Land Safari - Murchison Falls, Uganda

After breakfast, at which we see bacon for the first time on this trip - a nice familiar treat, we meet in front of the lodge to load into our vehicles for today’s safari. We meet Henry, who will be our guide for the day. Henry is dressed in solid green military fatigues, carries an AK-47 machine gun, and has a big, friendly smile. He will guide us to where he thinks the wildlife are today. The roof of the van raises so that people can stand up inside to look out over the savannah. The raised roof also serves as a shield against the sun.

We are on our way. The sightings are many and all special. I enjoy Henry’s knowledgable, enthusiastic descriptions of the animals. We might see a giraffe eating a type of tree. Henry will tell us, with a unique melody to his voice, that the giraffes “love the acacia tree SOOO much.” The pictures tell most of the story. The most exciting things to me are theclose-up encounters with the giraffes, the elephants, and the various types of deer and antelope.

We all had hoped to see a lion, but our guide Henry warned us that it would be difficult with the grass so high. As we are driving, David in our group says that he thinks he sees a lion. He noticed movement in the grass, then could see the back of the lion. Soon, we can all see it. Our excitement and awareness of our environments jumps. I am sitting in the front seat without access to the roof. I can see the lion a little, but have no chance of getting a decent photo because of the tall grass and my low position. I have to open the door, get out, and stand up. Using the top of the door as a rest for the lens, I am able to get some shots of this wonderful animal.

Henry quietly and urgently tells us to get inside. He is tracking the path of this male lion and can see that we will get a much closer look if we move forward to converge with the lion’s path. We do, and our driver pulls ahead to a meeting with the lion’s expected path and kills the engine. We wait. Sure enough, here comes the lion to the road and crosses in front of us, giving us a look or two. It is an incredible moment. We watch him with his slow gait, continuing in the same line. As all but his back disappears into the tall grass, he has the full attention of antelope in the field in the direction which he is headed.

What a thrill. After we see the lion, we have close up encounters with these giraffes and others along the way. We then come across two very large male elephants. We are so close to them that I have to take the telephoto extender off my camera to get a picture of the closest one’s full body. I still have some work to do on those photos, so please check the blog again later for those photos. Below are photos of some of the other animals we saw:

Shortly after we see the elephants, we arrive directly at the small stucco building that is the airport at the Murchison Falls National Park. Our chartered planes to Entebbe are supposed to leave at noon. Our first reminder that we are on Africa time, something we have experienced from time to time during the week, is when we walk into the main room of the airport and see that the clock on the wall is twenty-five minutes off. We wait, passing the time, not too worried about it, just enjoyed the extra minutes here. Justin in our group shares an appropriate story for the situation. He was in Kenya before meeting us in Uganda. A Kenyan relayed to him and the other Americans there that “you have the watch, we have the time.” Very fitting.

Our planes arrive at 1:00 p.m. I can see so many people like me that have been forever affected by this experience. They steal one more look around as we board. They watch through the windows as we gather speed on the dirt runway and take off above the savannah.

We arrive to the sunshine of Entebbe and the vastness of Lake Victoria in front of us. We drive to the Imperial Royale beach hotel for about six hours of rest, showers, and packing before we depart tonight at 11:00 p.m. A monkey is hanging on the fence as we pull in. In walking around the grounds down to the lake front, there are a dozen monkeys or more all around – sunning, preening, wrestling, eating. What a nice, last wildlife treat.

Although my last meal in Uganda offers me the choice of a steak or hamburger, I choose a traditional Ugandan meal – Goat, chicken, matooke, groundnut sauce, and fresh pineapple. Not only do I like it, but I want to soak up every last experience of this that I can.

After an unusually long time of working our way through security, checking luggage and waiting in the terminal, we walk out on the tarmac and climb the stairs onto the plane. I take an Ambien to get me to sleep so that I will be closer to USA time when I return home. I’ve only taken a few Ambien ever, but this time confirms that they can sometimes have a strange effect. I have the vaguest recollection of being served dinner. Everything else is a blank up until my memory of partially waking up with my chin on my chest, staring into a small tray with rice in it six inches from my face, and a spoon in my right hand with some food on it. Blank space again until I remember being offered tea, saying, “Yes, please,” and then I don’t remember anything after that. The good news is that I slept well up until the announcement for breakfast and feel fairly rested.

Following the eight hour flight from Entebbe, we land in Brussels for a four hour layover and some chocolate shopping. It is also time to say goodbye to many of our party, since we head off in different directions to our homes. Although most, but not all, are recovered from stomach ailments, an ugly cold has swept through much of the group. More than just a cold, they feel miserable. I am sorry for them and so thankful I have felt great, if not exhausted now and then, for the entire trip.

Once on the plane bound for Chicago on American flight 89, I get settled in for the 8 ½ hour flight. Unfortunately, the people on each side of me provide some fairly regular coughing. I may not dodge that cold after all.

