Likoni Ferry is a holiday experience in itself.
These venerable vessels make the crossing
from where the matatu (minibus) terminal
disgorges its passengers in a lemming-like rush
down the slipway. If you’re in a vehicle, it’s worth
getting out and hugging the rails for a
panoramic view of modern Mombasa’s skyline.
It’s also a fine opportunity to people-watch and
reflect on the city’s more ancient role as a
great mixing pot for different ethnic groups and
cultures.
The road south is almost straight and flat,
through the dappled sunlight of palms groves
and patches of remaining forest. Wayside villages and schools flit
past among mango, banana, citrus and cashew nut trees, with
new villa complexes marked by bright splashes of bougainvillea.
At intervals to the left are the entrance gates to the many beach
hotels large and small that have access to the long stretches of
fine sands. The best known of these is Diani Beach, with high-end
luxury on Chale Island at its furthest point. The road goes on to
Msambweni and yet more resorts before it runs out at Shimoni
near the Tanzanian border.
North of Mombasa
The airport road leaves Mombasa for the north by the New
Nyali Bridge where, understandably, there is no stopping for
photographs. Nyali itself, with its famous beach, has now
become more or less a satellite of Mombasa. Old Nyali is still
rather grand with its good schools and clubs among huge shady
trees, while New Nyali is an up-and-coming residential area
served by good shopping malls and other urban facilities.
It is worth noting at this point that all Kenya’s beaches are
public unless stated otherwise by a particular resort hotel. Jomo
Kenyatta beach is less than 30 minutes from the city centre and
obviously gets very crowded. Now that much of the road north
has been resurfaced, the journey time to the northern beaches
has been reduced and is much more comfortable. Popular stops
along the way include Bamburi, home to Kenya’s largest cement
producer, with Mijikenda public beach.
Shanzu Beach has a line of resort hotels, often with shared
facilities such as pools and restaurants, ranged along its narrow
public sands and tidal coral foreshore. Sun-loungers are spread
among the coconut palms, while troops of resident monkeys
cause amusement and occasional havoc among the guests’
poolside snacks and belongings. Itinerant Somali camel owners
offer an exotic version of donkey rides along the sands.
Mombasa and the Sunny Swahili Coast
>>
Above: Windsurfing along the North Coast.
Right bottom:Metal tusks mark the 1952 visit of Queen Elizabeth to the city.
16 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Pho
to ©
Kat
e N
ivis
on
Further up the coast, the former port of Malindi, visited by the
great Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama on his way to the
Indies, has some buildings of historic interest and a small museum
whose most engaging exhibit is a rare Coelacanth ‘fossil fish’
caught locally, now eyeing the world from a preserving tank. Also
fascinating is a large reproduction of a 15th century Portuguese
map featuring the Indian Ocean, guaranteed to make anyone
wonder how these intrepid sailors ever got home again to tell the
tale. Of course, many didn’t and some of them are buried in a tiny
churchyard in Malindi by courtesy of the local sultan.
At the far end of the north coast road towards the Somalia
border is the beautiful and largely unspoilt Lamu archipelago.
These islands have been a ‘barefoot luxury’ hideaway for the rich
and famous for many years. Clients usually fly from Mombasa to
one of the small airstrips in the location such as Manda. This far
north, the climate is less humid and the skies more often a vivid
desert blue, picked up by the warm clear seas around the islands.
Whether staying north or south of Mombasa, visitors who want
something more than a poolside bar and a headset or book under
the palms have a choice of several ways to make their holiday truly
memorable. Water-based activities include snorkelling, scuba
diving and glass-bottomed boat trips to the better reef areas.
Some of these are now protected, such as the Mombasa Marine
Nature Reserve or Watamu National Park off Malindi. Dhow
sailing, creek trips, deep-sea fishing and water sports are also
popular.
For a ‘1001 Arabian Nights’ experience, Kilifi Creek on the
north coast offers a sunset dhow cruise and entertainment at a
pretty mini-palace that was once the summer residence of the
Sultan of Oman, complete with dancing girls and traditional food.
In Mombasa itself, sunset cruises round the Old Fort and up the
creeks vary from the sedate to full-on party mode.
It goes almost without saying that in a country as famous for its
wildlife as Kenya, many hotels offer drive/safari or fly/safari
packages for one or more nights. For a local forest safari
experience, Shimba Hills National Reserve is a reasonable drive
from the Diani Beach area, while north of Kilifi Creek, the Arabuko
Sokoke Forest Reserve offers something similar. For ‘Big Five’
game safaris, flights from local airstrips go to Tsavo East and
Maasai Mara National Parks.
>>
destination: Mombasa
Above: Laid back Swahili coast style, near Malindi.
These islands have been a ‘barefoot luxury’ hide away for the rich and famous for many years
Air Uganda flies every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday to Mombasa
18 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Pho
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Wik
iped
ia
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 19
destination: Kenya
>>
20 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Pho
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Wik
iped
ia
>>
22 | air uganda | february – april 2010
In 1866, Britain’s foremost explorer Dr David Livingstone, went
in search of the answer to an age-old geographical riddle:
where was the source of the Nile? Livingstone set out with a
large expedition on a course that would lead him through nearly
impenetrable, unmapped terrain and into areas populated by
fearsome man-eating tribes. Within weeks his planned itinerary
began to fall apart, his entourage deserted him and he vanished
without a trace into the African interior. Livingstone would not be
heard from again for two years.
David Livingstone had originally come to the notice of the
Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in London in 1849, when he
had been the first European to cross the Kalahari and to stand
on the shore of Lake Ngami. He was born on 19 March 1813
on the top floor of the tenement called ‘Shuttle-Row’ in the mill
town of Blantyre, near Glasgow in Scotland, the second son of
Neil Livingstone and his wife Agnes Hunter. They were a family
of straitened means, strict living and religious fervour. Largely
self-educated, he qualified as a doctor and was accepted for
service with the London Missionary Society (LMS) – a Protestant
interdenominational body with interests in southern Africa.
When Livingstone arrived in Cape Town in March 1841, the
LMS had been in southern Africa for 42 years. The first party
of LMS missionaries, led by Dr Johannes Van Der Kemp, had
arrived in Cape Town on 31 March 1799. They found that all
the peoples south of the Zambezi were in the midst of major
political and social changes and by the time Livingstone arrived,
this had had a severe impact on society as far north as what
are now Zambia and Malawi. Livingstone had arrived at the
Cape on the way to Kuruman (in Bechuanaland) some 1600
kilometres (1000 miles to the north), the station built and run
by the veteran missionary Robert Moffat whose daughter Mary
was to marry Livingstone in 1845. The young couple were
perpetually on the move, building three successive mission
stations in an effort to establish themselves beyond territory
constantly in dispute between Boer farmers and the local
people, with the missionary in the unenviable role of ‘piggy-in-the
middle’.
In 1849 David embarked on his first Lake Ngami expedition in
company with William Cotton Oswell, a wealthy big game hunter
who paid all expenses and was to become a life-long friend. In
1850, Livingstone again visited Lake Ngami taking his wife and
four children with him. In 1851, the same party reached the
Chobe and Zambezi rivers beyond which lay a ‘blank on the map’
which would have intrigued the African Association. Here spring
David LivingstoneThe Life Behind the LegendText and images from Peter Holthusen
history
Left:
An artist’s
impression of
an ailing David
Livingstone
being carried to
his hut on the
shores of Lake
Bangweulu.
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 23
the headwaters of the Zambezi flowing south and east to the
Indian Ocean and those of the Congo/Zaire flowing north and
west to the Atlantic. The region contains a vast watershed
abounding in streams, swamps, rivers and seasonal floods.
It was Livingstone’s understanding of the nature of the ground
he was to traverse, his careful notes and well designed maps that
have placed him in the front rank of geographers. In his steady
foot-slog across Africa he studied the lie of the land as it unfolded
before him, fitting its features into the great jigsaw which was to
become the map of Africa. It is often claimed that others – the
Hungarian László Magyar, for instance, and the Portuguese
Candido – reached the source of the Zambezi and crossed the
continent before him, but it was Livingstone who recorded the
geography and gave it to the world. What he saw on his 1851
journey convinced him that only by prospecting further north
could he find sites for mission stations out of the range of Boer
harassment. This was a task beyond the capacity of women and
children; he sent his wife and family off to England and prepared
himself for his great adventure.
Collecting supplies in Cape Town, Livingstone set out alone for
the homelands of Sekeletu, chief of the Makololo, between the
Chobe and the Zambezi rivers. Here, he hoped to establish a
mission out of the reach of land-hungry Boers. From Sekeletu’s
capital of Linyanti he travelled west with a hand-picked group
of Makololo – companions, not hired porters – to prospect an
avenue of trade with the coast which might be the means of
combating the slave trade that was beginning to penetrate inland.
It was in Angola that he first met this scourge of Africa, and
coming back disappointed to Linyanti, he made his way down the
Zambezi . As he went he visited the great falls of Mosi-oa-tunya or
‘the smoke that thunders’, which Livingstone named Victoria Falls
after the British Queen – ‘the only English name I have affixed to
any part of the country’, he later wrote.
Conditions in Mozambique were even worse than in Angola, and
Livingstone reached England in 1856 convinced that his purpose
in life must be to fight the slave trade. He received The Royal
Geographical Society’s Patron’s Medal for 1855 for his great
enlargement of geographical knowledge, and spent most of his
time stirring up the British public against the trade in humans
which was destroying Africa.
Livingstone was back in Africa in 1858 as the leader of an
expedition sponsored by the British Government and the RGS,
dedicated to opening up the Zambezi as a highway into the
interior. Circumstances were as unfavourable to his solitary
genius as can well be imagined. He was to have six colleagues all
wanting directions and encouragement; there were relations to
be established with the Portuguese authorities who controlled the
Zambezi some way beyond Tete (now in Mozambique). Livingstone
had neither the gift for handling colleagues and subordinates
(nor the wish to acquire it) and he simply detested the
Portuguese. Moreover, the whole project was ill-conceived from
a practical point of view.
The extent to which the idea of navigating the Zambezi had
taken hold of Livingstone’s imagination can be measured by the
extent to which it upset his geographical judgement. He allowed
himself to assume that the river was navigable as far upstream
as the Victoria Falls, although on his way downstream in 1856
he had cut across the country between Zumbo and Tete and so
Above:
David
Livingstone on
his return from
the Zambezi
in 1864,
photographed
by Thomas
Annan, one of
the pioneers of
photography in
Scotland.
Right:
In perhaps the
most famous
encounter in
the history of
exploration,
Henry Morton
Stanley
greeted
Livingstone with
the question,
“Dr Livingstone,
I presume?”.
history
>>
24 | air uganda | february – april 2010
had never reconnoitred the part of the river which contains the
steep fall of the Kebrabasa (Cabora Bassa) gorge; the river was
impassable at this point and the energies of the expedition were
diverted to the ascent of the Shire river into Lake Nyasa (present
day Malawi).
