QE National Park Weekend

Busy weekend! We spent Friday night in Bushenyi so we could have a send-off for two departing volunteers – Nikki and Shane. They will be missed! We set off for Kingfisher Lodge in Kichwamba on Saturday morning. Our 8th wedding anniversary was Thursday, April 17th and we decided to spoil ourselves.

Kingfisher Lodge:
http://www.dostudios.de/kingfishersafaris.net/news_en.html

Our room was simply but interestingly decorated with a private balcony overlooking the Rift Valley.

The Lodge is set in spectacular scenery. Our banda, outdoor dining, and the swimming pool overlooked the Rift Valley. Service and meals were wonderful.

Sunday morning we departed for Mweya Lodge which is located in Queen Elizabeth National Park. On the drive to the lodge from the main road we were thrilled to spot a leopard sitting in the high grass—a rare occurrence. After a gorgeous lunch of fish (Tilapia) and chips we arranged the mid-afternoon boat trip through the Kazinga Channel which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. Due to the downpour that morning there weren’t any elephants drinking from the lake. However, we did see hippos, water buffalo, and various birds.
http://www.mweyalodge.com/

On Monday morning we arose at 5.30 to prepare for a 6.30 game drive with a ranger guide in our own vehicle. Spotted were an injured female lion, water buffalo, Ugandan Kobs, warthogs, waterbucks, monkeys, and mongoose. Our guide spotted a large herd of Kob demonstrating the behaviour or animals on alert for a dangerous animal. They were all fixated on a tree surrounded by shrub and their tails wagged furiously. A leopard was in the tree. We only got a quick glimpse of it as it leaped down into the shrub. On the way back from the lodge we saw a herd of elephants—a great photo op!

The scenery in the park is magnificent. Queen Elizabeth National Park is adjacent to the Rwenzori Mountains National Park which creates a stunning backdrop to the savannah, Euphorbia trees and brush.
http://www.uwa.or.ug/queen.html

http://www.game-reserve.com/uganda_queen_elizabeth.html

The lodge attracts European and American tourists and has steep prices. Our double room was US $255 for full board (all 3 meals). Our room was very nice—clean, had a room-sized mosquito net so we didn’t have to struggle with tucking a net under the mattress, and nicely decorated with a view over the lake from our back porch. But I expected a more posh room for the price we paid. The service was 1st class during our stay. From the bar, restaurant, pool, decks, porches and guestrooms one can observe elephants, hippos, and water buffalo as they drink from Lake Edward.

Link to many pics of our trip (still being uploaded):http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/sets/72157604670794975/

Lake Mburo National Park

Danny and I, along with Sofie the other volunteer on our campus, spent the past weekend at Lake Mburo which is quite close to us – about 60 or 70km. There are seven lakes in the park, savannah, and mountains and hills. Lovely.

The park does not get crowds of visitors like other national parks because it doesn’t have the ‘Big 5’, or chimps or gorillas like other parks. It is, however, the only national park in Uganda that has zebra and impala. Between 4-6,000 zebras roam the park.

Accommodation is basic or luxury—nothing in between. Since we took our chances and arrived without reservations we spent Saturday night in basic, tiny, and clean rooms. There were no private toilets or showers but were in buildings close by—however, in the middle of the night it seemed miles away! Sunday night was spent in a banda which was in a good location close to park headquarters and the restaurant.

Warthogs were everywhere. I must say they have a face only a mother could love! They liked to eat the grass near the restaurant and we had to walk past them to visit the ‘long drop’. They paid no attention to us.

Sunday morning we took a boat ride on Lake Mburo to look for hippos and crocodiles. Our boat spotted one baby crocodile on a branch near the water and a large crocodile in the distance. Hippos are easily seen near the lakeside restaurant. We also took a game drive in the evening with a ranger in our own vehicle. This was fantastic as we took back trails (good thing we bought a 4 x 4!) and saw hundreds of animals. Danny stopped the car in front of a water buffalo and baby which displeased the mama. The ranger told him to go forward quickly—it could charge us when it feels threatened.

In the evening after dinner when it was pitch black we took a detour to attempt to spot hippos coming out of the lake. We surprised one crossing the road—a huge, wet, lumbering animal. For a moment we feared it would charge us as it was frightened and looked panicky as it hunted for the familiar trail to the water.

On Monday morning we arose before sunrise for a 6.30 am walk with an armed park ranger. Walks are not allowed in the park without being accompanied by an armed guide—just in case. We were looking for hyenas but didn’t spot any. Zebras, monkeys, impalas and a variety of similar animals were spotted and our group got quite close to many of them. We love how graceful the impalas, etc run and leap.

Great trip…we will return.




Photos are being uploaded to this album: http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/sets/72157604433975130/

Links:

http://www.uwa.or.ug/mburo.html

http://www.traveluganda.co.ug/lakemburo.asp