How to ride in a van for 13 hours...

...with 5 children and 5 adults
...with 4 speaking English and 5 speaking Luganda and 1 who speaks both, but is concentrating on driving
...with no lunch break and one potty break
...with limited snacks and water because you had absolutely NO IDEA it would be that long



Our dirty van/safari vehicle at the entrance to Murchison Falls National Park. We thought we were close when we got here. We were wrong.

You just do it because you have to because you are in Uganda and you can't drive yourself and you don't know where you are and you don't speak the language and you hope it will eventually be fun for the whole group. Eventually.

Lesson over.
.......................

These amazing friends of ours had this crazy idea to go on a "safari" (I'm using that term very loosely) while we were waiting for the next step in the guardianship process and then they made it affordable for us and we just couldn't say no.

 

The falls were just amazing!

 

Crossing the Nile River with an overloaded ferry. I'm sure they had enough life vest for everyone just in case we began to sink into water where we spotted a large crocodile. Well, I'm almost sure.

 

Isaac swore he could swim. Maybe "swim" sounds to him like a word that means "sinks very quickly." John Terry wasn't speaking much to us at this point... so we just figured he couldn't go in the big pool either. Thankfully, there was this shallow pool where they could play after such a long drive.

"Aren't those their clothes?" you ask.

 Yes. Yes, they are. I didn't bring them bathing suits because I did not realize swimming would be an option.

 

Hippo fence. To keep hippos out. Hippos are not nice.

 

Cape Buffalo. Also, not nice. These are the males who have been kicked out of the herd.

 

One of many beautiful giraffes we saw.

The Mohler's!! :)  Oh, and elephants that were really close.

 

Pretty cliff on our boat journey. There were holes all in the side where birds placed there nest.

 

Scary baboon on the top of the van and part Matt's face.

He had the pepper spray ready to defend the van if necessary!

 

John Terry soaking in the view... or wondering why we won't let him stay in the water on a continuous basis.

 

 

Isaac and John Terry looking over the Nile River.

 

Matt and I after climbing out of the boat onto a big rock with the falls in the backround.

Thank you for the picture Jamin and Kara!

I'll have to do a post with all the pictures showing their faces once we get our visas!