Many things went wrong: the steam launch from which much
was expected, the ‘Ma Robert’ (called after the African name for
Mrs Livingstone), gave endless trouble; the University’s Mission
which was one raison d’être of the expedition failed to establish
itself on the Shire; Mary Livingstone died of malaria. Not even the
ascent of the Shire and the geographical information gained on
the lake could redeem the Zambezi Expedition which was recalled
in 1864, in time for the fatal meeting of the British Association.
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, President of the RGS, was one
of Livingstone’s few close friends and between them they worked
out a scheme for finding the source of the Nile, centring on Lake
Tanganyika (Richard Burton’s choice) as being the most likely
origin of the river. Livingstone liked the idea of working Tanganyika
into the Nile system, lying as it did within reach of a country he
knew. He was to make his way by the Rovuma
river which was not in Portuguese territory and
which might turn out to be that highway into the
interior (this was one of Livingstone’s fixed
ideas) – in fact it proved as impracticable
as the Zambezi. He was then to make
his way to his own Lake Nyasa and so
north to Lake Tanganyika. He left in
1867. The expedition was modestly
equipped, but it was not thought
that an experienced traveller like
Livingstone, on partly familiar ground,
need be away long. As things transpired,
he spent six years on his last journey,
drifting here and there in the wake of
the Arab caravans which traded
around Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika,
isolated in an Africa ever more
demoralised by the slave trade
and swept by disease. His
powers, morale and physical
began to fail him, supplies
ran out, communications
with Zanzibar were cut, his
porters mutinied. Livingstone
was destitute.
On 10 November 1871,
Henry Morton Stanley, a
reporter for the ‘New York Herald’ who had come to Africa to find
the famous explorer, arrived in Ujiji and found a tired and broken
man. According to Stanley’s journal, it was a day that would
change the world. Livingstone was wearing a sun-faded blue cap
and red Jobo jacket like the Arabs. His clothing showed signs of
being patched and repaired. The explorer’s hair was white, he had
few teeth and his beard was bushy. He walked ‘with a firm but
heavy tread’, as if stepping on thorns.
Stanley stepped crisply towards the old man, removed his
helmet and extended his hand, striving desperately to say exactly
the right thing to such a distinguished English gentleman. His
greeting would become the most famous line in the history
of exploration. With a grave formal intonation, Stanley spoke
the most dignified words that came to mind: “Dr Livingstone, I
presume ?” “Yes”, Livingstone answered simply. “I thank God,
Doctor”, Stanley replied, appalled at how fragile Livingstone looked.
Livingstone revived in Stanley’s bracing company and together
they visited the northern end of Lake Tanganyika and ascertained
that the Ruzizi flowed into and not out of the lake, which could
not therefore be connected to the Nile. Livingstone became ever
more convinced that the Lualaba to the west of Tanganyika was a
headwater of the Nile, and that somewhere at its source were the
four fountains from which Herodotus claimed the great river rose.
Yet, he doubted.
‘I am oppressed’, he wrote, ‘by the apprehension that it may,
after all, turn out that I have been following the Congo, and who
would risk being put into a cannibal pot and converted into a black
man for it ?’. His last journals are full of such self-communication,
and while obstinacy hardened, confidence ebbed. He would not
take Stanley’s advice to return to England to restore his health.
He was determined to trudge on until he found the Nile fountains.
Unbeknown to Livingstone, he would never discover the source
of the Nile. In the predawn hours of 1 May 1873, in a village
near Lake Bangweulu, Livingstone’s companions found him dead,
kneeling beside his bed in prayer. Before carrying his body back
to the coast for transport to England, one of his followers, a
tribesman named Farijala, who had once been a surgeon in
Zanzibar, removed his heart and viscera and buried them under
a sprawling Mpundu tree on which he carved his name and the
date. The outer bark with the inscription is now preserved at the
Royal Geographical Society. He was buried in Westminster Abbey
on 18 April 1874.
David Livingstone, on his own account, failed in many ways.
He did not find the source of the Nile, end the slave trade,
or establish permanent missions in Africa, but his numerous
contributions to the geographical knowledge of Africa are without
equal, even today.
Left:
The memorial
statue of
Livingstone in
the Princes
Street Gardens
of Edinburgh,
Scotland.
Circumstances were as unfavourable to his solitary genius as can well be imagined
history
>>
26 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Pho
to ©
Dav
id P
luth
paradiseThe birds of
As you fly south from Europe across the deep blue bowl of the Mediterranean, Africa rises from the depths like a lifeless brown moonscape. From this great height, it is a
brutal land. The sands of the Sahara suck the precious rain into the earth and the sun bakes its surface without respite. It’s hard to imagine any living thing surviving in this savage wilderness. But look closely, and you’ll see some remarkable life not only surviving but thriving.
Where small oases defy the desert, bee-eaters, sunbirds, babblers, sandgrouse and scrub warblers quench their thirst and feed on insects and nectar. During the autumn migration thousands of swallows, swifts and other species will gather here
to refuel before braving the vast Sahara on their way to the green pastures of their wintering grounds.
Even the desert itself is alive with birds. Most of these are seed-eaters, although few can rely entirely on seeds, which contain very little water. Sandgrouse and Namaqua doves must drink regularly, as they eat nothing but seeds. This restricts their range and distribution. However, most desert birds supplement their diet with insects, allowing them to be independent of drinking water. These birds include an enormous variety of larks, wheatears and social weavers.
Perhaps the most spectacular birds of the desert are the bustards and their close relatives, the korhaans. The Kori bustard
nature & wildlife
Pho
tos
© D
avid
Plu
th
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 27
>>
is the world’s heaviest flying bird, although unsurprisingly it is usually reluctant to take off unless it is absolutely essential. The male engages in astonishing courtship rituals that involve fluffing out its tail and neck feathers, giving the appearance of a giant cuddly toy. Then with wings drooping and head held high, the male struts around, sounding a deep resonant ‘wum-wum-wummmm’ which females apparently find irresistible.
Africa’s change from desert brown to forest green is subtle. At this transition point are some of the richest birding sites on earth: the savannahs. Hornbills flit from branch to branch, fiscal shrikes survey the ground from their high perches, tawny eagles and augur buzzards soar on the thermals. In East Africa alone there are some 1,500 bird species. Here, world records for the number of species seen in a day have frequently been set and broken again, with tallies in excess of 300 quite common. One tour group advertises its bird excursions to East Africa as the ‘700 Safari’, referring to the number of species they expect to see in a short holiday – a figure higher than the entire British Isles, or almost any other European country.
Birds have no respect for political boundaries. The gift of flight gives them the power to explore new lands. On a continental landmass, it is rare for any species to be confined to one country.
The Great Rift Valley marks its passage through the lakes of Turkana, Baringo, Bogoria, Nakuru, Naivasha, Magadi, Natron and Manyara. These are names engraved on the heart of every globetrotting birdwatcher. The lakes attract avian migrants, together with a marvellous resident birdlife that depends on their fish and algae-rich waters.Each lake is different and worth a visit for its own specialities. Ferguson’s Gulf on Lake Turkana has an amazing list of rarities to its credit, including pomarine and long-tailed skuas from the Arctic and great black-headed gulls
from the great lakes of Central Asia. Nakuru is famous for the huge numbers of flamingos that turn its shorelines into seas of pink. Naivasha is one of the most exciting places that anyone with an interest in birds could visit; 100 species can be seen before breakfast with ease.
The greatest rainforest in Africa stretches along the Equator from the Atlantic coast to Kakamega forest in western Kenya. This fabulous forest is rapidly being eaten away by timber and farming enterprises, but there is still a great deal of avian interest. Sometimes the forest can appear lifeless, then suddenly the canopy is filled with a mixed feeding party of a dozen different species.
The splendour of some forest species must be seen to be believed. Among the greatest treasures are the turacos. Known as louries in South Africa and plantain-eaters in West Africa (despite the fact that they never eat plantains), the turacos are large, brightly coloured birds with exaggerated tails that they expand in flight or use to keep balance as they run like squirrels along tree branches.
Uganda has a large and diverse avifauna. More than 1,000 species, including many migratory species from Europe or Asia, have been recorded. Given the relatively small size of the country, this number is exceptionally high.
Human activities, especially forest clearing, have had an effect on the abundance and distribution of Ugandan birds. Some ubiquitous, open-country species, like the common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) and the mousebird (Colius striatus), have been able to proliferate and to extend their distribution widely, but many forest species are now confined to small relict patches of forest. Until now, no species has become extinct, however, and birds are still abundant in most areas of Uganda.
Right:
A grey headed
kingfisher
in Kenya’s
Samburu
National
Reserve.
Further right:
The crested
crane, Uganda’s
striking national
bird.
nature & wildlife
28 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Africa’s change from desert brown to forest green is subtle
One of the first impressions of most visitors, even the non-bird watchers, is the abundance of birds around Entebbe and Kampala. Small birds like sparrows, bright yellow weavers, metallic-blue starlings, and colourful sunbirds are everywhere. Woodland kingfisher, broad-billed roller, black-and-white flycatcher, black-headed gonolek, and Heuglin’s robin chat are common garden birds. Large fruiting trees in the middle of Kampala attract black-and-white casqued hornbill, crowned hornbill, great blue turaco, and Ross’s turaco. Abdim’s stork, black-headed heron, and hadada ibis are regular visitors on golf courses. Large birds like marabou stork, hooded vulture, black kite, and even African fish eagle are rarely absent from the sky. The marabou, the largest of all storks in Africa but also the most repulsive, with its large, fleshy pouch hanging from the neck, even breeds on some trees in the overcrowded city streets of Kampala. Outside towns and villages, birds are mainly distributed according to the occurrence of broad vegetation types.
Most birds of the woodlands and wooded grasslands – the most extensive type of natural or semi-natural habitat in Uganda – have a very broad distribution, both geographically and ecologically. They range widely outside Uganda: some are found all over East Africa; others reach South Africa or West Africa, and still others are found throughout tropical Africa. This is the case with many raptors like the black kite and black-shouldered kite, the African cuckoo falcon, most vultures, the harrier hawk, the splendid bateleur eagle, brown snake eagle and banded snake eagle, African hawk eagle, tawny eagle, several sparrowhawks and goshawks, lizard buzzard, long-crested eagle, crowned eagle, and martial eagle. Vultures and large eagles are now mainly confined to the national parks, except for the hooded vulture and palmnut vulture, which still have a wide distribution.
