5/25/19
Drove through the dense rainforest of Murchison National Park, then into more grassy and less dense forest. We arrived to the short hike to the Murchison Falls viewpoint. Murchison Falls is where the big, rapidy Nile River is forced into a tiny gorge. The water is so incredibly powerful! It takes your breath away and scares you. The mist coming up from the thundering falls creates rainbows. There are various viewpoints from whence you can see it tumbling through the gorge and the tamer and wider river below.
After the falls we arrived to our nice campsite, near to the Nile. It has some cute, huge, and relatively tame warthogs. We also saw a bright green chameleon.
We took a boat ride up the Nile to see the Murchison Falls from below. Impressive from that angle as well. On the boat ride we saw tons of hippos and lots of crocs. Also bushbucks, hartebeest, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog, and quite a few elephants. A very nice river cruise.
At night we sat by the fire and played tricks on the other guests and owners by hiding a bluetooth speaker in the bush and playing lion sounds. It was pretty funny because we scared everybody and had the owners thinking that the next day they needed to call in a vet or wildlife officer. And we kept it our little secret and never told anyone.
5/26/19
Birthday Game Drive Day!
Today we crossed the Nile on a ferry since there is no bridge and hopped in a van for a game drive. On the North side of the river it's more open: beautiful landscape. Very green rolling hills, dotted with palms and acacia trees. We drove down to Lake Albert, on the border with Congo, at one point. We saw lots of wildlife including huge herds of buffalo, more Uganda Kob than you can count, lots and lots of elephants and giraffes, tons of oribi, and lots of Jackson's hartebeest. We also some some hippos, Ugandan crown cranes, patas monkeys, grey duiker, bushbuck, waterbuck, baboons, and warthogs. We also saw 3 cute side-striped jackals.
In the afternoon, after our game drives, we read in the shade. We watched some crazy (safari?) ants move their nest, carrying their eggs. It was such a mess of ants, swarming. They even made a sound. When you got close, they'd send out soldiers towards you. I accidentally got bit by one, and it hurt so bad! Tons of insects all around, and so huge in this area: giant moths, giant beetles, preying mantis, etc. Also lots of geckos and lizards. And there is a family of bats hanging, literally, around the bathrooms. At night, hippos were grazing around the tents. We grilled chicken over real charcoal for dinner and had grilled nutella bananas as we watched the little mermaid on our portable projector.
5/27/19 My Birthday
We had a very early start leaving Murchison Falls heading to Fort Portal. On the road we had a breakfast of Rolex (rolled eggs in chapati). Fort Portal is in a lush, hilly, tea plantation areas with view of the Rwenzori Mountains (and a volcano). Our campsite is really nice, like a New Zealand campsite. There were 2 cute and friendly kitties at the campsite. The group got me ice cream with strawberries and a firecracker on top for my birthday. Then Elisha and I teamed up to beat Norbert and Lewis 2 games to 1 in Beer Pong.
5/28/19
We shopped in Fort Portal in the morning. I bought some mosquito socks and also a mosquito zapper. We drove through hills full of bananas and tea. We could the the bottom of the mist-shrouded Rwenzori mountains. Mount Stantly, the highest, is 5100m (16,763 ft) high and covered in glaciers.
We arrived to Queen Elizabeth II National Park (QEII). Right away we saw a huge python and some elephants. We took a boat ride in a small boat in the channel between Lake Albert and Lake Edward. We got really close to buffaloes sitting in the water keeping cool. Also really close to crocodiles and hippos. Sometimes it almost felt too close. We also saw lots of birds and got really close to the Congo. A very nice boat trip! Had some beers over-looking the channel, watching buffalo, elephants, and hippos. On our way back to camp, we had to veer around some elephants that were browsing near our campsite. Also tons of warthogs around our camp. At night we had a fire, and in our tents heard hyenas and hippos around
5/29/19
Another birthday game drive. We saw lots of Kob and buffaloes. Also some warthogs, waterbuck, and a pod of wallowing hippos in the mud. We saw lots of elephants, and got really close to some old males. We got to watch one of the bulls give himself a mud bath. It was a very special encounter. We also saw a pride of about 7 lions (2 or 3 little cubs). On the way back to camp from the game drive, we took the scenic crater route, which was stunning with it's green hills, lots of craters, nice views over the acacia studded plain, and a couple of gorgeous crater lakes perfectly reflecting the sky and clouds. There was a map that showed where Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh had visited. We also saw a couple of families of elephant, and I distinctly remember a gorgeous and memorable encounter with elephants on our family trip here to QEII in 1997 when we came across a family of elephants in a line on a ridge silhouetted by the rising sun, so it was cool to visit again that place and see the elephants there.
