Written by Bruce Asiimwe
The team was quite surprised I made it in time for the early morning drive. That’s partly because I am not really a morning person. It wasn’t long till the whole team jumped onto the track with sweaters, hoodies and bug spray in hand, ready for the game drive.
Just around the turn from the lodge, our guide joined us, holding a rifle, giving the team the much-needed confidence about our safety on the drive. A few minutes into the drive, our first “catch” was the spotted hyena. (Couldn’t tell if it was female or not) It was still dark so our driver was kind enough to follow it with the track’s headlights till it disappeared into a nearby thicket seemingly annoyed by these morning tourists.
Our second stop was at the sight of the “King of the Jungle” casually sitting in the middle of the road. Unfortunately, as we slowly moved closer, it disappeared into the tall and thick grass. We didn’t give up as most of us pulled out our phones to catch a glimpse of its tail and grass movements. We saw loads of Kobs, buffaloes, waterbarks, warthogs, and several bird species too. As we headed towards the Nile river, our guide “spoke” to some game rangers who allowed us to drive off-road in pursuit of lions. Behold! We found both the male and its female resting under a tree shade. At this point, we all pulled out our phones and cameras to capture this beautiful moment. Thereafter headed to the Nile river to have a sight of the huge water body.
Two hours later, we returned to the lodge for breakfast and to prepare ourselves for a boat ride on the Nile. The adventure was far from over! We set off for a two and a half hour ride to the falls, en route, making several stops at the sight of huge hippos that mostly shied away beneath the mild waves. The journey to the falls was coupled with a few stings from tsetse flies, forcing me to use bug spray for the very first time in my life.
This has turned out to be one of my best trips with the Pipeline team, all the jokes and fun moments from each member of this trip has strengthened our team. Seeing each one of us operating in our own strengths and the sacrifices we’ve all made for this trip’s success gives me confidence in what the future holds for us as individuals and for Pipeline as an organization. There’s always a reward for sacrifice.
I couldn’t be more than grateful for Jamie and Jeff who have welcomed me into their family and for introducing me to a multitude of friends and family with like-minded dreams and compassion.
I leave this trip ready for what the future holds for us Pipeliners. The dream is big but never too big for God.
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