EricD
.416 member
Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636
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Below are various pictures from Uganda. A beautiful country with some of the friendliest people in Africa. It is one of the few countrys where gorillas, and chimps can be seen in the wild.
The best news is that it appears tourist hunting might open again since there are too many buff!
A huge Silverback gorilla. When you're only 2-3 meters away, you'd be amazed over how big they actually are. It's obvious that if they wanted to, ripping you in two wouldn't be a problem, and acting in a calm and controlled fashioon is vital so as to not aggrivate them. Yet the facinating thing with gorillas is that they are really very quiet and peacefull, in sharp contrast to chimps which are often very loud and aggressive:
When trekking after gorilla, you usually go out with a platoon of Ugandan soldiers, who's main function is to protect the gorillas from poachers, and us from rebels that sneak over the border from DRC and Rwanda.
A jungle shack we slept in. Which was a nice change from our tent.
Young gorilla:
Erik D.
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EricD
.416 member
Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636
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Jungle roads are occationally blocked by fallen trees:
Chimp in tree. Notice the clusters of wild figs behind and next to him that are a favorite food. Chimps also like to throw these figs at people passing below, and at other chimps when fighting... Fighting is something that chimps do a lot. In fact, chimps are the only animals (besides humans) that practice "gang-rape"! They also wage war on other chimp groups!  Something unknown in the rest of the animal kingdom. Chimps are the closest relative to humans, and the bad parts of their behaviour are perhaps where they show the biggest likeness... :
Young waterbuck:
Some buff near Murchinson Falls:
Erik D.
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500grains
.416 member
Reged: 16/02/04
Posts: 4732
Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah USA
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I would like to hunt a location that is off the beaten path, like Uganda, Angola or the Congo, if I can ever afford it.
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EricD
.416 member
Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636
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Sorry for the delay of publishing the pictures, but better late than never!
Erik D.
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BFaucett
.333 member
Reged: 13/01/04
Posts: 472
Loc: Houston, Texas
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Erik,
Great photos and stories! Thanks for sharing them!
Sincerely,
-Bob F.
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AdamTayler
.375 member
Reged: 22/03/04
Posts: 688
Loc: B.C.
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Erik
I see you drove a Landy on your adventure. Did you sell your stories and pictures to "Land Rover World", "LRM", or "LRO"? Did this trip cure you of the disease or do you still suffer from it (Landroveritis)? 
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It's the journey, not the destination.
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NitroX
.700 member
Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 40689
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
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I took a loooong time getting Erik's photos up. Got all his others in and up before my NT trip and other people had photos they wanted doing when I got back. Finally here and the usual high standard and holiday adventures most of us others only wish we had.
500grains
You're not the only one. A safari and visit to an out of the way country would be great. And Uganda has so much history about it, you could feel it rising up from the red earth.
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John aka NitroX
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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"
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EricD
.416 member
Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636
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Adam,
The thought of selling stories to LR World, LRM, etc did cross our mind, but we decided to skip that. The main reason being that I've thought a bit about writing a book, and having the trip published before in a magazine wouldn't be a good thing in many publishers eyes.
As for being cured of "landroveritis", the Defender worked without a problem for 62.000 km thru africa, and is still going strong here at home (it's gone 90.000km now). I'm thinking/dreaming of taking it on another trip thru africa in a while too. BUT! If I was to pick out a vehicle for the same trip again, I'd get a Toyato Landcruiser 78 (Troopcarrier) with the 4.2L Turbodiesel. The only problem being though that these are not available in Norway... But they are definatly the best of the 2 when it comes to lasting the longest. IMO.
The worst disease that I've not been cured for is "Africaitis"... It was far easier to get rid of Malaria, Typhoid, Giardia and other nasty diseases we had underway! 
Erik D.
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AdamTayler
.375 member
Reged: 22/03/04
Posts: 688
Loc: B.C.
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Erik
I agree that the Toyota is the better pick, and I'm slowly being cured (I'm into series vehicles, but NOT for a daily driver). You can get Giardia here as well, also known as "Beaver Fever". Good luck on the book.
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It's the journey, not the destination.
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