For your long wildlife safaris you can get enough of Uganda National Parks

                                                  Hippos at Kasenyi fishing village

 

At the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, This haven of wild life is one of the must visit places in Uganda. The most incredible thing about the park though, is the fact that each visit is a novel experience and maybe even better than the first.

Like a colleague quipped, you can never get enough of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This statement is very true. Every time you get there, there is still something new to discover. Although I had been to this place before, it was still quite refreshing to revisit what Uganda Wildlife Authority dubs as Uganda’s most popular tourist destination.

A light drizzle accosted part of the morning ahead of the Uganda safari. On that Friday morning, a group of journalists and I set off from National Theatre at 11.15am, one hour late from the originally scheduled time.

A journey of learning

Our two safari Omnibuses were to move together, as matter of policy from Uganda safari trail, our hosts. A stopover at the equator which divides the earth into the northern and southern hemisphere was made and as usually happens here, Kodak moments took centre stage. “Smile, say cheers,” and other such requests combed the air as camera flashes shone on our faces.

Kato William, our guide and driver was good company as he explained several things along the way, things he had learned over the years from when he was an “intern” of sorts, like he were reading from a book about the park.

Going through its unique selling points, he said the park used to have rinderpest and tsetse flies in the past. These helped drive away many people who had started encroaching on the land. When it was sprayed and eventually rid of the “enemy”, people moved back into it but are now mostly live on its fringes.

At the haven of nature

We arrived some minutes past 7pm, exhausted. After we were allocated double and triple rooms, dinner and sleep occupied our minds most ahead of Saturday’s game drive. On Saturday, we woke up for a 6am breakfast and William spread out the itinerary.

“The park has about 2,500 elephants. Males have rounded foreheads,” he explained. The park has a network of many game tracks which end at the Kasenyi fishing village. As William had intimated, we saw elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, the Uganda Kob and herds of Buffaloes.

Kobs make sharp sounds to alert each other of potential danger in case they see strange faces or a lion in vicinity; such sounds were made when our vans inched forward. When mating is a whole different game.

However, our highlight was when we quietly watched lions at their mating ground. With the aid of binoculars, we saw about four lying down quietly around a rock. Not far from them were the Kobs, also at their mating ground, north east of Mweya. “Males have their own territories they keep from fellow males,” says our guide.

He added that females search for strong males to mate with preferably those with better genes. Uganda Kobs prefer flat areas because they can then easily see the lions from a distance. We saw a female Kob trying to win the hearts of some males but by the time we left she had been unsuccessful. Edroma told us that unlike humans, the female Kobs search for their mating partner.

They swing their tiny tails as a sign that they are ready and available. Although the males sniff at the tails when wooed, it is the females to make their pick, a tumultuous task, so we learned with first-hand experience. We don’t know if our presence and prying cameras made life hell for the animals, but we let them have their peace and off we continued to Kasenyi.

The Kasenyi community

At Kasenyi crater where Lake Bunyampaka lies, William told us, plots (portions containing salt in the lake) are demarcated and sold the way land is sold. In the Kasenyi community, we saw how life entirely depends on fish. Most people here say they do not benefit from the animals and that the animals sometimes encroach on their land. Life is slow and residents have many children. Most houses are made of mud and wattle and people spend time conversing as they wait for the fishermen.

At Kyambura Gorge, Bernard Twine, another guide told us that the 100 metres deep place has five primate species. It comprises the gorge, Kyambura River and Kyambura Forest. I was lucky to have visited this gorge sometime back, unlike my colleagues because it wasn’t on the itinerary. Seeing that this large expanse is also within Queen Elisabeth National Park, it tells you how big this park is. Touring it in two days may seem quite hectic, but you won’t have seen everything.

Cruising along Kazinga Channel

The following day we set off at Kazinga Channel at 3pm. Edna Pukwatsibwe, our guide, took us through the history of the place as we sailed on the waters. It is then that I remembered she was the same guide some years back when I visited the park no wonder she knew the channel like the back of her hand.

Edna says the channel is within the Albertine Rift Valley. The natural channel is eight metres deep and stretches 40km long. It is home to 95 mammal species and 612 bird species. Hippos, which live for 45 years, can kill but do not eat people. Hippos stay in groups called schools. A school has 40 members usually with one dominant male.