In the moist savannahs of southern and south-western Uganda occurs the black-headed olive-back, a small greenish, finch-like
bird with a black head and a narrow white collar. It lives in rank, lush vegetation on edges of swamps, around forests, and in cultivated areas and has a very restricted distribution. In the much drier acacia savannahs of Lake Mburo National Park are found other interesting species. The most peculiar is the red-faced barbet, a plump, black bird with a stout bill, yellow shafts to the primary feathers, and a bright red face. It is a rare species, restricted to a small area of south-western Uganda, eastern Rwanda, north-eastern Burundi, and north-western Tanzania. A much less spectacular species found in the Lake Mburo area, is the tiny Tabora cisticola, a small greyish warbler with a fairly long narrow tail and a russet crown. It is endemic to Uganda.
The bright blue Abyssinian roller, the large Abyssinian ground hornbill with its blue face wattles, black-billed barbet, white-fronted black chat, and black-faced firefinch occur all over the northern savannahs, from the Zaire border to Kenya.
In the areas around Lake Albert and the Murchison Falls National Park are found many species from west and central-west Africa, like the red-necked buzzard, which is mainly a non-breeding visitor to the area, Heuglin’s francolin, black-bellied wooddove, Bruce’s green pigeon, white-crested turaco, long-tailed nightjar, red-throated bee-eater, piac-piac, Emin’s shrike, dusky babbler, red-winged grey warbler, white-rumped seedeater, and grey-headed olive-back. This last species closely resembles the black-headed olive-back, but most of the black of the head is replaced by a pale grey.
In the semi-arid areas of Karamoja in the north-east – in and around the Kidepo Valley National Park – are found typically dry country species like the ostrich, swallow-tailed kite, the tiny pygmy falcon, fox kestrel and white-eyed kestrel, Clapperton’s francolin, stone partridge, kori bustard, Hartlaub’s bustard, white-bellied bustard, Abyssinian scimitarbill, red-and-yellow barbet, red-pate cisticola, and Karamoja apalis.
nature & wildlife
Above
left to right:
A grey heron,
known to nest
in colonies.
The weaver
bird, has the
most elaborate
nest of any
birds.
The strikingly-
coloured
saddlebilled
stork with a
blade-shaped
bill.
The Murchison
shoebill, derives
its name from
its massive,
shoe-shaped
bill.
The fish eagle,
perches on
exposed
waterside
trees.
>>
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 29
nature & wildlife
The splendour of some species must be seen to be believed
Uganda is especially rich in forest birds. They form a very substantial part of the avifauna and are one of the best reasons for a birdwatcher to visit Uganda. Some species have a widespread distribution, occurring in many different forests. Others are restricted to one, two, or three forest blocks, mostly along the western Rift — the richest being the Budongo, Kibale, Semuliki, Maramagambo-Kalinzu, and Bwindi forests. These forests harbour many central or west African species, which reach their easternmost limit of distribution in western Uganda.Especially in the lowland forests of the Semuliki National Park, which are an extension of the forests of the Zaire Basin, there are many species that don’t occur elsewhere in East Africa. These include the spotted ibis, Congo serpent eagle, chestnut-flanked goshawk, long-tailed hawk, Bates’ nightjar, black-wattled hornbill, red-billed dwarf hornbill, black dwarf hornbill and white-crested hornbill, African piculet, Gabon woodpecker, yellow-throated nicator, black-winged oriole, Sassi’s olive greenbul, bearded greenbul and capuchin babbler, northern bearded scrub robin, forest ground thrush, grey ground thrush, red-eyed puffback, pale-fronted negrofinch, and Grant’s bluebill. Cassin’s spinetail is known from only Budongo Forest.
Montane forests harbour more species with a restricted distribution. The high-altitude forests along the western Rift have many species that occur nowhere else: the Kivu-Ruwenzori endemics.
The best places to spot them are the forests of the Ruwenzori range and those of Bwindi. There one can find the handsome francolin, Ruwenzori turaco, Ruwenzori batis, white-bellied crested flycatcher, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, Ruwenzori apalis, red-faced woodland warbler, red-throated alethe, Archer’s robin-chat, mountain black boubou, stripe-breasted tit, purple breasted sunbird, regal sunbird, blue-headed sunbird, strange weaver, dusky crimson-wing, Shelley’s crimson-wing, and dusky
twinspot. The Tanganyika ground-thrush is restricted to Bwindi and the volcanoes. The dwarf honeyguide, short-tailed warbler, and Grauer’s warbler are found only in the Bwindi Forest.The rarely seen green broadbill is found in only the higher parts of the Bwindi Forest, mainly around Ruhija and the Bwindi swamp.
The extensive and diverse wetlands attract a rich waterbird fauna. Most of the species of pelicans, cormorants and darters, herons, storks, ibises and spoonbills, ducks and geese, plovers, waders and gulls, raptors, and passerines known to occur in the eastern and southern African wetlands exist in Uganda. The African fish eagle is abundant, and some rare species like the rufous-bellied heron are also quite widespread.
Some species typically restricted to papyrus swamps and virtually endemic to the Lake Victoria basin, like the papyrus gonolek, the white-winged warbler, and the papyrus canary, are also widespread. The striking shoebill stork is known from the Victoria Nile and the larger swamps around lakes George, Edward, Victoria, and Kyoga. It is a large bird, about the size of a marabou, silver-grey with a conspicuous broad bill. It can stand motionless for hours on floating meadows or on the water’s edge, waiting for fish.
In the montane swamps of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park occurs the very local, unobtrusive and skulking Grauer’s rush warbler, known from only a few places in south-western Uganda, western Rwanda, and northern Burundi. On the Semuliki River Hartlaub’s duck has been recorded, and along the edges of swamps north-east of Lake Kyoga lives the only strictly Ugandan endemic species: Fox’s weaver.
Africa is a land of contrasts, beauty and delicately balanced ecosystems, which serve as home or resting place to great numbers of endemic and migrant species. So when you’re packing your bags, whatever you do, don’t forget the binoculars!
30 | air uganda | february – april 2010
For more information contact: Books ’R’ Us LTD, | P.O. Box 45048, 00100 G.P.O. Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 (20) 4448923 / 4 / 5 | Fax: +254 (20) 444 8818 or 4441021 Email: [email protected] www.camerapixpublishers.com
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The superb photography is the work of David Pluth who has made
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book world
32 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Romancing the Orange
Do you wish to make someone love you for ever? Trust the
orange – the golden apple of Hesperides. An elixir of love
can easily be concocted with a few gratings of candied
orange peel. But if your wish is just to dream of your beloved
at night, you can make it come true by carrying two pieces of
orange peel in your pocket during the day. In any event, the
orange boasts a long record of appreciation, and is traditionally
regarded as a symbol of fecundity. Orange blossoms are tucked
to bridal head-dresses, bouquets and even the wedding cakes.
After all, Zeus had presented Hera with an orange at their
wedding.
On a more everyday basis, the versatility of the orange is
virtually limitless – orange juice, fresh or frozen, orange in
cakes and puddings, orange in sauces, orange liqueur,
orange essential oil... surely, the orange deserves to be
taken seriously.
Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, spoke of citrus as a
medicinal fruit, antidote, moth repellent and source of aroma.
He was the first to use the word ‘citrus’. One of the earliest
scientific treatises on the citrus fruits was presented by the 12th
century Chinese who suggested that the peel of the chu (orange)
was very good when prepared and used as a tonic. A Roman
Jesuit, Ferrarius in 1646 recorded interesting juicy orange
anecdotes of his times. He mentions the use of orange flowers
(by fermentation) as a remedy for the heart and the production of
snuff from the orange rind. Fresh or dried orange flowers added
to a bath is believed to make one
attractive.
Because of its colour (an
aircraft’s ‘black box’ is not black
but orange for easy detection),
aroma and flavour, the orange
is a very appetising fruit. The
most important orange derivative
is its oil for essence and used
in perfumes, candies, food
products, and juice. Andulasian
women (noted for their fiery
glances) add few drops of
orange juice to their eyes to
make them sparkle. Because
of the high concentration of
nutrients found in orange juice
it is commercialised as fresh,
pasteurised, concentrated, with
or without pulp and powdered.
At its earliest, oranges (the
bitter variety) are believed to
have been used for the fragrance
of their rind. They were treasured as perfume and also used in
flavouring. The sweet smell of orange grove can be created by
putting orange peel (better if you can procure the Seville variety)
in a small pan of water and allow it to simmer on the stove. Your
house will smell as good as a grove.
For all the attention the orange has attracted throughout its
long history, the controversy regarding its birthplace remains
unsettled. Perhaps, as some historians believe, the orange tree
is native to southern China or Indo-China. It has also been argued
that the orange first saw the light of day beyond Mohenjodaro.
From there, the seeds were purportedly taken north and south
in Sumeria. The theory has also been advanced that the orange
originated in the Malay archipelago and then migrated to India,
the eastern coast of Africa and the Mediterranean region. The
Japanese believe that the orange was brought from the eternal
land at the request of their Emperor.
Oranges are eaten as emblems of good fortune on the second
day of the Chinese New Year. It is revered as a sacred, heavenly
fruit responsible for everlasting life. Greatly helped by the Roman
conquests, the opening of the Moslem trade routes, and Islamic
expansion, the golden fruit began to spread. And in 1399, the
orange was the peer of the distinguished delicacies that graced
the banquet table at the coronation of King Henry IV. A guest in
Imperial Rome could evaluate himself by the number of oranges
placed on the host’s table.
by Shaheen Perveen
healthy living
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 33
Few species, however, are as extensively cultivated as the
mandarin and the common sweet China orange varieties. Much
before the sweet orange made its debut, the sour variety had
travelled throughout and was equally well received. Seville (Spain)
is still famous for the bitter variety. These bitter oranges are
exported to England where they
are processed for marmalade and
medicinal uses.
Vasco da Gama’s return to
Portugal after the discovery of the
sea route produced a superior kind
of sweet orange. The Portuguese
orange was referred to as ‘China
orange’ and was popular throughout
Europe. In Greece it is still called
Portukali.
Too exotic to be afforded, the
orange rested its laurels until it
began to make an appearance in
English theatres, where Elizabethan
young women sold them to the
audiences. Baskets filled with
colourful oranges became part
of the theatre setting, and so
remained for a long time. The
first greenhouses were called
‘orangeries’ because the fruit
becomes damaged by frost and so
the nobles of Europe would not risk
such a delicious fruit.
The orange has a modest mineral content. One cup of orange
juice provides up to two times your daily Vitamin C requirement
(60 milligrammes) which disables the free radicals that harm
the blood vessel linings. A cup of
frozen orange juice provides around
100 microgrammes of folic acid,
which is vital to pregnant women,
as it reduces the risk of premature
delivery and of birth defects. Orange
juice lowers the blood levels of
homocysteine – an amino acid
linked to an increased risk of heart
disease and stroke. Besides being
a cardiac medicine, orange juice is
also a hepatic tonic that provides
a sense of well being by purifying
the blood and keeping in control the
extra production of bile in the liver.
