12 DAYS UGANDA WILDLIFE TOUR – BIG GAME AND PRIMATES SAFARI

Our driver guide will warmly meet you on arrival at Entebbe International Airport, or at your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe; brief you on the rest of the safari programme, then drive for short distance to Entebbe Botanical Gardens (EBG) for a welcome nature walk.

Situated on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, virtually on the Equator, EBG covers an area of 40.7ha.The gardens house a collection of species of plants of the tropical, sub-tropical and temperate zones besides several shrubs and other plants which regenerated naturally over the years. The habitat has attracted a diverse array of birds – 206 species (both forest and shorebirds) and monkeys; Black and White Colubus and Vervet Monkeys. We will spend the rest of our afternoon here.

We will today travel to L. Mburo National Park arriving there in time for lunch at our hotel; we have short siesta, and finally the moment is here; this afternoon we depart for our first game viewing drive.

Lake Mburo National Park is a combination of open water with an extensive marsh and wooded grassland comprising of flooded plains bordered with pockets of tropical lowland forests giving the park an oasis setting that greatly draws wildlife in big numbers. The fresh water body attracts big congregations of hippos, crocodiles and shoreline birds. On our observation deck of our boat, we shall, most likely have a good view of the rare African Finfoot, White-backed Night Heron, etc. The wooded grassland section of the park is endowed with large herds of elephants, buffalo and a large numbers of antelopes like zebra, eland, impala, waterbuck, bushbuck, and many others. This Park is the best place to find several rare northern Tanzania bird species like the Tabora Cisticola, and the red-faced barbet. The entire Lake Mburo Park is a place of breathtaking and magical beauty; a place where the vision of a deep red sunset silhouetting the thorny acacia scrub along the extensive marshy area, brings the perfect end to a day on safari.

“At your luxurious tented camp and cottage, as the sun sinks in the horizon, displaying her glory and splendor by her beautiful rays, you enjoy a glass of wine or beer; listening to the melodious songs of birds as they bid the day farewell, as the sound of crickets come to life, watching trees swing in the cool breeze - an experience one can only have in Africa”.

Still in Lake Mburo NP, we shall wakeup this day and enjoy our scrumptious breakfast, then aboard a boat along the shoreline of the lake till early afternoon. After this activity, we shall drive towards the southwestern part of the country to Bwindi, stopping over in Kabale town for lunch. We check in our luxury intimate lodge for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we assemble at the park headquarters for briefing for our day’s activity; gorilla tracking. For those who have done this activity before, it is by far rated as number one wilderness experience in the whole world. The Bwindi Forest alone hosts more than half of the total world population of the mountain gorillas; the rest being shared among Rwanda and the DR Congo. We shall be guided by the trackers who are very knowledgeable at finding these apes. There are several other primate species in the forest including the beautiful l’Hoest monkey, blue, black and white colobus, etc. If we are successful early enough, we shall take a walk around the nearby Buhoma village where we shall have a chance to meet the marginalized Batwa (Pygmies) people, the traditional healer and visit the local brewing site.

Today we shall start early, carry packed lunch for a rather long journey on a rough road to Queen Elizabeth National Park, passing through the Ishasha sector of the park, famed for the tree climbing lions. We shall stopover at some strategic points to stretch legs, have lunch while enjoying wildlife around us. Arrival at our lodge will be late this evening. “Enjoy the enchanting welcome with great smile, freshen up and some cold soft welcome drink at the hotel lobby”!

 This morning, after our breakfast, we will jump on our open-roof hatched van and follow one of the game viewing trails for our game drive.

The park prides itself as being the most diverse national reserve in the entire Africa due to the rich habitats and the associated wildlife. We are likely to meet herds of elephant, buffalo, warthog, Uganda kob, bushbuck, waterbuck and many more. For centuries, Queen Elizabeth National Reserve has stumped her authority as the ‘hotspot’ of wildlife.

We shall return in the afternoon at our lodge for lunch, have a short siesta and go for a Launch Cruise along the Kazinga Channel. This is a natural narrow neck of water connecting lakes George and Edward. It is one of the migratory stopovers in the region attracting both resident and Palearctic visitors like spoonbills, waders, gulls and terns and sometimes flamingos. Along the banks of the channel, we are likely to find giant crocodiles basking in the sun alongside other big herds of elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog, and hippos. This activity takes about two hours.

This park is also famous for hosting the highest number primates in Uganda (13 primate species) including Chimps, the Beautiful l’ Hoest Monkey, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkey etc.

We assemble in the morning after our breakfast, for briefing as we prepare for chimp tracking. The movement of the chimps depends upon the availability of food and hopefully they won't be too far away!

As we tour one of the chimpanzee groups, we shall witness the behavioral characteristics of these living closest cousins to human beings demonstrating a distrustful fleeting look at our sudden interruptive visit into their private world, which is comforted by the chuckling made by the knowledgeable tracker guides. The noisy giant male uses loud vocalizations and drumming on large tree buttresses as a means of communicating with the other members of their group, since chimpanzees have a fission-fusion community structure, which means that they are not in constant contact with one another and often forage in small parties or even alone.

This is a very long and teeth-jarring journey that will probably take us the whole day. We will carry packed lunch, arrive at our hotel late this evening for refreshments dinner and overnight stay.

Murchison Falls National Conservation Area is one of the best places in Uganda to relax, and enjoy nature’s beauty. The park was named after the stunning Murchison Falls which were discovered by Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, who was a Scottish geologist who visited the area in the 18^th century. The scenery is breath-taking; a sight of the virgin expansive open savannah plains, grassland dotted with standing borassus palm trees, tropical rain forest, traversed by the majestic River Nile; is far much re-assuring. Interesting activities here include a boat ride along the Nile up to the bottom of the falls, a game drive to the delta, and a game drive to the top of the falls. Game viewing in the park is so fascinating with encounters like the lion, Cape buffalo, waterbucks, warthogs, oribi, giraffes, Jackson’s Hartebeest, Patas monkeys etc

The boat ride along the Nile River is very rewarding experience. There are several congregations of buffalo, elephant, hippo and the gigantic Nile crocodiles that throng the banks. Several waterfowls both migratory and resident are abundant here.

We bid farewell to Uganda at Ndere Center or any rewarding performances available. We will enjoy a mouth-watering farewell dinner at the centre as we are being entertained by Ndere’s versatile artists in the Afro Jazz style. There is quite a variety of soft delicacies to sample. During this time we can exchange pleasantries, reflect on the safari experience - moments that carried us away in laughter, joy & amazement. Back home, with your photographs – a capture of the special moments we have had on this tour to immortalize the experience, your memories should last a lifetime and tell all those who have not known about Uganda!

 End of our Tour