Elephants have 80-100 year life span, we learned. Edna said an elephant has a sharp memory. It can take revenge if you encounter it again, years after doing something bad to it. Along the channel, there are plenty of fauna to see.

There were lots of bird species such as Egyptian geese, the yellow billed stork and white pelicans as well as hippos swimming side by side with buffaloes. Elephants and crocodiles were also a good sight attraction. The two hour journey includes a point where Lakes Edward and George “meet.”

At 5pm, true to the guide’s word, we were back at the shore with our vans waiting for us. Departure on Sunday morning at 7.50a.m made us yearn to reach our respective homes.

Viewing lions on our way back made the whole trip worthwhile. Several tourists’ cars inched close to the animals who felt agitated seeing cameras flashing away and disrupting their seemingly peaceful and quiet evening. safari gorillas

Lost in nature’s richness at Kyambura

A bird that does not fly will never know where the millet is ready, goes a local saying. If you have not visited the Kyambura Gorge and Kazinga Channel in western Uganda, you do not know how much you are missing.  Lawrence braved the six-hour journey and long trek in the valley and gives you a feel of the memorable adventure.

Part of the gorge through which a river flows, It is one of the most beautiful scenes in Kyambura.

As an artist, I have always thought of a woman’s body as God’s most beautiful creation. But that was before last month when I joined seven tourists on Uganda Safaris that turned out to be the most exhilarating adventure at Kyambura Gorge and the Kazinga Channel.

Both are situated in the western Rift Valley of Uganda, which stretches through Queen Elizabeth National Park. At these two spots, I got the real feel of perfection in beauty.

We took an exhausting six-hour drive from Kampala along the Bushenyi-Kasese highway under the scorching African sun. After that, nothing sounded so sweet and relieving like the sound of “we’re finally here!’ as said in the husky voice of Samuel, our driver, who also doubled as our guide. We were 38km away from the Congo border.

One after another, we stepped out of the tour taxi setting our feet on the rich soils of Kyambura that was densely covered by dark green grass. Naturally, it was not long before most of us punched the air in triumph as we were fuelled by the excitement of having arrived safe and sound.

Mysterious Kyambura Gorge

Suddenly, our attention was stolen by the roaring sound of a waterfall. However, it was confusing to discover that even with all-round turns of 180 degrees, our eyes could not see any falls. It then dawned on us that the roar was coming from a river down in Kyambura Gorge.

From what I saw, I can define a gorge as a sunken forest in a wide valley. In the particular case of Kyambura, the valley was 100 metres deep, the reason our eyes could not sight the waterfall we were hearing.

Being the coward I am, I kept my distance from the gorge’s elevated viewpoint which was situated on the edge of the land.

But I guess I have little regrets over this decision because those who dared to go there seemed to develop cold feet immediately. They deserted the place as soon as Bayer Anyesiga, the Kyambura guide who would take us for chimpanzee tracking, appeared.

Chimp tracking is one of those activities that Uganda is famous for and it was something I looked forward to doing.

However, the fact that Anyesiga armed himself with a panga before the tracking began almost made me reconsider trying it out. To me, this was a clear signal that ahead of us lay immense danger.

Luckily, 10 minutes into the tracking, I discovered that his only reason for carrying the panga was to trim off the branches of the wild thickets to open a path on our way into the dense forest.

That is when my speedily pounding heart normalised as I took a deep sigh. My gaze kept dropping on every tree branch we approached because my heart was quivering with immense anticipation.

To see the subtle primates, we calculatedly walked down the slippery slopes into the dense tropical rainforest that covers the gorge’s floor. Anyesiga advised us to resort to whispering if we found it impossible to keep mute because the primates often turn violent if their peace is disturbed with noise.

Save for the roar of Kyambura River and the tweeting of crickets, it was absolute silence down there, probably more silent than a grave.

When all my attention was inclined upwards, having heard the sound of a chimp, I felt a smooth creature as cold as a snake slither up my legs. In micro seconds, my knees began wobbling dangerously and I found myself yelling my grandmother’s name.

In a flash, I was already three feet up the huge mahogany tree before me, only to discover that it was a prank that Otim, another tourist, had pulled off.

He had come up with the brilliant idea of sliding a wet shoe lace around my legs and got the effect he was looking for.

