Safari

Apologies for not being on the updates for the past week. The following should explain why this has been the case. We arranged our safari with Red Chilli Hideaway in Kampala. The trip was a 3 day extravaganza up to the north-west of the country and Murchison Falls National Park. The park is a fantastic mix of a number of different terrains, from jungles that are home to Chimpanzees to the classic African Savannah to the formidable Nile River. The park is named after the waterfall which is where the Nile River squeezes through a 6 metre gap - as you can imagine the effect is astonishingly powerful and impossible to really capture, quite immense. On arrival at the park we were ushered, all to quickly, along the route to stand by the falls. This could have been quite special had we not felt so rushed by our driver. Still, we arrived on time at the rest camp and settled into our lovely safari tent. We were with a group of 7 biology students from Imperial College, London. They were fantastic company and good value. We also had interesting conversations with an ex-israeli soldier and a marine tradesman from New York. It is always a blessing to find yourself with a good group of people, obnoxious or unnecessary people would somewhat spoil a safari...so we both found this very pleasing. The game drive takes place early in the morning. And we crossed the Nile onto the North bank to do this, as that is where all but the baboons and chimpanzees live. Safari's can either start at break neck speed or very slowly, and you start to get concerned that, of all the options, you went and chose the wrong one. Murchison Falls was most certainly the latter. But fortunately, it picked up. There are only so many Hartebeests, and Impala you can see before you start to get anxious to view the Big Five. Buffalo were ticked off early, herds of them, and though this was interesting and exciting, it does feel more like a warm up to the animals you are most interested in seeing. Just round the corner from the buffalo herd stood a lone Bull Elephant, exceptionally close to the road. If it were not for the gorillas, elephants wouldbe my favourite animal, so it is always enthralling to spend time in the company of this animal, the size of which, is always a surprise and as the guide reels off his facts, you cannot really grasp just how hueg the creature is. Our guide, was a total fruitcake and a nutter! Enough said With Two of the Five now ticked off we now came across an animal so distinctive and famous that it ought to be on the list, however, it is just too chilled out and peaceful for that to be possible...the giraffe. So cool. The sillouette of a giraffe as you look out across the savannah is an image of Africa you have seen so many times growing up...seeing it in real life is quite surreal and beautiful in equal measure. Driving around, we thought back to friends we had made on Lake Bonyonyi...they had spent days in Murchison without sighting the Lion or Leopard. We had a feeling that this might be the case too. As we went backwards and forwards seeing all manner of antelope, but no manner of cat! Until our guide, looked at us, with a crazed and amused expression and stated "Lions.....I seeee them"!  Awesome. Our vehicle turned off road and drove over to a lioness with two adorable cubs and a half eaten carcass beside them. The proximity was fantastic, the set up equally so and, neither of us having encountered a lion before we enjoyed the experience immensely. 3 of 5 down. Leopards eluded up, as they so often do. Still a herd of elephants on the way back helped to distract us. The afternoon saw us take to the nile for a boat ride along, hippos were seen in their hundreds, quite brilliant. Numerous Nile crocs, a few distinctive birds and a close encounter with the Murchison Falls meant that this was a really enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. Much of the time is spent, with a drink, relaxing and enjoying the experience of travelling down the Nile. It is always amusing how relaxed one gets about yet more hippos...having never seen this massive beasts before, and the excitement when you first approach them, it doesn't take long before you are totally chilled about it. Quite funny really. The final day is mainly about the drive home. But, since the time of Idi Amin Uganda has been devoid of wild Rhinos as poaching was encouraged by the regime. As such there is only one place in all of Uganda to see Rhinos and that is the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where they have become the long process of re-habituating Uganda with Rhinos...particularly White ones. The Rhinos are wild yet very much used to human contact. You walk up and approach them, yet it does all seem somewhat sanitised and not quite the exhilarating feeling that you get as you drive around on safari. Good to tick of 4 of the big 5, but not as great as we had hoped for. Home to Kampala. Then onto Nairobi, which is a wonderful story for another day. For now, we are in Mombasa, safe and loving this trip. The return flight is dawning and we are both quite concerned about going home to the job hunt. But we have a few days of beaching it ahead of us, ready to relax after what has been the most hectic 7 weeks. Best Wishes Nick