Intake of orange juice also controls
high blood pressure as it is rich in
potassium that helps to maintain
the body’s proper fluid balance and
to transfer nutrients to the cells.
Orange juice is specially
recommended for winter months
to ensure a regular supply of
Vitamin C. Prefer honey to sugar if
a sweetener is desired. When one is not
able to digest anything, orange juice
can be considered as it exerts the
least pressure on the stomach while
transforming it into body elements.
In fact, the orange refreshes the
body and purges the system of toxic
substances that feed on the blood and
muscles of the human structure and
are the root causes of excessive thirst.
Orange juice can also be mixed with
barley. It is used in rituals in place
of wine.
Unripe oranges are believed to
benefit the teenage pimples and adult
acne. After extracting the pips, dry
them in the sun and grind them. Milk is
added to make paste which is applied
on the eruptions. Those suffering from
bronchitis can place a split orange
in a saucepan. Stir in a teaspoon of
raw honey and a quarter cup of extra
orange juice. Simmer until very soft.
Consume the whole preparation,
including the skin, twice daily. Varicose
veins can be prevented by the intake
of orange peel. The peel can be made palatable if it is drunk as
orange wine.
Cellulose of oranges or lemons impart a laxative effect and for
this reason the Mediterranean people
prefer the white peel. They remove the
outer rind while leaving the white peel
intact on the orange and consume it
together with the fruit.
Mughal King, Mohammad Shah
Rangila was fond of oranges and after
procuring the best ones, he got them
peeled and immersed the pulp in syrup
so that it absorbed sweetness and ate
it after three hours. Oranges, if kept
in an earthen pot in ice for sometime,
become exquisitely fragrant. Teeth can
be saved from the effects of acidity if
oranges are taken along with a pinch of
salt and pepper.
Not to worry if you have consumed
too many oranges. Any such indigestion
can be counteracted by taking salt
or jaggery.
34 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Linguists today think that all languages have the same
purpose and deep structure; and are, at heart, doing the
same thing.This appears to be true of healthy businesses
too. All healthy businesses have the same purpose: to grow
and maximise profitability within the markets in which they are
operating. There’s plenty of practical empirical evidence to
suggest that healthy businesses also share common structures
and the way they organise their activities.
Management skills, are thus widely regarded as transferable
between different vertical sectors. Senior executives tend to be
recruited (or appointed to Boards) based on their successes
in roles where by it is their positive impact on a particular
organisation that matters rather than the sector in which the
organisation operates. This suggests that healthy businesses
have in common, organic things which good managers can
consistently nurture and develop, whatever the nature of the
vertical sector where the business operates.
Similarly, university and business school courses focus on
management skills in a general sense. ‘Serial entrepreneurs’
are, by definition, fabled for their expertise at forming, growing
and then selling businesses in a wide variety of sectors. Indeed,
At heart all healthy businesses are trying to do the same thing, says David Ollerhead.
The simple route to a business’s
health, wealth & happine$$
the very existence of management consultants who are geared
to consulting in any sector where managers need assistance
or guidance, is perhaps the most decisive evidence of all thus
‘management skill’ is a tangible, discrete and specific thing which is
basically sector-independent.
Further evidence that healthy businesses are all doing much the
same thing is found in how brands operate. Major brands positively
exult in their ability to win a presence in markets that on the face
of it are disparate but in practice tend to become linked when a
brand successfully establishes a loyal, enthusiastic, customer base.
Taking two examples, the Virgin brand (including music, travel,
publishing, financial services and soft drinks) has come to be
associated with fun, youthfulness, value for money and Richard
Branson, while the Saga brand (including travel, publishing,
financial services) is seen by many adherents as signifying reliability,
good quality, and a square deal for the over-50s. Brand-loyal
customers willing to buy from more than one and very possibly all
the different businesses under one particular brand obviously feel
that the brand is more important than what’s being sold.
The science of linguistics that originated the idea of, deep
down, all languages being the same is a fascinating science,
biz sense
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 35
but ultimately simply an academic pursuit. Business, on the
other hand, powers the world’s wealth and is, for most people,
the source of their income and economic security. Big-picture
conclusions about businesses and how they work consequently
have massive implications for all of us.
The route to growing and maximising profits is to sell more
products or services to more customers, given that neither the
business nor its customers will want there to be any negative
changes in the quality of the products or services being delivered.
Equally important, in the case of a service, the business will not
want customers to be over-serviced, which will increase the
quality of what is being supplied but make supplying it much less
profitable. The organisation will also want to sell more things to
more customers without disproportionately increasing the time
taken to supply what is being sold.
For healthy businesses, a melodious and useful mantra is:
‘Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash-flow is key’. Chasing
revenue for its own sake makes no sense if the revenue does
not come accompanied by a healthy profit and a correspondingly
healthy and positive cash-flow.
Above all, it makes no sense for a business to succeed in its
aim of selling more products or services to more customers
unless the business can do so without disproportionately
increasing the cost of supplying what is being sold. Similarly, the
business will want to avoid disproportionately reducing the prices
of what is being sold. Selling more things to more customers by
slashing the price (such as through a ‘buy one get one free’ offer)
can easily reduce profit and so be self-defeating.
Within the constraints of these qualifications, the aims of
healthy businesses are clear. All healthy businesses are trying to
sell more things to more customers without:
Compromising the need for the business to supply •
products and services to the required (rather than
excessive) level of quality.
Incurring costs that make supplying the products and •
services unprofitable.
Reducing prices to a level where supplying the product or •
service becomes unprofitable.
How does a healthy business achieve these vital objectives?
Ultimately, the very nature of what a healthy business actually
is suggests there can only be one answer to this question.
The only way for a business to sell more products and
services to more customers is to have a total focus on its
customers. The fact that this answer, baldly stated, sounds
straightforward does not make it any easier to achieve, or
lessen its importance.
The first challenge in achieving this vital customer focus is
knowing who your customers are, which includes your existing
customers (i.e. the ones you’ve won already) and also your
potential customers (i.e. the ones you could win). The second
challenge is knowing what your existing and potential customers
need, at least in the context of what you are able to sell to them.
This challenge may well be more difficult than the former, but
mastering this second challenge is vital to your success, because
until you truly understand what your customers need, it is always
possible that:
You might be offering customers things that they don’t •
actually want, or that are not enough to customers’ wants.
You might be focusing on irrelevant issues (e.g. cost-•
discounting things customers don’t really want) instead of
getting to grips with finding out what customers do want.
You might start improving areas of your business that have •
no ultimate effect on customers and the improvement of
which will therefore not lead to you selling more things to
more customers.
The third challenge, once you know what your customers do
want from you, is to work out how you can meet these needs by
profitably producing goods and services as efficiently as possible.
The fourth challenge is the need to commit yourself to
ensuring that your responses to the first three challenges are
subjected to a continual state of interrogation that involves
making sure your responses are undergoing a continual state of
improvement.
The four challenges are fairly easily stated but by no
means easy to meet. They involve, above all, establishing and
maintaining a focus on your customers rather than on internal
matters at the business or on your own personal concerns. But
businesses that really do rise to the challenges – businesses that
become, in effect, experts at focusing on customer needs – can
enjoy prodigious success.
biz sense
36 | air uganda | february – april 2010
One of the obvious themes amongst those who are winning
their games in life is that they are able to achieve so
much with their days. How is it that a few seem to
achieve an enormous amount of work whilst the majority remain
frustrated by their lack of achievement? Why is it that a few
seem to be able to fit in work, family, sports and friends with
ease, whilst many fail to even cope on one of these aspects
alone?
How do these magicians of time achieve what they set out to
do? What is it that they do?
They use the art of effective time management. Let me share
with you six tips to help you become more effective with your time.
Apply these six tips and you will see the difference in your results.
Be aware of your timeSuccessful people are aware of their time. The question you
must first reflect on is, how are you spending your hours? For the
next week, get your diary and note exactly how you are spending
your time. Split your time in segments of 30 minutes using an
alarm timer on your watch or mobile phone. Take notes of what
you have done during each period.
You will become aware and amazed as to how you are spending
your time. Once you become consciously aware, then you learn to
protect your time from being wasted.
Plan in advanceSuccessful people plan their months, weeks, days and hours
in advance. By planning in advance they save themselves from
wasting time, not knowing what to do next. They reduce the
amount of time they spend frustrated and overwhelmed because
they simply follow a list of pre-planned events.
80/20 Principle – busy versus productiveThere is a difference between being busy and being productive.
So many people are caught up being busy. Being busy is being
robbed of your time with no return. Being productive is utilising
your time to achieve your goals.
Most people live under stress. They are overworked,
overwhelmed and feel under rewarded. This is because they put
too much energy into tasks that generate little value towards
their desired end result. In many instances, only 20 per cent of
your work is getting 80 per cent of your results. With that in
mind, figure out what 20 per cent of your day to day work gives
you 80 per cent of your bottom line. Focus on that.
Prioritise, eliminate, systemise and delegateWhat can I eliminate? Elimination is fun and yet difficult.
Fun because you will remove the clutter from your life.
Difficult because you will not be used to having so much free time
once you correctly apply this method.
What can I systemise? Of the tasks that remain, what can be
systemised? For example, could you have an auto responder
setup on your email to confirm the receipt of emails on behalf of
you, rather than have you reply to every single one of them?
What can I delegate? What tasks don’t require your level of
expertise? What can you delegate that will not be affected if you
have someone else do it. If it is making customer service calls
or getting the cleaning done around the house, could you have
someone else take care of that whilst you focus on what you do
best to achieve maximum results.
What can I prioritise? With the tasks you have left to do,
prioritise everything you do and ask yourself what actions you
need to take, to get the results you desire. Prioritise them in
order and get working on them. Spend your time working on high
value activities before attending to low value activities.
You must ask yourself, what is worth doing? What can I
cut back on? How can I remove the clutter that is bogging
me down? What should I focus my attention on? Working on
your best 20 per cent should see you increase your results
dramatically.
TIME Can we achieve more with our time?
asks Kevin Abdulrahman
Magicians
feature
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 37
Get the worst out of the way firstIt is easy to remain in the cycle of
being busy because it is a habit and
an easy to do so. The tasks that
result in our being productive are the
tasks we tend to put off. If you are
fearful of something, or are feeling like
you are putting off an important action,
then you must do it first. Get it out
of the way.
Drop your excusesBe true to yourself. Ask yourself, ‘to
achieve what my heart desires, am I taking
the actions that I need to be taking?’ If you
are not, you can actively do something about it.
You already know people who achieve so much in
the same 24 hours that you live. The proof is
already there. Successful people take action. Use the
knowledge to start achieving more.
So in closing, remember to be assertive with
your time. Respect your time for others to
respect it. Protect your time for others to protect it.
