Walter’s Boda Tours of Kampala

Walter

The best way to see Kampala is by motorbike, or Boda Boda as they are called in Kampala. I was lucky enough to have a brilliant boda driver when I lived here; Walter.

Walter was always on call to ferry the muzungos from place to place and over the six months I spent living in Kampala while on a VSO  placement he became a good friend.

As well as working as a boda he also established Walter’sBoda Boda Tours; using his enthusiasm, intelligence and knowledge of the country to drive and guide tourists around the city.

Kampala on Walter's boda at night

Returning to Uganda this year it was fantastic to see how his business has taken off! Walter now has ten boda guys who work for him and they run a range of tours around the city and beyond to Jinja, Entebbe  or even as far as the equator

I’ve been lucky enough to take a few tours with Walter so far. The city tour is my favourite and takes in the sights such as the Gadaffi Mosque, built in 2006 it’s the second largest mosque in Africa. The views from the top are breathtaking, overlooking the whole city and all the hills with Lake Victoria as the backdrop.

View from the Gaddafi Mosque

From the mosque you can see most of the landmarks the tour takes you to such as the Kings Palace, churches and the Baha’i Temple (although as I lived a few minutes’ walk from this we omitted it from my tour..)

Driving to the Gaddafi Mosque

The tours were a great thing to do when friends came to visit – it make sightseeing much easier and Walter as a guide always puts a smile on everyone’s face.

The King's Palace

Rolex for breakfast

Seeing how fantastically his business has taken off over the past year I was keen to do another tour on my return this time. He runs a great tour of the lake..

Unfortunately due to other commitments on my part I wasn’t able to do the full tour but Walter still made sure I saw as much as possible in the limited time.

We had breakfast at his favourite rolex stand. Rolex is a traditional Uganda/Kampala food of eggs with tomato wrapped in a chapatti – I can’t believe I hadn’t had one until now. It was delicious!

Walter at Lake Victoria 

After helping me with a few errands we drove out to the lake past Munyonyo. It was wonderful to see everyone going about their day to day lives, cleaning vehicles, running businesses and fishing for Nile perch and tilapia.

What a feast we had of a huge fresh tilapia barbecued and served with a large helping of chips and salad.

Finishing lunch just as a big storm hit the lake we raced back to town avoiding as much of the rain as possible and getting me back in plenty of time for my flight home.

Lunch of freshly caught tilapia

Next time I visit I’ll make sure I take the full Lake Tour as I would have loved to sail the boat over to the island and explore further.

For anyone heading to Uganda I’d recommend a day or two in Kampala and give Walter a call on +256791880106 to arrange your tour or visit his website.

An African Motorcycle Diary

October is one of my favourite times of year. As the sun begins to disappear in the UK and the leaves start turning orange I pack my bags and head to South Africa. This year, however I boarded the flight to Jo’burg leaving behind an unusually hot sunny day in London and after a long journey arrived in a small town called Alicedale in South Africa. 

Enduro Africa is an amazing off-road motorbike rally run by adventure company Global Enduro. Thirty-four bikers have just completed eight days of tough riding along the Wild Coast. They have tackled river crossings, the mighty gorge and too many obstacles to mention.

As always they were a fantastic group of people. From a range of backgrounds and interests they all came together to raise funds for UNICEF, Sentebale, The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Touch Africa by completing this adventure of a lifetime.

This is the fourth year UNICEF has benefited from Enduro Africa. To date they've donated a fantastic £280,000 for our work with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. With 17 per cent of the adult population living with HIV this support is absolutely vital.

Some of the riders knew what to expect, having taken part in Enduro or other Global Enduro events in the past. Others have had a steep learning curve. They were introduced to their Honda CRF 230s and after a short warm up in the quarry they were put into their groups according to their riding ability.

The orange, green and blue  team shirts quickly lost their pristine look after a week of mud, dust, sweat and tears.

Every day brought new experiences, none of the ‘paths’ taken is suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles so riders got to see and experience parts of the Eastern Cape that no other tourists, or very few people for that matter, ever see. 

They crossed through ancient mountain passes only accessible by bike and cattle herders. They picked their lines carefully, watching for obstacles like rocks, washaways, free roaming animals, sudden drop offs, not to mention the other bikes. 

The multitude of river crossings gave them the opportunity to cool down as they attempted to ride through in waste-deep water, navigating the rocks beneath. Some managed to get through but many bikes drowned, were quickly pulled out again, drained and moved onto the next obstacle...

One of the many  things I have come to love about these trips is the camaraderie of the teams and the spirit in which everyone looks after each other (as well as a odd practical joke!) The team leaders and sweeps work tirelessly to ensure that everyone gets through the day safely. The medics and mechanics are always close by, should they be needed to fix a bike - or a biker. 

Everyone has returned home a little battered and bruised but with new friends, all thoroughly proud of what they have achieved, how much they have learnt and the legacy they have left for the children in South Africa and Lesotho.

The adventure begins all over again as the second group arrive in Durban today and set off south down the coast. Lots of luck to them; if they have just half as much fun as the first group they too will have the adventure of a lifetime with memories to last forever.

If you would like to get involved with Enduro Africa next year visit www.enduroafrica.com