African Safari Adventures
Location: Uganda, The Pearl of Africa
Introduction:
Africa is such a big continent; we were overwhelmed on where to visit to get a “safari” experience. As we researched various combinations of countries to visit, Uganda stood out as the best choice for us. It offered a diversity of wildlife that included Gorillas, friendly people and reasonable prices relative to other countries that we considered. So, we booked a 10-day safari through a Ugandan company (African Big Five Safaris) that rewarded us with many unforgettable experiences. We started by flying into the Entebbe International airport near Kampala, the capital, and were met by our guide, Edmund, who escorted us throughout the trip. After 10 days together we became fast friends. We saw more wild animals than we could ever have imagined. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed by children waving and shouting “Hello, Hello”. Our visit to Uganda was a very moving experience and we can envision ourselves returning again one day.
Sights Visited:
Our first full day was Valentine’s Day and we celebrated it with an adventure that we’re calling “Love on the Nile”. We traveled to Jinja, the source of the Nile River. It’s home to some of the best white water rafting in the world. We had a great outfitter named Adrift. We shared a raft with people from Denmark, Egypt, Tazmania, USA & Uganda forming “Team Tutu” and had a blast. Being near the equator, the water was warm making it easy to adapt each time our raft flipped over. We actually spent a lot of time in the water swimming and attempting backflips off the side of the raft with the rest of our team. In the photos, we’re in the rear of the raft with helmets of blue (Elizabeth) and yellow (Rich).
We spent a day in Lake Mburo National Park where there was an incredible abundance of wildlife. Our visit included a boat tour, a nature walk and a game drive. We saw so many different animals that we couldn’t keep track of all of the names. Here are our favorites: Zebras, Water Buffalo, Fish Eagles, Elands, Impalas, and Warthogs.
We moved on to the southwest corner of Uganda near the borders of Rwanda and The Congo to embark upon a mountain gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This was the activity that we were most excited about when we planned the trip. The excitement continued to build for the first 3 hours of our trek deep into the rainforest as the trackers still hadn’t located the” Mubare” mountain gorilla family that we’d been assigned to visit. Shortly thereafter, we got the good news and the park rangers were creating a narrow path through the dense vegetation with their machetes. For the next hour, we had the privilege of following and observing the gorilla family and it was euphoric. To the gorillas, it was as if we weren’t even there. They just went about eating, grooming and resting. While we were supposed to keep a distance of 20 feet, they would sometimes come within an arm’s length of us. The highlight of our visit was getting to see the group’s 3-week old baby, which was no easy feat as the mother was naturally being very protective.
Our next destination was Queen Elizabeth National Park where we embarked on several game drives to see more wildlife. We also took a boat tour of the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George with Lake Elizabeth. Unfortunately, the southern area of the park was badly burned by a wild bush fire that crossed over from The Congo and was still burning. This area included Ishasha, which is noted for it’s tree-climbing lions that were nowhere to be found. Fortunately, we got to see some lions from a distance in the northern section of the park. In addition to many of the animals we’d previously seen, we saw large numbers of Kobs, Elephants and Hippos. We also got to see the Crested Crane, which is Uganda’s National bird along with some crocodiles.
We made a visit to a rural primary school named “Little Angels Infant School” that truly touched our hearts. The school hadn’t received an outside visitor since last October and the children, numbering about 100, were very excited to see us. The school and students appeared to have only the barest of necessities. We had ample opportunity to interact with the students and had some fun by asking them questions. We’d then reward the correct answers with various school supplies and tennis balls that we purchased in South Africa in anticipation of this visit and that African Big Five Safaris also contributed. We then visited each classroom and distributed pens, pencils, exercise books, etc. to as many children as we could. At the end of the visit, the school chorus serenaded us with song and dance that was so beautiful that it brought tears to our eyes. It was a very emotional and moving experience. We applaud African Big Five Safaris for making this a part of the trip and giving back to the community.
Our last major activity was trekking for Chimpanzees in Kibale National Park. We’d spoken with other travellers who raved about this experience. So, we set off with high hopes. Unfortunately, we only found 1 chimpanzee that day. Still, we got a good workout hiking through the park and we saw a few monkeys like this Black and White Colobus Monkey.
Accommodations:
We spent our first 2 nights in the Fairway Hotel in Kampala. We had good a/c, adequate wifi and breakfast. We had dinner at their Asian Fusion restaurant on Valentine’s Day. Interestingly, they were serving Indian food and showing Bollywood music videos with MJ mixed in. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned on our travels, it’s that Michael Jackson is universally popular.
We spent 1 night at Lake Mburo Safari Lodge located just outside Lake Mburo park with numerous animals on the property. We even had a monkey hanging out on our porch. The lodge and accommodations were quite nice. It started out warm but cooled down overnight. We were able to recharge our devices in the main lodge but the wifi was virtually unusable. The staff was very attentive. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner there. The 3-course meals were pre-set. The food was simple but satisfying and included spaghetti primavera and beef stroganoff.
We spent 2 nights at Silverback Lodge located just outside of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It was set high up on a hill offering panoramic views of the rainforest where the Gorillas live. The staff were very attentive and they even sprayed our room and put the mosquito net out as part of their turn down service. We had power in our room most of the time. We had running water and could take showers. However, the water turned brown on the second day. They advertised wifi in the common area but it was virtually unusable. The food was good and we were given 2 choices for each of the 3-courses. Some of the dishes offered were Hawaiian chicken salad, lamb meatloaf, tilapia and vegetable pasta bake.
