There’s a bit of work fixing tyres the next morning as the bead on one of the Suzuki’s front wheels has been dislodged and won’t seal properly until it has been properly cleaned up and reseated. Then we have to fix a few of thorn punctures. We don’t have heavy duty tyres for our Suzuki LT-160 Quadrunners.
With the tyres repaired we get underway, travelling back towards the main gate then turning east on the little used Ruroko Track. Somewhere along the way we pass out of the park and with a little help from local cattle herdsmen we locate the partially completed Mihingo Lodge. This new development is well on the way to becoming one of East Africa’s premier lodges. It’s lovely! I’d hoped to meet one of the developers but he’d had to go back to Kampala the day before.
Mihingo Lodge is several hundred feet above the plains that stretch out towards the surrounding lakes, ranges of hills in the background, a mixture of grassland and lightly forested areas recapture the feeling of vastness that I got up at Kazuma lookout the day before. We caused some consternation on arrival – never seen quad bikes in this neck of the woods before. We took a tour around the place which has 9 separate units for accommodation, each built on a large granite boulder. There are staff quarters and a large bar and restaurant combined under a single thatched roof. The reception and dining area overlook the swimming pool which is set amongst other large boulders and provides a view looking back towards the park. The lodge is on the boundary of the park and the buffer zone. The owners have a brace of upmarket craft shops in Kampala so the furnishings are going to be the best available. Must bring Mrs PK when it is finished!
