I’ve found my happy place in the middle of the Ugandan wilder– what is it called? Bush, grasslands . . . ? Whatever the topography, it’s a lodge in the middle of nowhere, like 40 minutes over bumpy dirt roads after turning off a bumpy highway with nothing on it but a few shacks scattered here and there, about 2 and a half hours from the equator.
We were there less than a day and I’m already trying to figure out how to go back.
All the rooms are open air, thatched roof cabins. Only 12 in all and each one is completely private. No other cabins or people in sight.
Inside our room — with a huge private porch overlooking the valley.
A round bathroom with an open shower
The view while showering or brushing your teeth. Can I live here please?
Overlooking the salt lick and watering hole where zebras, warthogs, buffalo, and other animals regularly gather. An hour after this photo we were up at breakfast and saw a herd of 30 zebra trot out of the underbrush to come drink and roll in the mud. Then they were joined by birds, a stray buffalo that has been kicked out of his herd, and some mule deer (they look like big fuzzy deer with mule-shaped faces). It was a scene from The Lion King.
The sides are tented with mosquito netting. It feels like sleeping outside without actually having to be outside. The night sounded alive with the language of bugs, monkeys, birds and other wildlife woven together. Silent and loud at the same time.
The screens are outfitted with a monkey lock because the monkeys will come in and make a mess of things if you don’t lock them out. We were just finishing breakfast in the dining room when one of them leaped onto the middle of the table, grabbed a piece of toast, and took off before he could be chased away.
Good morning, sunshine!
I may not be a morning person, but when pots of coffee and milk are brought to my front door in a basket so I can watch the wildlife and sip while waking up? I can manage that.
Hiking up the hill to breakfast. It was probably 8 minutes from our cabin up to the lounge and dining room.
I can’t even begin to tell you about the food. This was not hotel food, but gourmet, chef quality meals. Homemade bread, jams, and fresh honey. Eggs made to order including eggs benedict with perfectly crispy bacon and buttery smooth hollandaise sauce, sweet crepes, fresh juice and Ugandan coffee, of course.
I could have eaten the aubergine (eggplant) stack appetizer from dinner and the Moroccan spiced kebab all week long. The carrot, raisin, and lemon salad and the savory/spicy watermelon salad were both combinations I had never imagined, but they worked. Wasabi flavored green beans that had all the flavor with none of the burn (though Camille and Caleb both thought they were too spicy). Josh and I were both in awe of the inventiveness and execution at each of the 3 meals that we ate there. And to eat beautiful food, with this beautiful view . . . I think it’s my favorite hotel of all that we’ve ever stayed in. It’s right up there with the cave hotel from Goreme, Turkey as far as uniqueness, for sure.
After too few hours we were back on the bumpy roads again. Farewell, paradise. Inshallah, I will come again (and stay for days).