Do what only really matters. Do the above and you will be
well on your way to achieving more in your life.
https://www.KevInspire.com
Once you become consciously aware, then you learn to protect your time from being wasted
feature
38 | air uganda | february – april 2010
As air travel becomes ever more like taking a trip down the high street, Graham Hancock offers six suggestions for surviving
that airbus ride. International jet travel can be an exhausting business. It’s not just the flying for hours and hours – which is
bad enough – but also what happens to you after you get to your destination. Arriving in a country you’ve never visited before
can be like landing on the moon. The disorientation gets much worse if you’re also jet-lagged, or just plain pooped.
However, there are things you can do to make both the going and the getting there easier. Over the 20 years of heavy-duty travel
(including numerous visits to East Africa), I’ve developed a number of hard-fast rules to minimise the aggravation.
Rule number one is always travel light. Nothing makes
a journey more unpleasant and difficult than a 20-kilogramme
suitcase (except, of course, a 30-kilogramme suitcase). The
problems begin the minute you start trying to lug your bags to the
airport: blistered hands, sore back, bruised shins, aching arms,
shortage of breath, perspiration – and that’s before you get to the
front door!
Then you have to check it in (excess baggage charges if you’re
over your allowance). Then, when you’re airborne, you always find
there’s some item or other in the hold that you would really like to
have in the cabin with you.
And finally, when you arrive, there’s the worry that your
suitcase might have gone elsewhere (you’ve heard the stories
– breakfast in London, lunch in New York, baggage in Buenos
Aires).
At the very least you’re going to have to hang around the
conveyor belt with all the other passengers waiting for the
luggage to turn up – and depending on the efficiency of the
airport this can involve anything from minutes to hours. If it’s hot
(Khartoum in August) or cold (London in January with the central
heating broken down), then the waiting time can be very
uncomfortable. And the problems don’t end here.
You still have the ordeal of customs ahead of you (if the
customs officer got out of bed on the wrong side that morning
you might end up having to repack your suitcase completely; and
you can almost be sure that you won’t be able to close it prop-
erly). Thus, flustered, tired, hot (or cold), bruised and blistered,
you emerge from the airport clutching your
bulging suitcase and in no state to resist the
various hustlers, grifters and
crooked taxi drivers lying in
wait for you.
Ask yourself if you need
all this (you don’t) and
resolve next time to travel
with hand baggage only.
If you think about what
you’re doing before you
start packing you’ll realise
that for nine trips out of
10, you just don’t require all those changes of clothes and other
gear that you usually take with you. And if that’s true then you
don’t require a suitcase either.
I travel only with my briefcase (for papers) and a soft squashy
shoulder bag into which I can get five shirts, five changes of
underwear, five pairs of socks, a couple of pairs of slacks and,
when visiting Uganda, a woolly or two to ward off the chill in the
evenings. I wear a lightweight washable suit onto the plane (I’ve
rarely found I need two suits with me) and usually don’t bother to
bring a spare pair of shoes.
Even for trips lasting two weeks or more this minimal
wardrobe is enough to suffice – I’ve never been in a backwater
so remote that I couldn’t get laundry done by someone.
The great advantage is mobility and speed – with just hand
baggage you can afford to check in later than you otherwise
might and, of course, you’re off the plane and straight out of the
airport at the end. But there are definite psychological benefits
as well.
Unencumbered, you feel – and in fact are – less vulnerable
to hustlers. You don’t need to depend on porters and, if you
don’t like the look of the first taxi driver you see you
can always walk over and start bargaining with the
second. All this means you’re more in control –
and that’s important when you’re arriving for
the first time in a strange place.
Rule number two is for people like me who wear glasses.
Always, always take a spare pair with you when you travel abroad.
If you have only the one pair and they get broken in Ouagadougou
or, for that matter, Washington DC, then you’re letting
yourself in for major inconvenience and possibly
major expense as well. In some destinations
– Far East is a good example – you can get a
replacement pair of spectacles made up quickly
and cheaply but even there you’re going to have
to do without them for atleast 48 hours.
In remote rural areas you simply won’t be
able to get a replacement – and the shorter
sighted you are the more crippling that
will be.
Travelling Right
travelling
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 39
The solution, as I say, is to bring along a spare pair (in fact I’m
so obsessional about this that I usually bring two spare pairs).
Rule number three is that you should carry at least a
dozen small passport-sized photographs of yourself in your
wallet. This rule is for any traveller in Africa who intends to visit
not only cities but also the provinces.
Remember that many African states (often with good reason)
are suspicious of foreigners who want to trample around outside
the capital. The result of this suspicion is that more and more
countries now require that special permits be issued for internal
travel (this particularly applies to journalists but also to tourists
or business visitors whose interests take them off the beaten
track).
While I’m afraid I can’t offer any magic bullet for dealing with
the bureaucracies that administer internal travel permits (just
be polite and patient), rule number three will help to iron out
one of the problems – namely that the forms you have to fill
in invariably require that you also affix a small photograph of
yourself.
Almost all cities in Africa are now
equipped with those automatic
booths that will take your
photograph for a few cents
but it still makes sense to
carry some photos with you.
While I’m on the subject, I
would also advise the well
prepared traveller to take some
carbon paper along. It really
does make life easier when you
have to fill out forms in triplicate.
Rule number four concerns the
care and maintenance of your stomach.
I don’t know about you, but I find it is better
to request a vegetarian meal when you fly.
Most airlines will willingly oblige as long as you
notify them a day or so before departure and, in
my experience, the results they come up with are
generally very pleasing.
Quite a lot of imagination goes into catering these
‘special meals’ and, precisely because they are special,
they don’t have that production-line feel about them.
There’s another benefit too: unlike meat, vegetables are low in
saturated fats and there’s now a lot of evidence to suggest that
avoiding saturated fats before and during long air journeys helps
cut the effects of jet lag down to size.
Rule number five is about smoking and drinking. If you
want to arrive at your destination in good condition then you
should swear off tobacco (which is not allowed on any flights
these days) and alcohol for the duration. Physiologically, alcohol
has a dehydrating effect on the system (which is what causes
hangovers). When account is taken of the added dehydration
that results from the pressurised atmosphere inside airline
cabins, you can see why it is that in-flight drinking sprees so
often result in really bad headaches.
Cigarettes make things worse by reducing the amount of
oxygen in your bloodstream and, if you’re the masochistic type,
you can go on to deliver the coup de grace to your system by
drinking lots and lots of airline coffee (which will further
dehydrate you and virtually guarantee you a mega-hangover
on arrival).
The only answer, I’m afraid, is to sit and quaff lots of fruit juice
or water (both of which will help to rehydrate you). Carbonated
soft drinks, however, should be avoided. This is because
pressurised atmospheres not only dehydrate you but also have
the effect of expanding the natural gasses in your stomach – an
effect that is worsened by the fizz in fizzy drinks.
Rule number six is very much a personal preference: if
I have a choice I always opt for an aisle rather than a window
seat. When I first started travelling I wanted to sit by the
window in the belief that I would see picturesque views out of it.
I quickly found, however, that I was mistaken in this belief.
The fact is that for the bulk of the journey in any modern
aircraft you’re just too high to make out anything of interest on
the ground. The few minutes of sightseeing that you may get on
take-off and landing are, in my opinion, not worth the discomfort
and claustrophobia of being hemmed in beside the window for
eight or nine hours.
In the aisle seat, on the other hand, you can stretch out your
legs that bit further and get up and walk around the cabin
without having to worry about disturbing the people next to you.
On a long flight, the little bit of extra freedom this affords can
make a big difference to your general comfort and state
of mind.
40 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Visitors wanting to discover the traditional dishes of
Uganda will not be disappointed. Uganda’s fertile soils
and abundant freshwater lakes provide a true cornucopia
of good things to eat, and visitors are sure to be delighted with
what they sample – whether it be the country’s unique traditional
dishes or even the more familiar Western-style dishes, made
special by local ingredients.
From Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Victoria, come two
mainstays of many a Ugandan’s diet: Nile perch and tilapia.
Fishermen can often be seen near the lake in the late afternoon,
carrying their day’s catch of Nile perch – a single specimen of
which may weigh more than 80 kilogrammes (176 pounds) – to
the market. It is usually served fresh, but a small-sized perch
may be smoked. The much smaller – but equally tasty – tilapia,
known locally as ngege, is normally consumed fresh and rarely
dried.
Uganda’s waters are also home to another – perhaps not
so conventional foodstuff: the Nile crocodile. Ugandans are
beginning to discover the versatility of crocodile meat, which
is much nicer than it would seem, with a flavour variously
described as resembling chicken, veal, or fish. As the number of
commercially raised crocodiles increases, in a few years time its
meat will undoubtedly be appearing in some supermarkets.
For snacks, local people are somewhat addicted to
muchomo, charcoal-roasted beef, pork or chicken. Young
men in the urban areas can often be seen selling skewered
pieces of meat, which they grill on portable charcoal stoves.
Roasted meat can be found at a number of roadside markets
Tastes of Uganda
So if you’re visiting Uganda, don’t just stick to ‘safe’ western food – if you do you’ll be missing out on something special
along the main roads. While travelling from Kampala to Jinja,
you can make a stop-over at Nabiwojjojo – almost at the
halfway point of the journey – and enjoy roast chicken meat,
gizzards, cow liver, beef, or pork. This can be accompanied
by grilled bananas – the
sweet speciality locally
called gonja – or fresh
banana wine.
The colourful roadside
markets are also the
place to buy the incredible
variety of fresh tropical fruits
and vegetables grown in the country,
such as several types of banana, passion fruit, oranges,
mangoes, onions, tomatoes, juicy pawpaw (papaya), avocados,
potatoes, and many more.
Uganda’s traditional ethnic dishes are basic and simple. Beef
stew is the staple diet for the more well-to-do, while ground
peanuts (groundnuts) and beans, boiled and seasoned with ginger
and cooking oil, is the most popular vegetarian dish.
But what has become the ‘national dish’ is matoke – peeled
bananas boiled in water while wrapped in banana leaves. Every
visitor should try it at least once, preferably as a guest in a rural
home, eating with the fingers. When eaten in a private residence,
matoke is often accompanied with a variety of tasty relishes
and vegetables not often found in more conventional tourist
surroundings. Matoke is eaten in most parts of the country,
but particularly in the Buganda, western, and eastern regions.
The special matoke bananas are grown mostly in Buganda
and western Uganda on well-watered land: the banana plant
requires much rain to yield a good crop. In the drier, northern
parts of the country, millet, sorghum, and cassava are grown
as food crops. They are cooked and eaten with a sauce made
out of groundnuts, simsim (sesame), different meats and fish,
as well as leafy greens.
