Kalangala — When an opportunity came for me to travel to the islands district of Kalangala, off the north west shores of Lake Victoria, I took it with open arms.

There were a number of reasons for my eagernes. But to be able to step foot on the famous Ssese Islands was foremost. Secondly, it would be my first time to travel on water.

Where I come from, along the southern shores of Lake Kyoga in Buyende, Eastern Uganda, water transport is a risky venture, characterized by wrecked or capsized canoes when crossing to Teso, in the north eastern part of Uganda.

The thrill of cruising on a large ferry kept the early morning three hour road trip from Kampala to Masaka town bearable. Especially so, in the company of hilarious friends, some of whom were making the trip for the first time just like me.

I have seen pictures of a ferry in the newspapers and Internet but never had a chance to experience the peace with which it moves, as we found out a few hours after setting off from Masaka town.

The dusty murram road from Masaka was not fun considering that dust leaves me all 'sneezy' with flu, but after 40 or so minutes we approached a rather quiet deserted landsite at Bukakata from where we were to wait for the ferry to transport us with our van to the islands.

We grabbed a quick lunch of fried fish, rice, posho (also widely known as ugali), yam and steamed cassava but no soup. It was reminiscent of Kenya's famous and most cherished nyama kyoma and ugali combination

Most of us didn't like it one bit. We complained as we only made use of the hardened fish. Not that it was bad; no, it was just crunchy.

The ferry finally arrived 30 minutes later, turning and moving on water was no longer a wish, but reality.

It was different from what I expected. We didn't need life-jackets as I had anticipated. I didn't even find out if the crew had any on board. I let myself take in the moment, particularly the cool breeze.

The ferry, MV Pearl, is owned by Kalangala Infrastructure Services (KIS), a joint venture with government. It is part of a concession deal that will see the former provide two ferry services (including MV Pearl), upgrade a 66 kilometres of road from Luku landing site to Mulabana, provide safe water to the fishing community, rehabilitate the Bukakata and Luku landing sites which they completed and generate 1.6MW of electricity for Bugala Island. Bugala is the largest of 84 islands that make Ssese Islands or Kalangala district.

While interacting with some of the residents of the area on the ferry, I came to learn that this transport service is provided at no cost on a daily basis.

Businessman, Patrick Kayemba, has plied the Bukakata-Luku crossing for more than 25 years now.

He described how the new MV Pearl has improved their lives by working Monday to Sunday five routes a day. "Its faster, loads more vehicles and is orderly," he said.

As a businessman, kayemba said, he needs reliable transport means to bring his merchandise which he buys from Masaka and sells on the Islands.

I was later to learn that the ferry uses diesel to run its engine consuming between 15 to 25 litres of fuel each trip, depending on the load and speed.

Elia Goodel, a chief engineer on the ferry said MV Pearl can carry 100 metric tonnes of weight, an equivalent of 18 small cars.

In less than 30 minutes we made it to Luku landing site a mini trading center on Bugala Island, still engulfed with the lakeside aura, it was easy to notice that we are headed to a ride in the wilderness.

Kalangala is gifted, gifted with natural beauty an endowment which should never be taken for granted, especially forshort term gains.

However, local leaders Lugolobi want government to help the private sector to harness and develop tourism which is a gem waiting to be explored.

He says 83 of the 84 islands lack connectivity in terms of transport something that has hindered the development and accessibility of the islands.

Once in Kalangala, you can enjoy the serene environment, visit the cultural sites like embuga ya Mukasa, Embuga ya Wanema, Embuga ya Musisi and embuga ya Lugo.

You can visit the bird sanctuary which has various species of birds, sport fishing, agro tourism, sport hunting and go to the beaches.

These are tourism opportunities that are raw waiting for investors to take up and upgrade.

In 2005, the government struck a deal with KIS to undertake infrastructural development in the area. One notable result has been that last year, MV Pearl, started plying the Bukakata-Luku route.

Clean water has also been extended to Kasekulo landing site and in June 2013 work to upgrade 66 kilometres road which will movement in and out of the island easy.