frogs, hairy lemons and hi

now then....looks like its my turn to do this blog thing. the ellis has done a sterling job so far so i hope i can continue the trend. unfortunately i have chosen the busiest two weeks to write about (dammit) so im going to keep it relatively short and sweet or i may run the risk of getting chucked out of this sweaty sweaty internet cafe for being here too long (may not be such a bad thing) or just bore you all to tears. i will attempt to avoid both. right, to bring a little order to our adventures im going to use subheadings. everyone loves a good subheading. SESSE ISLANDSyikes it feels like aaaggeesss ago when we went to the sesse islands. we got a boat to kalangalaga which is the main town (i use the term 'town' loosely) on buggala island. unfortunately katie was kept 'entertained' by a man sat next to her who spoke so quietly but attempted an indepth conversation so there was a lot of 'pardon?' 'what, sorry?' haha yeah smile nod etc. we have learnt that on long journeys its best to pretend to be asleep. we decided to stay at Hornbill Camp, home to a great dane (katie hates dogs for all those who dont know) and a couple of serious stoners who owned it and called eachother dude and said "cooooooooooooool" alot. the island is absolutely stunning, there was not a cloud in the sky, white sand and gorgeous clear water. there we were, sat on the beach soaking up the sun (keeping an eye on the large slobbery dog) and then just like clockwork we hear "haalllooooo". turns out it wasnt katies day...this local boy took a shine to her...so much so that he ran back to his house for his book of african wildlife to show her. (he clearly knows how to woo the ladies) anyway, we fobbed him off with fake email addresses (we're going straight to hell arent we?) and met a group of nice, sober english people to have a chat to. unfortunately the "toilets" at the camp were absolutely horrendous and our eyes started watering before we got even close to them they smelt so bad! all things considered we moved to a nicer hostel the next day where we haggled them down to half the price and stayed in a gorgeous private en suite banda which smelt of lavender instead of poo, bliss! (no canines in sight either)SAFARI - MURCHISON FALLS We decided to go on a 3 day trip to a national park in the north of Uganda. After a nice 8 hour bus ride complete with two highly irritating americans (they tried to make us wear party hats...you should have seen the look on our faces) we got to the camp. we were up early the next day on a game drive where we we saw crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, monkeys, warthogs, deer thingies (sorry, wasnt listening when i got told what they were, but there was loads of them..looked a bit like bambi) and lions. we were also really lucky to see a lioness and her cubs eating a buffalo she just killed so that was pretty amazing. we went on a boat trip after that up to the actual falls and saw elephants! aaaah they were so awesome and there was loads of them...we've taken so so many pictures.in the camp that evening everyone was sat outside and then a hippo and its babies just trotted through the camp! bare in mind these things are huuuugggeee and are the biggest killers in africa it was fairly wierd to be so close to them! we didnt get eaten though. WHITE WATER RAFTING/SUICIDE ATTEMPT- JINJAwhat can i say....there are no words. we got life jacketed and helemted and set off with a couple our age from denmark and an older couple from...somewhere else (ive forgotten) and got in our dingy boat thing with our guide (he was called ruben for those of you who are interested and a jolly nice chap). we did 12 rapids all together, five of them were grade 5. just to explain grade 5 in laymens terms means...."you-are-insane-for-attempting-this-rapid-you-idiot-you-are-never-going-to-stay-in-the-boat-prepare-to-be-absolutelywhalloped-by-a-huge-wave-and-then-another-5-huger-waves-and-if-you-survive-that-swim-like-buggery-cos-theres-a-waterfall-coming-up. "anyway....we capsized twice in grade 5 rapids and then after about 10 seconds of blind terror (feels like about 10 hours) you bob up and a safety kayak has to come and fish around for you. then comes the act of getting back on the boat. someone from the boat grabs you by the jacket and yoinks you up so you end up back on the boat with your face in their crotch. needless to say we were all fairly well acquainted by the end of the trip (a bit too well acquainted with the older guy with the really tight swimming trunks on...gross!)anyway....we also saw a chamelon and two cobras (!!) in the water whilst on the trip. apparently there are also crocodiles but they kindly keep themselves to themselves. right. good. anyway....we survived and feel ever so proud of ourselves. now im just waiting for the drowning whilst being eaten by cobras and crocodiles nightmares. THE HAIRY LEMONwe've just got back from an island resort called the hairy lemon (interesting name i know) where we've just been chilling out and sunbathing. it was really nice....although i found a frog in my bed one night which scared me half to death so i changed beds and then when i woke up in the morning i opened by rucksack and it was sat there and then when i came to leave i was packing it hopped out of one of my shoes! anyway...cant remember if ive mentioned but we met a girl calle lizzy in kampala and shes been with us for the past week and came to jinja and the hairy lemon now. we've just said bye to her cos she has to go back to her project so now me and the ellis have to go back to eachothers company...and the locals. that reminds me...we got chased down the street by a woman the other day shouting "THE DEVIL! THE DEVIL!" at us. apparenlty she was a preacher??? maybe she'd heard that we've been giving out fake email addresses.right....i think ive babbled enough now. wow, ive written loads, sorry! we're staying in jinja tonight and then getting a 22 hour bus straight to mombasa in kenya. we werent planning on going there but being the carefree, spontaneous and seasoned travellers we are we've changed our minds and are heading for the kenyan coast, marvellous!hope you're all well (and still awake)lots of lovebeth and katie ps. just as an aside....if you ever happen to be in kampala can i strongly advise you not to go to a 'storytelling?' we went with a couple of ppl from our hostel recently and it wasnt exactly what we expected. it was a guy with a microphone telling riddles. and when i say riddles i mean a collection of words that made no sense. here is an example of one of the riddles: "i walked by a lake and there were ten policemen sat on one seat..how is this possible". right...so we all had a little think. the answer was...(are you ready? you'll kick yourself....).....'blackjack.'........eh? ....i think it was a case of majorly lost in translation which resulted in a lot of puzzled foreigners. we were then instructed to hold hands and sing amazing grace (no joke) and then dance around the camp fire. it was a fairly surreal experience to say the least!