The Falls I Longed For

For years I was admiring the beauty of the falls. Wishful thinking in my minds whenever I saw, heard someone share moments at the falls. I don’t recall how many times I googled this water drop. The search engine must have wondered why an internet user (Me) did all these searches. From images, to Videos, to News, to maps just because I was obsessed with the falls.

I grew up in the Rwenzoris where natural beauty is natured but I was never impressed like this. The trails I had in Rivers Mubuku, Nyamwamba and Sebwe couldn’t satisfy adventurous hunger. The rapids I grew playing around, the plunge pools I fetched water from still couldn’t satisfy me.

Over the weekend, together with a team of young people from Amazing Life Safaris travelled to Masindi for the #IndependenceKuMurchison. We wanted to celebrate Uganda’s independence day in the wild. I had never been to Masindi before and so I was traveling to this destination for my very first time.

Amazing life safaris is a start up tours and travel company operated by youthful people. I can say I have always had a great experience whenever I travel with these guys. From Sezibwa Falls, to Source of the Nile and then Busowoko falls with the slogan “Ffe Tusimbudde” meaning for us we have set off.

Not to forget, this wasn’t the first time I was traveling a long distance, I have travelled to Kasese, Bundibugyo, Hoima, Kyankwanzi among others. But the mood I had for this particular journey was immeasurable. May be because I was to see the falls I longed for.

So we set off from Kampala at around 4pm with our driver Mr Bashir. Bashir is a reggae music lover and this can be told by the kind of music he plays in his van. I don’t even know how we beat Bombo road jam, all I recall was when we were stopped at the first police check point around Migera (a small town along the Gulu highway). At around 10pm we were already residents of Masindi and Bunyoro Kingdom to be particular.

We spent the night in Masindi town and the next morning were “Murchison ready”, A slung used by Joakim Emmanuels one of the travel addicts with Amazing life safaris.

Through the streets of Masindi town Bashir drove & our next stop was at the Murchison Falls National Park’s main gate. At the gate our team leader cleared our payments and we were allowed inside the park.

I expected the road to be bumpy but to my surprise it was layered with asphalt that looked months old with baboons on the roadside.

To cut the long story short, we made frequent stops on the roadside and our photographer Bbossa carefully held his lenses to capture our unforgettable moments.

After the long drive, we were finally at the falls I longed for. Woow, for a second my heart missed a beat, I held my neighbors hand (Priscilla), she looked at me with a whatsup?? Mood on her face. I looked directly into her eyes and said “Nothing”.

The roar of the falls reminded me of home where our bedroom is just about 60meters distant from River Sebwe banks. Memories of the 2012 Nyamwamba floods flashed back in my minds. The only difference was that at this time the water was clean unlike the dirty Nyamwamba floods.

Our guide, Kakuru welcomed us at the world’s strongest waterfalls, The Murchison Falls formerly the Kabalega Falls. A lot of unbelievable stories are told about these falls but we have to accept because we have no satisfying reasons to oppose existing literature. A story of how Omukama Kabalega the then King of Bunyoro Kingdom crossed at this very point to the eastern bank lives rent Free in my minds.

Kakuru then led us to the top of the falls. At the top of the falls double rainbow Arcs formed in the gorge as the Nile squeezed to find it’s way down stream. A number of foreign tourists had visited the site and every blink equated to a camera flash.

At the top of Murchison Falls, the Nile forces its way through a gap in the rocks, only 7 m (23 ft) wide, and tumbles 43 m (141 ft), before flowing westward into Lake Albert.

At the top of the falls it drizzles 24/7, it’s not rain, it’s water splashing as the Nile squeezes into the narrow gorge.

I may need litres of ink to put everything on paper. I longed for the falls travelled there and honestly I am spoiled for choice on how to conclude this piece. See you later Oguzulu is calling.