During lunch, we played some mini ping pong (that was part of our truck's game box) under the little cooking shelter.
The rest of the group relaxed in the evening, but Elisha and I took a birthday game drive in a little Rav4 SUV. We came upon a couple of lions early and then returned to them after some other driving. Eventually a couple of other lions emerged from the bush, and also a cute little cub. We sat with them for a long time as the sun descended and then set. Some buffaloes came in and seemed unaware of the lions. We thought they were going to walk right into the lions! When they were about 20m from the lions, 4 or 5 of the buffalo got into formation and walked with a purpose towards the lions. They charged and chased the lions away from the bushes and across the road. On the drive back, in the dark, we saw a fat puff adder on the road.
At night we hung around the campfire and the stars were absolutely amazing as it was clear and dark. The milky way was so bright.
*A note on eating since we left Nairobi. We have a chef with us, Denford, from Zimbabwe. He makes delicious food! Typically for breakfast there is cereal, hot drinks, and he quite often makes toast and eggs to order. Sometimes there are pancakes and fruit. Lunch is usually sandwiches and fruit, but occasionally a veg and pasta salad. Dinners is always amazingly delicious. Usually some sort of meat stew with a carb (potatoes of all kinds, rice, pasta, ugali) and then often a fresh vegetable dish. Sometimes he grills meat over charcoal. And lastly he makes hot drinks to be taken by the fire.
Drove through the dense rainforest of Murchison National Park, then into more grassy and less dense forest. We arrived to the short hike to the Murchison Falls viewpoint. Murchison Falls is where the big, rapidy Nile River is forced into a tiny gorge. The water is so incredibly powerful! It takes your breath away and scares you. The mist coming up from the thundering falls creates rainbows. There are various viewpoints from whence you can see it tumbling through the gorge and the tamer and wider river below.
After the falls we arrived to our nice campsite, near to the Nile. It has some cute, huge, and relatively tame warthogs. We also saw a bright green chameleon.
We took a boat ride up the Nile to see the Murchison Falls from below. Impressive from that angle as well. On the boat ride we saw tons of hippos and lots of crocs. Also bushbucks, hartebeest, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog, and quite a few elephants. A very nice river cruise.
At night we sat by the fire and played tricks on the other guests and owners by hiding a bluetooth speaker in the bush and playing lion sounds. It was pretty funny because we scared everybody and had the owners thinking that the next day they needed to call in a vet or wildlife officer. And we kept it our little secret and never told anyone.
5/26/19
Birthday Game Drive Day!
Today we crossed the Nile on a ferry since there is no bridge and hopped in a van for a game drive. On the North side of the river it's more open: beautiful landscape. Very green rolling hills, dotted with palms and acacia trees. We drove down to Lake Albert, on the border with Congo, at one point. We saw lots of wildlife including huge herds of buffalo, more Uganda Kob than you can count, lots and lots of elephants and giraffes, tons of oribi, and lots of Jackson's hartebeest. We also some some hippos, Ugandan crown cranes, patas monkeys, grey duiker, bushbuck, waterbuck, baboons, and warthogs. We also saw 3 cute side-striped jackals.