If you really want to throw all caution to the wind, make sure
you try such local delicacies as green grasshoppers, locally called
nsenene (particularly abundant during the rainy seasons), and
white ants (actually, termites). The Bagisu tribe also relish young
bamboo shoots, which they call amaleewa. If any of these are
offered to you, don’t let the opportunity pass you by; they are
nicer than you might expect.
Cultivation of maize has become popular in all regions of the
country. Maize is served in local restaurants and if cooked well
food
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 41
Ingrediants8 green or unique bananas
50 grammes butter or margarine
300 grammes groundnuts
2 onions, chopped
1 cup milk or cream
salt and pepper
Aromat
Direction1. Boil the bananas until they become soft. Drain water and
add margarine and salt. Mash until smooth.
2. For the groundnut sauce, fry onions with margarine until
brown, add groundnuts and stir for about 10 minutes. Add
the milk cream until the paste is smooth. Add salt, pepper
and Aromat to taste.
seven days it is ready to drink and is filtered into gourds or
jerrycans and taken to the market.
Making the most of what they grow, the rural people in the
north and north-east parts make a similar alcoholic drink out
of millet. When it is ready, the drink is put in pots and sucked
out through locally made straws or tubes. Hot water is added
periodically while three to six people sit around the pot, sucking
in the drink, locally called malwa.
So if you’re visiting Uganda, don’t just stick to ‘safe’ western
food – if you do you’ll be missing out on something special.
Be adventurous, and try the local cuisine. Uganda really does
have some unique specialities that you cannot find elsewhere,
and if you cannot bring yourself to try green grasshoppers and
millet beer, at least try the matoke and the excellent locally
brewed lager.
Matoke Recipe
can be tastier than the more expensive matoke. In most boarding
and day schools in Uganda, maize porridge is served at breakfast,
with maize meal a regular feature at lunch and dinner. It is often
accompanied by a sauce made from groundnuts, simsim, meat,
and leafy green vegetables.
To wash everything down, try the locally brewed beers, which
are first class if you like light, lager-type beers. Two large
breweries produce a variety of beers, with ‘Nile’ and ‘Bell’ being
the most popular brands.
The well-known ‘national drink’ is called Uganda waragi, a
distillate or gin made out of cassava, banana beer, and brown
sugar. The raw material out of which Uganda waragi is made
is locally called enguli – a potent white stuff that is almost 100
per cent pure alcohol. Some people say enguli can be used to
generate electricity or power your car! When the enguli is taken
to the commercial distillery, it is purified, its alcoholic potency is
drastically reduced (to less than 40 per cent), and it is given
different flavours. Waragi is either bottled or packed in small
plastic bags and is sold in almost every supermarket, bar, or
restaurant. Rather than drinking it neat (which could be
eye-watering!), mix it with soda, tonic or even Coca-Cola.
Another local brew is banana wine, made in the banana-
growing rural areas in a wooden container. It is essentially juice
from bananas which is fermented with sorghum flour. After
Right:
A woman
carrying a
massive stem of
a great, green,
cooking plantain
on her head.
food
42 | air uganda | february – april 2010
BarkclothA unique Ugandan craft is the making of barkcloth. According to
Buganda folklore a hunter in the region invented the art after
coming across a species of fig tree in the forest. He noticed its
bark had criss-crossing fibres, similar to the warp and weft of
manufactured cloth.
Barkcloth is made by stripping long lengths of bark from the
tree, now known as the ‘barkcloth tree’. The strips are first soaked
in water and then beaten on a smooth log with a corrugated
wooden mallet called a nsaamo. Beating thins out the bark and
makes it firmer. The resulting soft material is often painted or
decorated. The strips are then sown together to make larger
pieces.
Barkcloth, decorated with bold patterns in black dye, was once
reserved for the royal family, but it is still in use to this day.
Peasants in rural areas who cannot afford to buy a wooden coffin
wrap their dead in barkcloth before they are buried. Barkcloth is
also still worn on important cultural events and is used for making
beautifully decorated tablecloths, curtains, handbags and floor
mats
Gourds One of the most useful natural objects in Uganda is the
calabash or gourd. It grows well in most parts of Africa and,
owing to its diversity of shape, can be put to a large number of
uses. The beauty and utility of a well-shaped gourd has been so
appreciated by many tribes that artisans have copied it in
earthenware.
Large gourds are also used as musical instruments in several
parts of northern Uganda.
Basketry
Basketry is possibly the oldest and most highly developed craft
in Uganda. This type of weaving is a foundation of homemaking,
building and defence. Stockades, enclosure fences, and houses
are often woven, as are portable shields. Fences, granaries,
reed-work, thatching, traps, and heavy field baskets are made
by men. Smaller baskets for storing food in the house are made
by women. The delicate fancy baskets, pot lids, and pot stands –
whose use is almost more ornamental than functional – are the
product of endless hours of concentrated effort.
Arts & Crafts of UgandaApart from depicting beauty, the arts and crafts of Uganda have religious, cultural, and psychological significance – as well as a practical use Asante reports.
Left:
Uganda’s rich
culture features
a variety of
traditional arts
and crafts.
arts & craftsPho
tos
© D
avid
Plu
th
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 43
PotteryAmong Ugandans, potters were a distinct class of workmen.
The king had his own potters; many chiefs also had their own
earthenware workers.
The land provides potters with many different kinds of clay:
red soils for large red earthenware, kaolin for white clay, and
black soils for dark bluish clay, a substance much favoured for
making certain articles.
An earthenware article is made by rolling clay into long strips
and coiling them into the desired shape. The surfaces are
smoothed, and the product is then dried and fired.
Earthenware pots are used for carrying and storing water,
making and storing beer, and storing grain and other foods.
Small pots, called kibya in Ganda, are used as drinking vessels
or as receptacles for food, vegetables, or gravy.
Several tribes in Uganda use clay to manufacture tobacco
pipes and pipes for use in temples and shrines.
WoodFrom the many types of wood found in the country, Ugandans
make a wide variety of utensils, including spoons, ladles, beer
tubes or straws, mallets used in the making of barkcloth, and
long boxes used for jewellery and similar items.
Wooden stools are also popular items. There are two types of
stools in the Buganda kingdom: the leg and base stool and the
‘cotton-reel’ stool (so named because of its shape, and carved
out of logs).
Namulondo, the sacred stool used in Ganda coronation rites,
is of the cotton-reel variety.
WeaponsBefore the arrival of Arab traders and European colonisers
and missionaries, the weapons found in a typical armoury were
shields, sticks, spears, bows and arrows, and simple guns.
Miniature shields were sometimes kept near their beds by
women as charms.
Wooden clubs shaped like a knobkerry were formerly used in
warfare and as a weapon of execution. On their ‘walkabouts’,
men from several tribes carried walking sticks, one ends of
which was either club-shaped or pointed.
Spears were common among the tribes of ancient Uganda.
Even today spears are used in traditional hunting and in
poaching wild game.
The spear has a narrow and tapering blade; the widest
portion is not at the extreme base, so that the shoulders
slope upwards. It usually has burnished edges and
often gives the appearance of having two wide,
shallow blood courses. The sockets are heavy,
with an open split and one nail at the back.
Bows and arrows are still commonly
used in defence and hunting wild animals.
Musical InstrumentsThere are as many types, shapes, and varieties of traditional
musical instruments in Uganda as there are tribal groups. The
most common musical instrument is the drum, which is made out
of wood, with its two hollow ends covered by hides or skins. Drums
are not only used to produce music for entertainment or dancing,
but they are also used for communicating different messages.
Ggwanga mujje, for example, is beaten to summon all the people
residing in an area in case of trouble or the need for communal
work.
Fine ArtEarly Ugandan artists, influenced by the foreigners around
them during colonial times, often imitated European statuary and
paintings. A good example of this type of art is that of Joachim
Basasa Kalange, whose work adorns many churches in the
diocese of Masaba. Others of note include Charles Ssekintu,
Ignatius Sserulyo, F Musango, and Kivubiro.
An interesting style of representational art evolved from the
need the Baganda felt to illustrate their numerous pithy
aphorisms. In the mid-1920s, people started writing these short
wise sayings in form of riddles, known as bikokyo, many of which
were printed in the local Gambuze newspaper. Later these
sayings were copied on paper, mounted, and hung on many a
living room wall as both maxims and decorations. Between 1936
and 1940 artists began adding pictures to illustrate the sayings.
The desire to have clan totems illustrated in pictures was also
a big factor in this development. With their roots at Mukono in
the Bishop Tucker College, these pictures were later brought to
Kampala and finally spread throughout the country.
Gradually the occupation of making ‘mottos’ became popular
and commercially practicable; even today you meet people selling
these articles anywhere in the country.
Where to Find Ugandan Arts and CraftsArts and crafts in Uganda are found everywhere – in everyday
use, displayed and being exchanged for money in marketplaces,
people’s homes, public and private galleries, and museums. >>
44 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Ballroom. Some of the best paintings, batiks, and sculptures
produced by local artists can be seen here, and the exhibitors or
their representatives are often at hand to negotiate prices with
serious and potential customers.
National Theatre/Arts and Crafts VillageIn addition to hosting performing artists, the lobbies of the
Uganda National Theatre are often adorned with the works of the
country’s finest artists. In the grounds behind the theatre is the
permanent Arts and Crafts Village where a great variety of crafts
and artwork are for sale in kiosks. It is a fascinating experience
to stroll around and talk to the artisans or members of the many
self-help groups that run the small shops. They are more than
happy to answer your questions and show you their work.
Nnyanzi Art StudioThis outstanding private gallery is located in the heart of
Kampala. The gallery/studio was established by a self-made
artist, Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi, who is president of the Uganda
Artists Association and also the minister for local government in
the Buganda kingdom government. His original batik paintings,
which have become world famous, often depict family life themes
and the scourges of modern city life.
Uganda National MuseumThe Uganda National Museum, in the north-east section
of Kampala on Kitante Hill, is home to many of the country’s
treasured historical arts and crafts, including fossils and cultural
artefacts.
Roadside MarketsMany artisans making items such as baskets, drums, or
pottery can be found on the roadside markets along the country’s
main roads. Straw furniture makers, for example, are flourishing
on the Nsambya-Kabalagala-Kansanga road. Craftspeople
specialising in mats and baskets can be found at Mukono
shopping centre along the Kampala-Jinja main road.
School of Fine Art at MakerereThe School of Fine Art at Makerere University is one of the
oldest schools at Uganda’s highest institution of learning. It has
played a leading role not only in producing some of the country’s
greatest artists but also in Uganda’s varied cultural and social
transformation.
A five-minute walk from the centre of Kampala, the Margaret
Trowell School of Fine Art houses a permanent gallery of some
of the best works of art left behind by the former students of the
school. Outside the gallery are numerous sculptures and statues
made out of clay, wood, and metal in all shapes and sizes.
Collectors can easily be put in touch with the artists so that they
can see more of their work.