Yes, I felt like sinking my fist into his head. In fact, I folded my fists like I was going to knock him down, but my fists just froze in space before I painfully chickened out because the chap was almost three times my height and weight.

Chimp sighting

Minutes after I had composed myself, the guide pointed us to a family of five chimps nestled in a tree branch about 180m from our track.

“That is Brutus, the leader of the chimps with his family,” Anyesiga explained. “They are part of over 25 chimpanzees that live here.”

It should not matter, but there was something about the way Brutus tilted his eyes sideways and flashed a smile at us that I found fascinating.

“Brutus, together with his team, prefers living in the corridors of the gorge in fear of being confronted by other wildlife like leopards and lions, which live on the Savanna grassland surrounding the gorge,” Anyesiga continued.

It soon dawned on me that there is a lot more to see in the gorge than just chimpanzees. Such included gigantic tropical trees, beautiful flowers, unique chains of spider webs, a variety of birds, colourful butterflies and different species of monkeys.

Fortunately, everything about the tracking was happening so fast. While I expected to spend hours walking and straining to see the chimps in vain, here I was getting a better feel of the forest with every tick of the clock.

I was also swept off my feet by the rays of sunlight that filtered through the forest canopy. In effect, my camera clicked more than once as it took pictures to retain memories of the visit to the unforgettable gorge.

Content with what we had witnessed, we soon found our way out of the forest and headed for our next destination — Kazinga Channel, a 30-minute drive away.

Kazinga Channel

After a brief by our guide, whose name I might have forgotten as soon as it was mentioned, the tour boat was ignited to flag off our trip along Kazinga Channel to the mouth of Lake Edward.

On the map of Uganda, Kazinga Channel is that thin strip of water that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. As the boat made its way through the tranquil channel, I climbed up the upper deck, joining nine tourists there to get a clearer view of the wildlife on either side of the boat.

Birds and game

We espied a kingfisher that had successfully hunted out a medium sized tilapia fish, which it swiftly ferried onto the nearest branch of a whistling acacia tree by the water banks.

What a pity it was to witness the helpless fish poked lifeless like it was its predator’s last meal for months.

Thankfully, it was not long before my spirits were fired up again upon the sight of elephants mating in the open as some white egrets kept flying above them. If my guess is right, they must have enjoyed every bit of the uncensored act by the elephants.

It was also a blessing to discover that while some tourists spend hours and hours peering in vain for game, we were fortunate to experience lots of wildlife after another, especially along the banks as the boat sailed on; all courtesy of the good schedule of the boat ride, which takes place at 5:00pm when most animals are relaxing by the banks as they enjoy the warmth of the golden brown sun as it buries itself in the horizon.

Some of the game to be seen here include water bucks, elephants, antelopes, a school of 12 hippos, crocodiles, birds and monkeys.

Like most of the bird lovers aboard, I cheered aloud as I relished over 150 bird species of 319 in the park. However, this excitement was soon tamed when an ugly black and white vulture flew slightly above my head and dropped its watery droppings on my nose.

Fellow tourists could not resist laughing at me and staring like I was another wildlife creature aboard the boat. Most annoying, some did not hesitate to click their cameras at me.

At the end of such a fulfilling exploratory day, nothing felt as good as devouring lunch at Simba Safari camp. We watched the calm waters of Lake George and listened to waves gently brush the branches of the trees surrounding the place

The icing on the cake was the different species of birds that soon conquered these trees and put up energetic aerobic performances as they whistled different sweet melodies that pierced my heart with the sharp end of their vocals.

World’s £1m holiday tour that includes Uganda sites

Gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and Kasubi Tombs are part of a globe –trotting tour of all the 962 UNESCO heritage sites that will cost you a whooping £1m.

The snow-capped peak on Mt. Rwenzori

The UK’s Daily Mail reports that “the unique journey, offered by Veryfirstto.com, will visit breathtaking spectacles all over the world…”

It further reports that the sites are “deemed to have outstanding universal cultural and natural value by the World Heritage Committee.”

Tourists in Bwindi impenetrable forest

Last year the National Geographic named Uganda among the top 20 global tourism destinations in 2013 while the lonely planet named Uganda as the best travel destination for 2012.

The National Geographic is an international travel channel affiliated to the National Geographic Society.

