Uganda The Pearl Of Africa
SA4x4|March 2020
This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters
Dan Grec
Uganda The Pearl Of Africa
I’m out solo, exploring an isolated gravel track in Uganda when the stunning Lake Albert comes into view over the crest of a hill. I strategically park the Jeep to get the best photo possible and walk away with camera in hand.

As I climb the rock bank for a photo, I see the Jeep move. Almost before I can react it has travelled an entire Jeep length and is picking up speed fast. I desperately scramble after it, hoping without reason there is a way I can fling myself into the driver’s seat to stop it. Seeing the inevitable I keep clear, utterly helpless.

Within three or four lengths it hurtles out of control into the ditch on the left before striking the rock wall, very hard. The tyre takes the full impact, violently flipping the Jeep over onto the passenger side before it skids to a crunching stop.

I crumple to the ground, terrified that I may have just ended my African Expedition, and with no idea what to do.

Into Uganda

A few weeks earlier, I completed another straightforward border crossing from Rwanda into Uganda. After finishing the paperwork and starting the Jeep, I think for a second before turning off the engine and walking back to the armed military man guarding the boom gate.

“Which side of the road in Uganda?” I ask.

“Keep left,” he says, “not like Rwanda.”

After swapping sides multiple times now, I figure it never hurts to double-check, and the lack of signs makes me not trust my own memory of which country drives on which side.

Mgahinga mountain gorillas

This story is from the March 2020 edition of SA4x4.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2020 edition of SA4x4.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SA4X4View All
SA4x4

Uganda The Pearl Of Africa

This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2020
Auto Perfection?
SA4x4

Auto Perfection?

Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Defenders On Tour

The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…

time-read
9 mins  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2020
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
SA4x4

The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader

A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2020
Monkey business!
SA4x4

Monkey business!

Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2020
SA4x4

GREAT ZOOKS

There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass

time-read
10 mins  |
March 2020