Nommo GalleryFor a long time, Nommo Gallery at Nakasero Hill, near State
House in Kampala, has been a regular meeting place for artists,
buyers, and admirers of art. Almost every week this public gallery
exhibits the work of one or several well-known and up-and-coming
artists, and it is the perfect place to get an introduction to
Ugandan art.
Sheraton HotelThe Kampala Sheraton allows artists to exhibit their works in
its spacious public areas – particularly the foyer of the Ruwenzori
>>
Top left:
A drum is made
out of wood
with its hollow
ends covered by
hides and skins.
Left:
A wood carver
at work.
arts & crafts
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 45
AIR UGANDA FLIGHT SCHEDULE
For any information contact your preferred Travel Agent or our Sales & Reservation Office on +256 (0) 412 165 555 in KAMPALA
ENTEBBE – NAIROBIFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
U7 202
NAIROBI – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
ENTEBBE – JUBAFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
JUBA – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
ENTEBBE – ZANZIBARFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
ZANZIBAR – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
ENTEBBE – DAR ES SALAAMFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
DAR ES SALAAM – ENTEBBE FLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
ENTEBBE – MOMBASAFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
MOMBASA – ENTEBBE
U7 20206:45 Hrs08:45 Hrs
07:50 Hrs09:50 Hrs
Monday – FridaySaturday
U7 204 18:30 Hrs 19:35 Hrs Monday – Thursday & Sunday
U7 203U7 203U7 205
08:25 Hrs10:25 Hrs20:15 Hrs
09:35 Hrs11:35 Hrs21:25 Hrs
Monday – FridaySaturday
U7 120U7 120
10:25 Hrs15:00 Hrs
11:25 Hrs16:00 Hrs
Monday – ThursdayFriday & Sunday
U7 120 12:15 Hrs 13:15 Hrs Saturday
U7 119U7 119
12:05 Hrs17:00 Hrs
13:05 Hrs18:00 Hrs
Monday – Thursday
U7 119 13:55 Hrs 14:55 Hrs
U7 322 10:30 Hrs 12:15 Hrs Monday & Friday
U7 323 12:45 Hrs 15:30 Hrs Monday & Friday
U7 322U7 320
10:30 Hrs10:30 Hrs
13:15 Hrs12:15 Hrs Tuesday – Thursday
Monday & Friday
U7 323U7 321
13:45 Hrs 15:30 Hrs14:35 Hrs
Monday & Friday12:50 Hrs
U7 340U7 340
14:00 Hrs11:00 Hrs
15:30 Hrs12:30 Hrs Sunday
Tuesday & Thursday
FLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
U7 341U7 341
16:10 Hrs13:15 Hrs
17:40 Hrs14:45 Hrs Sunday
Tuesday & Thursday
ENTEBBE – KIGALIFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
KIGALI – ENTEBBEFLIGHT NUMBER DEPARTURE TIME ARRIVAL TIME FREQUENCY
U7 350U7 352
08:00 Hrs16:15 Hrs
07:45Hrs16:00 Hrs Friday – Sunday
Monday – Friday
U7 351U7 353
08:15 Hrs16:30 Hrs
10:00Hrs18:15 Hrs Friday – Sunday
Monday – Friday
U7 320 15:30 Hrs 17:15 Hrs Sunday
U7 321 17:50 Hrs 19:35 Hrs SundayTuesday – Thursday
U7 204 18:45 Hrs 19:45 Hrs Saturday & Sunday
Monday – Thursday & Sunday U7 205 20:30 Hrs 21:30 Hrs Saturday & Sunday
Friday & SundaySaturday
46 | air uganda | february – april 2010
Knee to chest: Bend forward slightly. Clasp hands around the left knee and hug it to your chest. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it down. Alternate legs. Repeat 10 times.
Shoulder roll: Hunch shoulders forward, then upward, then backward, then downward, using a gentle, circular motion.
Shoulder stretch: Reach right hand over left shoulder. Place left hand behind right elbow and gently press elbow toward shoulder. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Arm curl: Start with arms held at a 90-degree angle: elbows down, hands out in front. Raise hands up to chest and back down, alternating hands. Do this exercise in 30-second intervals.
Forward flex: With both feet on the floor and stomach held in, slowly bend forward and walk your hands down the front of your legs towards your ankles. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and slowly sit back up.
Overhead stretch: Raise both hands straight up over your head. With one hand, grasp the wrist of the opposite hand and gently pull to one side. Hold stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Ankle circles: Lift feet off the floor, draw a circle with the toes, simultaneously moving one foot clockwise and the other foot counterclockwise. Reverse circles. Do each direction for 15 seconds. Repeat if desired.
Neck roll: With shoulders relaxed, drop ear to shoulder and gently roll neck forward and to the other side, holding each position about five seconds. Repeat five times.
Other Tips for a Comfortable Flight
For your own comfort try • and travel light.
Wear loose clothing and • elasticated stockings made of natural fibre.
Increase your normal • intake of water and only if need be, drink alcohol but in moderation.
Use moisturising cream to • keep your skin from drying out.
Take off shoes in the • plane to prevent your feet from swelling up or wear shoes that will cope with expanding ankles.
Avoid heavy meals during • the flight.
Short walks once every • two hours are excellent for circulation.
Try to touch your toes • when waiting in the aisle to stretch your hamstrings.
On arrival at your • destination, have a hot shower or a relaxing bath.
On arrival a quick jog, • brisk walk, or a vigorous scrub will help stimulate your circulation.
These gentle exercises, which you can carry out easily during your flight, will help blood circulation and reduce any tiredness or stiffness that may result from sitting in one place for several hours. Check with your doctor first if you have any health conditions which might be adversely affected by exercise.
Foot pumps:
Start with both heels on the
floor and point feet upward
as high as you can. Then
put both feet flat on the
floor. Then lift heels high,
keeping the balls of your feet
on the floor. Continue cycle
in 30-second intervals.
Knee lifts:
Lift leg with knees bent while
contracting your thigh muscles.
Alternate legs. Repeat 20 to 30
times for each leg.
HEALTHY TRAVELLING
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 47
HEALTHY TRAVELLING ROUTE MAP
48 | air uganda | february - april 2010 february - april 2010 | air uganda | 49
AIR UGANDA NEWS
Several exciting features will be unveiled over the coming weeks, in particular a new-look, streamlined booking engine offering easy access to book U7 flights on-line as well as an informative, integrated HTML e-Newsletter service for our valued customers.
The new home page http://www.air-uganda.com features inviting images from our popular destinations as well as static promotional messages and animated image sequences depicting the welcoming, friendly look and feel of Air Uganda. You will also find a comprehensive snapshot of our ever-popular Smart Buys.The site contains several new pages with lots of interesting and useful information, including:U7 Flights and Fares Schedule http://www.air-uganda.com/content/flights-fares Current Promotions http://www.air-uganda.com/content/promotionsZanzibar Holiday Packages http://www.air-uganda.com/content/holidays
Air Uganda is Proud to Announce the Launch of Our Brand New Website http://www.air-uganda.com
Fan page is here:
http://www.facebook.com/pagesTravelCare/
170378613429?ref=ts
To become a friend - main page is here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profilephp?
ref=name&id=100000523273802
The most important aspect is to build up a fan base that
we can interact with via Fan Page which is also
automatically linked to our Twitter page.
Twitter Page Is Here:
https://twitter.com/AirUganda
Latest News http://www.air-uganda.com/newsCelestars Frequent Flyer Page Where customers can register and manage their account on-line http://www.air-uganda.com/contentcelestars-frequent-flyer-program
About Us page You can read about our growing fleet on the http://www.air-uganda.com/content/about-us
To complement our new-look website we have incorporated links to our New Facebook Social Media Page http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=air+uganda&init=quick#/ pages/Air-Uganda/193472814930? ref=search&sid=1198403546.2259493304..1
Also you can check out our new Twitter Page with custom theme https://twitter.com/AirUganda
If you have recently flown on an Air Uganda flight, take part in our On-Line Survey http://www.air-uganda.com/content/survey
We welcome you to navigate our site http://www.air-uganda.com/ and provide any feedback via our Contact Us Page http://www.air-uganda.com/cotent/contact-us
48 | air uganda | february - april 2010 february - april 2010 | air uganda | 49
Air Uganda opens new direct flights between Entebbe and Mombasa
In a bid to serve our Ugandan and Kenyan customers better, Air Uganda has unveiled another new route within East Africa, flying between Entebbe and Mombasa. This route brings to five the number of routes operated from Entebbe, along with Juba, Nairobi, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
Air Uganda as usual is committed to offering excellent value-for-money fares on the route, of $ 299 return and $ 199 one-way, targeting leisure travellers, traders, shipping and forwarding companies. The airline operates direct flights from Mombasa to Entebbe three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
The launch of the Mombasa-Entebbe route shows that we are growing stronger. We are grateful to all our customers for their support and look forward to serving them even better in the years ahead.
The airline recently unveiled a new Bombardier CRJ jet aircraft with a seat capacity of 50 passengers, to support its commitment to expanding its route network serving Uganda and East Africa. The new modern jet will strengthen the airline’s current fleet and provide fast convenient flights to more destinations such as Mombasa.
Above: A workshop and dinner was hosted on 28 November 2009 by Air Uganda for Travel Agents from Mombasa. From left: Cyprian Kabeera, Sales Executive Air Uganda; Harshit Kanabi, Sales Executive Mantra Travel; Meera Nathwani of Mantra Travel; Jenifer Musiime, Head of Sales & Marketing Air Uganda; Goolzaar Rattanashi from Express Travel; Pervis Vatchha of Bunson Travel with Mr. Hugh Fraser, Chief Executive Officer Air Uganda.
Above: Water spray celebrates Air Uganda’s arrival at Moi International Airport, Mombasa.
AIR UGANDA NEWS
Enjoy this great companion offer on our direct flights between Mombasa and Entebbe.
This offer is valid until 31st March 2010. Contact us for further information.
Kampala: +256 (0) 41 216 5555, IPS Building, Plot 14,
Parliament Avenue, Kampala.
Nairobi: +254 (0) 20 313 933,5th Floor, Jubilee Insurance Building,
Wabera Street, Nairobi.
*
50 | air uganda | february – april 2010
AIR UGANDA CONTACTS AND OFFICES
Uganda
Kampala
Head Office
Plot 11/13, Lower Kololo Terrace
Tel: + 256 (0)414 258 262
Fax: +256 414 500 932
Email: [email protected]
Sales Office
1st Floor Plot 14,
Jubilee Insurance Centre,
Parliament Avenue.
