Leaving the Semliki Game Reserve you climb up and around the foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains, also called the Mountains of the Moon. It is a beautiful drive and a little terrifying; the local buses come screaming down the hill and when they reach a blind corner simply use their horn to warn anyone coming the opposite direction to get out the way!
The views were amazing; sadly not as good as they would be on a clear day. We arrived in the evening and set up camp in the National Park campsite and arranged to have a long walk to the Semliki River on the Congo border the following day.
We started the walk by going down to see the Sempaya Hot springs, a very primeval sight indeed. It was very dry whilst were there and our guide suggested we would be better off walking to the river from Kirimia Village.
We drove there and started walking through some incredible lowland rainforest, firstly it was some secondary regrowth; our guide told us the area was logged during the Amin era, however it soon changed to the most pristine and ancient forest. Birds were plentiful but incredibly frustrating as actually seeing the bird is a challenge; they were all calling but remained well hidden! I did however manage to pick up about 10 species that I had never seen before. The butterfly front was more successful and they notched up a considerable number considering the dry conditions.
We reached the river after 12 and a half kilometers of hiking and had lunch and a cuppa, we chatted to the local fishermen and had a wistful look across the river at the Congo.
It looks like fascinating forest and is basically part of the Ituri forest system, which stretches all the way to the Congo River. We also managed to get a glimpse of what I thought were Alexander’s Cusimanse; a social type of forest mongoose. After a quick bite we set off on the return hike, making a total of 25 km for the day; the guidebook tells us you should do this hike in 2 – 4 days; it would have been nice to have the time to do that! Next time!
Once back at the car we hot footed back to Fort Portal and beyond to a friend who had agreed to put us up for the night, hot showers….. bliss!
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