During the Magical Kenya Travel Expo 2012 held at Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi last year, the Kenya ministry of tourism, Dr. Nelson Githinji said Uganda was ranked top in tourism industry growth in Africa at 25% in 2011.

A WB report published last year reported tourists visiting Uganda close to 1m. Serenity of Lake Kyaninga and Kidepo one of the bestnational parks in Africa

It takes 15 minutes drive to see chimps in Ngamba islands Tourism

Going to see chimpanzees and the hundreds of bird species in Ngamba islands will now take just 15 minutes from Kajjansi outside Kampala, thanks to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Tuesday.

The MoU between Kajjansi Aero Club (Fly Uganda) and the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT) will see Fly Uganda carry tourists to the Lake Victoria island famed for its chimpanzee conservation, as well as the monitor lizard and abundant bird species.

The chopper bought from the Japanese Police Force about three years ago will also help promote the other tourist features of the island that include sport fishing and community tourism.

The helicopter carries a maximum of four passengers and a return trip will cost $980 for four full packages, including access to the island.

The island has until now been serviced by boats and motorized vessels only, for a journey that takes an average of 40 minutes. By boat, it costs $80 per person for a minimum of four passengers for foreign tourists and $60 for East Africans.

“This is a natural extension to get more tourists to Ngamba islands,” said Russell Barnes, the director of Fly Uganda at the signing in Kajjansi. A trial flight has reportedly already been done with chimps reacting positively by coming over to watch the chopper. Barnes said the longer tourists stay in Uganda, the more money they spend and have a better experience “and the more they can talk positively about the country.”

Lilly Ajarova, the executive director of CSWCT, said Ngamba highlands houses rescued chimpanzees from areas that they were endangered. She cited West Africa, where the chimpanzee is already extinct in four states.

“Most of their mothers were killed and were brought as babies. Some were brought back from Europe after being traced back to Uganda. There has to be a deliberate move to see they continue surviving,” said Ajarova.

The sanctuary receives 4,000 international tourists annually. “It is a destination promoting Uganda because tourists include a lot of other destinations,” said Ajarova.

She explained that a monitoring system has been instituted to check any negative drastic effect of the chopper on the chimpanzees, although the test flight showed there is none so far.

“There have been inquiries for quicker (transport) mean to the islands, this will also provide a chance for medical evacuation,” said Ajarova.

It takes 15 minutes drive to see chimps in Ngamba islands Tourism

Going to see chimpanzees and the hundreds of bird species in Ngamba islands will now take just 15 minutes from Kajjansi outside Kampala, thanks to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Tuesday.

The MoU between Kajjansi Aero Club (Fly Uganda) and the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT) will see Fly Uganda carry tourists to the Lake Victoria island famed for its chimpanzee conservation, as well as the monitor lizard and abundant bird species.

The chopper bought from the Japanese Police Force about three years ago will also help promote the other tourist features of the island that include sport fishing and community tourism.

The helicopter carries a maximum of four passengers and a return trip will cost $980 for four full packages, including access to the island.

The island has until now been serviced by boats and motorized vessels only, for a journey that takes an average of 40 minutes. By boat, it costs $80 per person for a minimum of four passengers for foreign tourists and $60 for East Africans.

“This is a natural extension to get more tourists to Ngamba islands,” said Russell Barnes, the director of Fly Uganda at the signing in Kajjansi. A trial flight has reportedly already been done with chimps reacting positively by coming over to watch the chopper. Barnes said the longer tourists stay in Uganda, the more money they spend and have a better experience “and the more they can talk positively about the country.”

Lilly Ajarova, the executive director of CSWCT, said Ngamba highlands houses rescued chimpanzees from areas that they were endangered. She cited West Africa, where the chimpanzee is already extinct in four states.

“Most of their mothers were killed and were brought as babies. Some were brought back from Europe after being traced back to Uganda. There has to be a deliberate move to see they continue surviving,” said Ajarova.

The sanctuary receives 4,000 international tourists annually. “It is a destination promoting Uganda because tourists include a lot of other destinations,” said Ajarova.

She explained that a monitoring system has been instituted to check any negative drastic effect of the chopper on the chimpanzees, although the test flight showed there is none so far.

“There have been inquiries for quicker (transport) mean to the islands, this will also provide a chance for medical evacuation,” said Ajarova.