At Sezibwa I could stay for ever

It is hard to find something to compare with the feeling you get when standing at the top of the rock where the river performs its boisterous plunge to create the Sezibwa Falls. This vantage point gives a wide view across the rest of the site, a beautiful, vista of nature in peace with itself. I could get lost in the deceptively calm, but extremely deep pool that slowly flows to the cliff and becomes the jumping white froth, bold and beautiful as it splashes in all directions down the cliff.

I could stay here all day, bathing in the slight mist that wafts my way from the fizzing water. I could stand at the bridge and watch the rich view of the lawns and canopied trees below. I could grab a pair of Binoculars and spot a bird or 14, singing, feeding, hunting; in the water and in the trees. I could sit on the scraggly rocks and watch ants go matching one by one or Lizards waiting to catch the, one by one.

I could walk the simple trail down the side of the hill. Walk the wooden bridge that crosses the post-waterfall calmness of the river. I could stand here all mid morning, gazing at the water fall from below to one side, then turn to the other side and disappear into the reeds that become dense forest in a few meters. I could have an extended lunch inside the grass thatched cottage set on a hill, or spread a blanket on the vast lawns and indulge. Spend the rest of the afternoon counting how many red-tailed monkeys I can see in the trees. I could come along with my sisters and a few board games, a skipping rope and a music player for a picnic to remember. I could bring my children, my nieces my nephews for a bit of fun as well as a lesson in geography across the rocks, the river and the trees. I could sunbathe here all afternoon, feeling sleepy till the sun gives up the project, kisses the horizon good evening as a cool breeze raises goose bumps on my arms.

I could never fall asleep here though, for with the fall of the night, the reality that this area is also a traditional Ganda shrine brings new goose bumps all over the body. I could never bring myself to get so close, but I have seen, from a distance, a cock slaughtered and the smoke rising from the bunt offerings; and a man dressed in bark cloth dance the dance of the possessed. I have seen up close, the feathers and the coffee beans as proof of past ritual sacrifices. In the culture, every extraordinary phenomenon of nature wins a worshipper or two, whole clans or tribes dedicated to pleasing the diety believed to reside therein.

But anyone could learn so much about Buganda’s history and culture, by talking to the guides and hearing the legends they recite about the river’s formation. A guide can show you one of the oldest trees here a nkalati species supposedly planted by Kabaka Mwanga and another planted by over a century later, by Mwanga’s great grandson and current Kabaka, Ronald Mutebi, at the inauguration of theirs site as a tourism destination.

I could never let the hair-raising side of Sezibwa stop me from another visit, though. For before men made gods of natural things, God made nature for man to enjoy. So I could never fail to recommend Sezibwa Falls to friends.

By Bruce Amp