My fiancee (also a triathlete) will be spending 2 months working in Kampala, Uganda from February-March. Anyone have any ideas on safe places to run in or around this area? I’ve never been to Africa before and I know that Uganda, especially, is not the safest place. Is it entirely unadvised for a girl to be running outside around Kampala by herself? If so, can anyone suggest any alternatives because she will go crazy if she cannot workout!
Thanks in advance for any advice people may have.
vmn2
Wow, I know ST is pretty BIG and global and all, but I can’t imagine too many reponses for Kampala! I do have a contact in Malawi though!
I actually spent a month in Uganda about 2 years ago, with about a week and a half in Kampala. To me anyway, Kampala felt a lot safer than most African capital cities. I also remember being surprised by how many people I saw out running. I’m not sure I would say it’s completely safe for her to go running by herself, but I bet it wouldn’t be that hard to find some people to run with. There’s actually a pretty nice gym with treadmills at the Kabira country club - http://www.kabiracountryclub.com/gymnasium.htm. I think it’s connected to the Speke Hotel, where you might be able to get a pass. I stayed at the Speke Hotel a few nights and it was pretty nice.
Uganda isn’t really that dangerous, it’s only the far north that is dangerous because of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
Make sure to tell her to go down to Bwindi National Forest and do a trek to see the mountain gorillas. It’s probably one of the highlights of my life.
Like it was said before, as long as you are far away from the LRA you probably won’t run in to too much trouble. Be prepared to get lots and lots of WEIRD looks. Say hello to all the people, in their language, and they will love it.
I was in Rwanda in July/August and wish I were not injured so that i could run. The people are great, although they will look at you funny because many of them have not seem white people before (seriously, ever). Just say “Hi” in their language, they will double take, smile and all is well. I was there for 3 weeks and had not one single problem.
Africa is a beautiful place, enjoy!
Thanks everyone for the advice!
vmn2
Find the peace corp station and as one of those guys. They are usually pretty seasoned travelers and alot of them workout. They get a horse or a bike for transportation so almost everyone chooses the bike. Every african capitol city has one I can ask my roommate to check since he is in it in Zambia.
matt,
that would be fantastic! please send me a PM if you get a chance to talk to your roommate if there’s one in kampala.
thanks!
venu
I have not been to Uganda, but I spent two months traveling around Kenya & Tanzania in 1995. I ran everywhere and experiencd no problems. However, I am a man. I suspect that it would be less safe for a woman to do this on her own. Best to check into the local British, American, Aussie etc . . expat communities and networks. There seems to be rather large ones in many African cities. See if there are other runners that you can go out with.
I went for a number of very memorable runs during this time. Out on the Serengeti Plains while on Safari. Along the edge of the Rift Valley in Eldoret. Along the beaches south of Mombasa. Through the Old city on the island of Zanzibar. Through the trails and villages along the lower slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Everywhere, people would wave and smile. I would wave and say “Jambo”( the local greeting) back. Kids would run along with me for a bit and then peel off.
You ran in Eldoret?? You really have to be a man to do that!!! And check your ego at the door…
“You ran in Eldoret??”
It was in July and August when I was there and there were no other runners around - all the big runners were in Europe or the US at the time. It’s the off-season for running in Kenya. In fact, I saw exactly one other person out running during my entire time in East Africa. It was a British guy that I ran into while out for a run in the Ngong Hills on the outskirts of Nairobi one day.
Like any african city there are parts you dont even want to think about butoverall the Ugandans are one of the friendliest people out there. Talk with some expat groups and hotels. There are some gyms and clubs in Kampala. the outskirts of the city can be beautiful places to train. I have not gone out running in kampala, but did a bit in Entebbe. I prefer to stay in Entebbe as it is quiter. The one thing with running as a women you may have to take into account is dress, It can be offensive to certain tribes and religions to show shoulders and legs above the knee in public. If you show respect you will be fine.
I am not sure i would recommend a women go running alone in Kampala central itself. However, if your fiancee is working with a group or organisation then chances are there will be someone who will be more than willing to run with her a few times a week.
On another front, if you can swing it, it may be a bit late to get in. But if you can I cannto recommend a vist to Ngamba island on Lake victoria enough. http://www.ngambaisland.org/
You probably already have this info, but this is the embassy in Kampala:
Contact Information
Embassy of the United States of America
U. S. Embassy
Plot 1577 Ggaba Road,
P.O. Box 7007,
Kampala
Uganda.
Tel: 041 25 97 91 /2/3/5
Fax: 041 259 794
Email: kampalawebcontact@state.gov
I’ll PM you with my friend’s contact info.
My sister spent 2.5 years in Zam, but she’s a recruiter now in UT Austin. She says she doesn’t know if there is an office in Kampala, but that there ARE volunteers in the country, so there’s a good chance an office is located there. Anyway, she says that the embassy will give you all the info you need about where the nearest PC office is. You’ll probably want to ask for the nearest PC provincial house and a contact number for it. PC provincial houses serve as a base for volunteers serving within 50 or so miles of it’s location. However, given the time of year/month, there may be few or no volunteers staying there.
http://www.busiweek.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1287&Itemid=38
Maybe she can do this race…