Just outside of Queen Elizabeth National Park we stayed 2 nights at the Bush Lodge. This was an eco-friendly lodge. We had our own cottage providing a view of Lake George from our porch where Hippos were frequently bathing and sounding off. We had a non-flush toilet and gravity fed water for our sink and shower in the backyard. We ate pre-set 4-course dinners around a campfire that would start with salad, followed by soup. The main courses were beef filet the first night and pork chop the next. We were able to recharge our devices at night in the common area. The highlight of our stay was when one of the guests came up to Rich and said I know you from somewhere. It turned out that they used to work out together at a gym back in NJ and hadn’t seen each other in 12 years. Ram Iyer shares our passion for travel. You can check out his blog at http://www.travellerspoint.com/users/Ramdas%20Iyer/
We spent 2 nights at Kibale Forest Camp, another eco-friendly lodge that’s affiliated with the Bush Lodge. We were in a tent with 2 twin beds. The bathroom was attached with a non-flush toilet and gravity fed water for our sink and shower. It was a bit noisy at night due to the sounds of the fruit bats but the tent cooled down the best of all of the places we stayed. We enjoyed good food and were served pre-set 2-course lunches and 4-course dinners. The dishes included beefsteak tomato salad, cream of mushroom soup, spaghetti bolognese and pepper steak. We were able to recharge our devices at night and in the morning in the common area. There was no wifi but we were able to use our SIM card to get service.
We spent our last night at the Central Inn in Entebbe as it was 5 minutes from the airport and we had to catch a 4:30 am flight. It met our needs sufficiently. It helped that there was an oscillating fan to help cool us off. We ate at the Hotel’s restaurant and the food was decent. The wifi was weak but again our SIM card came in handy.
Food And Drink:
As you could see above, the food served at all of the safari lodges was westernized. Thus, we did not get a chance to sample much of the local dishes. However, we were well fed and we left Uganda with most of the snack food that we had brought with us. It was nice to see that they’re still serving food on flights in Africa. We enjoyed some salted corn nuts from a street vendor. The selection of wines was quite limited and prices were 4-5 times what we were paying in South Africa. In anticipation, we picked a little something up at the duty free shop at the airport and we found the local brand of Club Beer to be a good thirst quencher and the best of the 3 local beer brands that we tried.
Transportation System:
We traveled around Uganda in a comfortable Toyota Van with our guide Edmund. It had a pop-up roof that we used on the game drives. We were then transported by other vans, buses and boats along the way for the various activities that we had pre-arranged. Most roads were one lane. Some were paved and the rest were dirt. There were lots of speed bumps and ruts to bounce us around and plenty of dust to thoroughly coat us.
Shout Outs:
We send a Big Shout Out to African Big Five Safaris ( http://www.africanbigfivesafaris.com ), who we booked our 10-day safari with. We really appreciated their attention to detail and highly recommend them. We also send our thanks and appreciation to Edmund Mujuni for driving and guiding us throughout the trip. He possessed a wealth of knowledge about the animals and birds and shared freely his insights about Ugandan culture. He also entertained us with his imitations of various animal sounds. In a word, he was terrific!
For Your Amusement:
On the way to Jinja, our guide, Edmund, got pulled over and issued a speeding ticket that was his first ever. He took it in stride and will hopefully beat it, as there were no posted speed limits on the road and he wasn’t going fast at all. Given the poor quality of the roads in Uganda, it’s hard to imagine anyone getting a speeding ticket.
We’ve developed a ritual of sorts each time we arrive in a new country that includes getting cash from an ATM and a SIM card for our unlocked iPhone. Surprisingly, most ATM’s in Uganda will only accept VISA debit cards and not Master Card. It’s a good thing we’re carrying one of each. Here’s Elizabeth taking care of the SIM card at Entebbe airport.
We came across 2 boys tending a herd of Ankole (long horn) cattle. The monitor of our digital camera fascinated them. So, we took a picture of them so that they could see themselves. We then let the older one try using the camera to take a picture of Rich. He was as thrilled as were we.
Highlights:
Gorilla Trekking, White Water Rafting, Lake Mburo National Park and visiting Little Angels Infant School.
Wow, what an adventure. Dad and I really enjoyed this.
Thanks Mom and Dad for reading,
Hi,
We’re sitting here in front of the fireplace and the temperature is 20 degrees outside. Reading your posts from Africa made us feel a little warmer on this chilly night. Your photos are awesome! We enjoyed reading about your experiences and look forward to your next adventure!
Dave & Netta
Hang in there…you’re over the hump-it’s almost Spring! Thanks for reading the blog!
Nice review and very helpful to future travelers. Welcome back.
WOW RICH! I am absolutely blown away by your blog entry! Your photographs are incredible and I can honestly say I am speechless in regards to your encounter with the gorillas. You were able to get so close and intimate with them while keeping a safe distance. I am honoured that you choose African Big Five Safaris as your company and we are humbled by your thanks. May you continue on such an incredible journey and we hope to see you back in East Africa again in the future!
Sincerely,
Nicole and the African Big Five Safaris team!
Nicole and African Big Five Safaris,
Thanks for reading the blog. You’re a great company and we were so glad for the amazing experience you gave us!
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