In the afternoon, after our game drives, we read in the shade. We watched some crazy (safari?) ants move their nest, carrying their eggs. It was such a mess of ants, swarming. They even made a sound. When you got close, they'd send out soldiers towards you. I accidentally got bit by one, and it hurt so bad! Tons of insects all around, and so huge in this area: giant moths, giant beetles, preying mantis, etc. Also lots of geckos and lizards. And there is a family of bats hanging, literally, around the bathrooms. At night, hippos were grazing around the tents. We grilled chicken over real charcoal for dinner and had grilled nutella bananas as we watched the little mermaid on our portable projector.
5/27/19 My Birthday
We had a very early start leaving Murchison Falls heading to Fort Portal. On the road we had a breakfast of Rolex (rolled eggs in chapati). Fort Portal is in a lush, hilly, tea plantation areas with view of the Rwenzori Mountains (and a volcano). Our campsite is really nice, like a New Zealand campsite. There were 2 cute and friendly kitties at the campsite. The group got me ice cream with strawberries and a firecracker on top for my birthday. Then Elisha and I teamed up to beat Norbert and Lewis 2 games to 1 in Beer Pong.
5/28/19
We shopped in Fort Portal in the morning. I bought some mosquito socks and also a mosquito zapper. We drove through hills full of bananas and tea. We could the the bottom of the mist-shrouded Rwenzori mountains. Mount Stantly, the highest, is 5100m (16,763 ft) high and covered in glaciers.
We arrived to Queen Elizabeth II National Park (QEII). Right away we saw a huge python and some elephants. We took a boat ride in a small boat in the channel between Lake Albert and Lake Edward. We got really close to buffaloes sitting in the water keeping cool. Also really close to crocodiles and hippos. Sometimes it almost felt too close. We also saw lots of birds and got really close to the Congo. A very nice boat trip! Had some beers over-looking the channel, watching buffalo, elephants, and hippos. On our way back to camp, we had to veer around some elephants that were browsing near our campsite. Also tons of warthogs around our camp. At night we had a fire, and in our tents heard hyenas and hippos around
5/29/19
Another birthday game drive. We saw lots of Kob and buffaloes. Also some warthogs, waterbuck, and a pod of wallowing hippos in the mud. We saw lots of elephants, and got really close to some old males. We got to watch one of the bulls give himself a mud bath. It was a very special encounter. We also saw a pride of about 7 lions (2 or 3 little cubs). On the way back to camp from the game drive, we took the scenic crater route, which was stunning with it's green hills, lots of craters, nice views over the acacia studded plain, and a couple of gorgeous crater lakes perfectly reflecting the sky and clouds. There was a map that showed where Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh had visited. We also saw a couple of families of elephant, and I distinctly remember a gorgeous and memorable encounter with elephants on our family trip here to QEII in 1997 when we came across a family of elephants in a line on a ridge silhouetted by the rising sun, so it was cool to visit again that place and see the elephants there.
During lunch, we played some mini ping pong (that was part of our truck's game box) under the little cooking shelter.
The rest of the group relaxed in the evening, but Elisha and I took a birthday game drive in a little Rav4 SUV. We came upon a couple of lions early and then returned to them after some other driving. Eventually a couple of other lions emerged from the bush, and also a cute little cub. We sat with them for a long time as the sun descended and then set. Some buffaloes came in and seemed unaware of the lions. We thought they were going to walk right into the lions! When they were about 20m from the lions, 4 or 5 of the buffalo got into formation and walked with a purpose towards the lions. They charged and chased the lions away from the bushes and across the road. On the drive back, in the dark, we saw a fat puff adder on the road.
At night we hung around the campfire and the stars were absolutely amazing as it was clear and dark. The milky way was so bright.
*A note on eating since we left Nairobi. We have a chef with us, Denford, from Zimbabwe. He makes delicious food! Typically for breakfast there is cereal, hot drinks, and he quite often makes toast and eggs to order. Sometimes there are pancakes and fruit. Lunch is usually sandwiches and fruit, but occasionally a veg and pasta salad. Dinners is always amazingly delicious. Usually some sort of meat stew with a carb (potatoes of all kinds, rice, pasta, ugali) and then often a fresh vegetable dish. Sometimes he grills meat over charcoal. And lastly he makes hot drinks to be taken by the fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment