Uganda trip report

Danny's daughter, Kathleen, and her husband, Riaan, visited us for the first two weeks in February. Aside from a couple of 'glitches' we all enjoyed the trip.

On the trip which began with an overnight stay in Kampala, we visited Lake Mburo National Park, Mbarara, Katara Lodge in Kichwamba (near QENP), Mweya Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp near the Ishasha gate for QENP, Kibale Forest, Fort Portal, and spent the last night in Entebbe.Since there were only 4 of us we used our own car and Danny did most of the driving including game drives, Riaan also helped drive.

Most of our accommodation rates included 3 full meals a day--full breakfasts, 2 or 3 course lunches, and dinners which included a starter, soup, main course and dessert. Most of us are all a bit larger than we were at the beginning of the trip.Photos are in this album:http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/sets/72157613832067430/detail/

A detailed trip report is in a separate blog:http://ugandakathleenriaan.blogspot.com/

Highlights

• Seeing elephants close up on the Ishasha game drive, including one which became annoyed at us for being in its ‘personal space’.
• Hearing the tale of Riaan hanging outside the car window on Mweya QENP game drive and coming too close to a lion lying nearby!
• The local family entertaining us at Ishasha with dancing and drumming.
• The refreshing pool at Mweya with an amazing view over Lake Edward.
• The delighted reactions when we spoke any of the local language.
• Seeing elephants on the shoreline of Lake Edward.
• Having a long, hot shower at Lake View Hotel after 2 days w/o washing. Ewww…
• Meeting other tourists.
• Being in accommodation where we actually got COLD beer.
• Having loads of laughs with Kathleen and Riaan. Nothing to do with beer consumption…..
• Soaking in the clawed tub whilst enjoying the view of the Rift Valley at Katara Lodge.
• Listening to the animal sounds at night from our rooms or tents.
• The absolutely incredibly gorgeous meals at Mweya, Katara, Arcadia Cottages, Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp, and Primate Lodge.
• Walking through the tangle of branches and vines trying to keep up with our guide in Kibale Forest in search of chimps.
• Hearing the chimps calling to each other.
• The highly energetic traditional dancing at the Primate Lodge.
• Listening to the lions at a not-too-great-distance from our tents early in the morning at Ishasha River Camp.
• Winding down the trip at the Airport Guesthouse in Entebbe and just hanging out in the lovely gardens and on the comfortable porch