Tel: +256 (0) 412 165 555,
+256 (0) 312 222666
Ticketing Office
Entebbe International Airport
2nd Floor,
Passenger Terminal Building
Tel: +256 (0) 414 321 485
Email: [email protected]
Tanzania
Dar es Salaam
Sales Office
c/o Holiday Africa Tours & Safaris
Indiragandhi Street,
Tel: +255 (0)22 213 331/5/6
Southern Sudan
Juba
Sales Office
Hai Suk Street (opp. The Mosque)
Tel: +256 (0)47 712 0036
Kenya
Nairobi
Sales Office
5th Floor,
Jubilee Insurance House,
Wabera Street
Tel: +254 (0)20 313 933
Ticketing Office
Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport c/o Swissport
Kenya Unit One
Tel: +254 (0) 735289125
+254 (0) 735289130
Mombasa
Sales Office
c/o Jetlink
2nd Floor, TSS Towers
Nkurumah Road
Tel: +254 (0) 714 111 555
Rwanda
Sales Office
c/o Satguru Travel and Tours Services
Opposite Bank de Kigali
Tel: +250 577 497, 511 002,
+250 572 643
Zanzibar
Sales Office
Cine Afrique Cinema Malindi
Tel: +255 (0) 24 22 33506/7
february – april 2010 | air uganda | 51
LandUganda is a compact country, with an area of 236,580 square kilometres – roughly the size of Great Britain.
ClimateAlthough situated on the equator, Uganda’s relatively high altitude tempers the heat, and humidity is generally low. Throughout the year sunshine averages about 6 to 10 hours a day. There are two rainy seasons: the main long rains, which start late in February and end in April, and the short rains, which start in October and run until about the middle of December. The region around Lake Victoria, however, receives rain at almost any time of the year.
TopographyIt is located on the equator, within the eastern plateau region of the African continent and between the eastern and western ridges of the Great Rift Valley. Near the borders several mountain masses stand out strikingly from the plateaux.
EconomyUganda is blessed with fertile soils that support a wide variety of food and export crops, both annual and perennial. Agriculture is the dominant sector of Uganda’s economy. The major traditional export crops are coffee, cotton, tea, horticulture, tobacco and sugar cane, while groundnuts, maize, beans, sorghum and millet have emerged in recent years as cash crops for the peasant farmers.
LanguageEnglish is the official language and is also the medium of instruction in Uganda’s education system, from primary school up to university level. Swahili is also spoken. There are some 30 indigenous languages spoken in the rural areas. The most common of these are Luganda and Luo.
Electric supplyAll installations are of British standard and appliances should be fitted with the square, three-pin plugs of British specifications. The voltage is 240 volts, 50 Hz for domestic use. The voltage fluctuates continually, however, and proper surge protectors are advisable for any expensive equipment.
TimeUganda is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Timeremains constant throughout the year.
PeopleThe people are warm, friendly, and full of humour. They are anxious to make friends with visitors and are continually asking guests whether they are comfortable and enjoying themselves. A large number of people speak English.
ExcursionsUganda is beginning to develop an excellent tourist infrastructure, with first-rate roads and communication facilities. Uganda’s national game, forest and recreational parks are indeed some of the spectacular showpieces Africa has to offer. They do have regulations regarding off-the-road driving, game watching, and so on, which are clearly stated at the entrance gates of parks or on leaflets supplied by the tourist offices. Mountaineering safaris to the Ruwenzori Mountains in the western Rift Valley are now becoming a favourite Ugandan expedition. Similar safaris can also be organised to climb Mount Elgon in the east, sharing the border with Kenya.
HotelsThere are international-standard hotels in Entebbe, Kampala and Jinja, as well as in many of the smaller towns. Camping, rustic bush camps and guest houses are also available. The Kampala Sheraton, the Serena Kampala, the Grand Imperial, and the Nile Hotel, all in the national’s capital are by the best. There are many other less expensive, but quite nice hotels in the city. Outside Kampala, most towns also have a variety of moderately priced and budget hotels.
Banking hoursThere is a wide range of banks in Uganda, particularly in Kampala. Their hours are generally from 0830 to 1400 on weekdays, and Saturdays from 0830 to 1200. Forex bureaux keep longer hours – 0900 to 1700 on weekdays and 0900 to 1300 on Saturdays. ATMs are available in the larger cities.
CommunicationsTelephone, Telex, fax and airmail services connect Kampala to all parts of the world. Services are available at the General Post Office and its many branches, as well as in the main hotels. International direct dialling is available and now there are a number of Internet cafes.
Medical servicesUganda has good health services, with some good government and private hospitals and clinics in the major cities. Air rescue services are available.
CurrencyUganda Shilling (UGX). Notes are in denominations of UGX 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000. Coins are in denominations of UGX 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. You can change money at banks and hotels. Although the forex bureaux usually have better exchange rates.
Credit cardsInternational credit cards are accepted in major hotels and shops.
Working hoursShops and businesses are generally open from 0830 to 1730 on weekdays, with a lunch break between 1300 and 1400. Some businesses are open on Saturday, at least until midday. Small, local shops or kiosks on the side of many roads are generally open much later, until about 2130 and on weekends and holidays as well; they stock basic food and household items.
Public Holidays
20101 January New Year’s Day26 January Liberation Day8 March International Women’s Day2 April Good Friday5 April Easter Monday1 May Labour Day3 June Martyrs’ Day9 June National Heroes’ Day11 September Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)9 October Independence Day17 November Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)25 December Christmas Day26 December Boxing Day
Note:The two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximate.
CustomsBesides personal effects, a visitor may import duty-free spirits (including liquors) or wine up to one litre, perfume and toilet water up to half a litre and 270 grammes of tobacco or 200 cigarettes. Other imported items, not exceeding US$100 may be brought in duty free and without an import licence, provided they are not prohibited or restricted goods, are for personal use, and are not for resale.
Note: A special permit is required to export game trophies.
Health requirementsVisitors from areas infected with yellow fever and cholera required certificates on inoculation. All visitors are advised to take an antimalarial prophylactic beginning two weeks before their arrival and continuing for six weeks after their departure. A gamma globulin injection provides some protection against possible infection by hepatitis and is well worth taking.
Visa and immigration requirementsVisa applications may be obtained at Uganda diplomatic missions. Two photographs are required for visas, which are usually issued within 24 hours. Visas are also available at the country’s entry points. Check with the Uganda diplomatic mission in your country if visa is required as some countries are exempted.
Taxi servicesTaxis are immediately available at Entebbe International Airport. They can also be found outside most hotels in Kampala and at most of the country’s major centres. All don’t have meters, so make sure the fare is negotiated in advance.
Car rentalSeveral firms operate car hire services in Kampala. Vehicles may be hired with or without driver. For trips outside the city it is possible to hire insured cars appropriate for the trip (a four-wheel-drive vehicle with a driver-translator is recommended).
Entebbe International AirportThe main point of entry is Entebbe International Airport, about a 30-minute drive south of the capital, Kampala. Although modest, the modern airport does provide automated passenger facilities, currency exchange, postal services, banking facilities, telephoned, duty-free shops, gift shops and a restaurant and bar.
SecurityThe same rules apply for Kampala as for almost any city anywhere.Becareful and take the usual precautions to safeguard yourself and your belongings. Do not leave valuables in your car. Walking at night in all major centres is reasonably safe.
TIPS FOR THE TRAVELLER IN UGANDA
52 | air uganda | february – april 2010
7
4 1
3
12 64
578 6
4 8
64
38
89
7
113
7 253 9
4
8 59
824
26
27
29
31
30
28
24 2523
2221
2019
161514
13
12
11
9
7 81 2 3 54 6
10
17 18
Clues Across
1. Drat! A mist stirred for playwright (9)
9. Gloomy medical officer with flower (6)
10. Not a quick month for funereal pace (4, 5)
11. Flag for the commissioned officer? (6)
12. Followed winding course ere demand broken (9)
13. Shun wellies – they make you ill inside! (6)
17. A little common painkiller for venomous snake (3)
19, Keep possession of everything, just in case (7)
20. 1 writes words for her! (7)
21. Prayer aer gone to snoop (3)
23. Drink this country dry? (6)
27. Illumination with which to check one’s pimples? (9)
28. Nothing back to the listener is one-dimensional (6)
29. Does this paint make animals ill? (9)
30. Broken slates for upholstery decoration (6)
31. Altered at mix-up some time afterwards (5, 4)
Clues Down
2. Rolls-Royce (slang) and a wave (6)
3. New Mig makes a high-pitched cry (6)
4. A part of London that is always wet (6)
5. 20 minus A plus E, stirred for hidden things (7)
6. Weighty paper currency? (5, 4)
7. They may clock you if you speed! (9)
8. Not quite enough money? You’re broke! (9)
14. Cool cheat for a sweet tooth (9)
15. Window covering and Scottish loch produce
this affliction (9)
16. Do you read this in the desert? It’s rough (9)
17. Mountain in an external place (3)
18. Bark back to get what you have earned (3)
22. Confused Alec RIP at the double (7)
24. First at UEFA provides sculpture (6)
25. Conifer by the sea is made stronger (6)
26. Hydrogen in the special celebration
becomes hostile (6)
CROSSWORD PUZZLE & SUDOKU
Place a number from 1 to 9
in every empty cell so that
each row, each column and
each 3x3 box contains all the
numbers from 1 to 9. No
number can appear twice in a
row, column or 3x3 box.
Do not guess – you can work
it out by a process of
elimination.
Crossword
Answers across1. Dramatist; 9. Morose; 10. Slow march; 11. Ensign; 12. Meandered; 13. Un-well; 17. Asp; 19. Holdall; 20. Actress; 21. Pry; 23. Canada; 27. Spotlight; 28. Linear; 29. Distemper; 30. Tassel; 31. Later date
Answers down2. Roller; 3. Mewing; 4. Thames; 5. Secrets; 6. Pound note; 7. Policemen; 8. Penniless; 14. Chocolate; 15. Blindness; 16. Sandpaper; 17. Alp; 18. Pay; 22. Replica; 24. Statue; 25. Firmed; 26. Threat
Sudoku
t h e i n f l i g h t m a g a z i n e o f a i r u g a n d a p a r t o f t h e
i s s u e n u m b e r 0 0 1 f e b r u a r y – a p r i l 2 0 1 0
as
an
te
iss
ue
nu
mb
er
00
1 fe
br
ua
ry
–a
pr
il 20
10
LAKE VICTORIA SERENAR E S O R T
A WORLD AWAY FROM THE CITYJust 15 Kilometres from Kampala and 35 Kilometres from Entebbe, on the shores of lake victoria, rests a
resort of ultimate beauty, tranquility and peace. This newest addition to the Serena family is the perfect resort to unwind and escape the stresses of city life.
PO Box 37761, Kampala, Uganda, Lweza-Kigo road, Off Entebbe road or Call +256 41 7121000, Fax +256 41 7121550 e-mail: [email protected]
The central lounge and reception The rooms and suites
Maisha Mind Body and Spirit Spa The pool and garden view
y o u r c o m p l i m e n t a r y c o p y