;)
~ Bougainvillea in the garden ~ Krista and I have never been to the actual headwaters of the Nile River here in Uganda and since Mom has provided the convenient excuse for all kinds of new adventures, we decided it was time to take her to see the Source of the Nile. Krista and I have driven over the dam that is the de facto beginning of the Nile, but there is a place just a mile further into the lake where the original falls used to be (before the dam covered them up). ;)
~ Shauen and Krista Trump ~ At this spot on Lake Victoria is the monument to the Source of the Nile. So we set out in the morning towards the Source of the Nile in our little car - the two-hour trip to Jinja isn't too rough. Krista found a great little place for us to eat lunch in Jinja, at an old colonial house that is now a hotel and restaurant with beautiful gardens and a great view of Lake Victoria. As Josiah slept peacefully, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the veranda with the sounds of the garden - birds, wind rustling through the leaves, and the bubbling fountain.
After lunch we head towards the park known as the Source of the Nile. It's expensive by local standards - $15 for the four of us and the car to drive into the park. And, frankly, worth it once but probably not again. There wasn't much to see except the little shops full of curios and the big billboard explaining all about the Nile River:
WELCOME TO THE SOURCE OF THE GREAT RIVER NILE - JINJA, UGANDA
You are now on the Eastern bank of the River Nile, at a point where the river begins to flow from Lake Victoria (Source of the Nile) to the meditteranean sea (sic). It takes water three months to complete this journey of 4000 miles (6400 km).
The falls that John Hanning Speke saw in 1862, naming them the "Rippon Falls" after the President of the Royal Geographical Society in London, submerged in 1947 on the construction of the giant Owen Falls Dam. The dam completed in 1954, harnesses the head long rush of water from the lake to produce hydro electric power for ;)
~ A tree grows out of the bridge pilings at the Source ~ Uganda.
"Omugga Kiyira" is the local name for River Nile. The bay behind this billboard through which the waters of Lake Victoria funnel in the Nile is called the Napoleon Gulf.
On the western bank of the river is an obelisk marking the spot where Speke stood for hours when he saw the source of the River Nile, making it known to the outside world.
Exciting stuff, eh? All you can really see from there are a few pilings where they once built (or attempted to build) a little bridge across the river. But apparently underneath the water is what was once quite an impressive sight. Next - on to Egypt to see the delta at the other end! -Shauen