After a tight connection in Chicago (the plane is boarding when we arrive at the gate), I finally arrive home. After twenty-nine hours of travel door to door, I don't really feel too bad. I'm thankful! I do, however, fall asleep at 6:30 p.m. and sleep for ten hours. Hopefully, that will be good rest to propel me back into life here.

River Safari-Murchison Falls National Park Uganda

Over the past days, stomach ailments have knocked out various members of our group for periods of time. It’s good to see everyone nearly back to normal today as we prepare to depart Kampala. Unfortunately, a flu-like cold is starting to make the rounds now.

Our morning begins at the Compassion International national office of Uganda. We have a very pleasant visit with them and learn about how they operate. After a couple of hours spent with them, ending with refreshments and some nice visiting time, we say goodbye to three of our group, Tim, José, and Bob. They are headed home today while we travel north.

Some of the Uganda Compassion staff:


Some of the sights on the way:

Making mats:


Carrying brooms:


A disagreement between a bicycle rider and a van driver:

We then depart for Entebbe and the airport. It is time to fly to Murchison Falls National Park. I am very excited about what’s ahead. It’s like a classic boyhood dream to be here. We board two small planes for the hour flight - the plane below and a four-seater.

Upon arrival, we see small antelope, not much taller than a dog, eyeing us as we taxi in on the dirt runway. We are on the savanna now, a much different looking place than southern Uganda. It is about 1,500 feet lower in altitude, warmer, and more humid. The tall, tan grass blows in the breeze, an unusual variety of trees dot the landscape, and tall hills are visible on the horizon. We are also reminded of how close we are to the troubled border with the Congo. A large tank one hundred yards from the runway, with soldiers garrisoned in thatch-covered huts, protect the airport. There is always concern about LRA in the park, the infamous army that has terrorized the Sudan and killed ten tourists here in 1999.

This adventure begins right away. We pack into vans and speed off on the rutted red dirt roads for our river safari boats about an hour’s drive away. Our chartered flights have arrived an hour or so late, and there are other people waiting for us at the boats that can’t depart until we arrive. On the drive, we get our first glimpses of giraffe, various breeds of deer and antelope, and cape buffalo on the drive to the Nile River.

Upon arrival, we quickly jump out of the vans and into the boats. As we’re exiting the vans, Justin in our group notices a monkey jump on the van, reach through an open window, and run away with a pack of cookies.

We push off and start our journey. The feeling among us at this point is still a bit indescribable. It’s as if it’s hard for us to believe we are actually in Africa on a boat cruising down the Nile River! Almost as soon as we start, we see hippos anywhere from ten to twenty yards from us. Our boat is narrow and sits low in the water, so we feel especially close to these great beasts. It’s an odd feeling knowing that at points, hippos are almost certainly directly below us as well. The river safari is a beautiful, exciting, and at the same time, peaceful experience. We see hippos, crocodiles, elephants, monkeys, cape buffalo, wart hogs and more along our route.

I didn't even see this guy at first. After we got closer, I couldn't miss him!

Another good hider. He made a few moves towards us to let us know we were too close to his spot.

Our end point of this river safari is Murchison Falls. About a mile away from the falls, we begin to see pockets of foam on the water. As we move closer, the number and size of the foam pockets increases. They are from the churn of the falls. Finally, the falls are in sight. It is a powerful picture. I have never seen falls with this much power or with the intensity with which the walls of water crash against the stone walls and boulders.

Still about a half mile or so from the falls, our captain drops us off at a narrow, rocky, steep embankment that leads into dense trees and vegetation, almost unnoticeable from the river as any kind of trail. We begin to hike and climb to the falls themselves. It is very hot and very humid. Halfway to the end, faces are bright red and sweat is pouring from our bodies. The views are beautiful. The rise from where we started to the top of the falls is about 1,000 feet. The view from the top is awe-inspiring.

On the trail to the top of the falls:

When we get to the top, we meet a Ugandan gentleman in a green military jacket. He introduces himself as Sammy. It turns out Sammy was supposed to be our guide and was to meet us at the boat at the beginning of this hike, but fell asleep! Good thing we could find our own way! We take a photo with Sammy the Sleeping Guide, then head toward the vans.

Sammy the Sleeping Guide and friends:

The view from above the falls:

It turns out that we need to be in quite a rush. There is a ferry across the Nile that we and the vans must board to cross the river and reach the lodge where we will stay. The last ferry departs at 7:00 p.m. and it is already after 6:00 p.m. Our drivers race across the rutted and potholed dirt roads, getting us there just in time. The ferry is a flat, shallow barge that lumbers its way across the river. It is now almost completely dark. Long bolts of lightning begin to flash intermittently. This is as classic an African moment as I have imagined. We unload on the other side and walk to the vans for the rest of the ride. About fifteen yards to our left in the tall grass, a hippo decides to ever so slowly get up and amble his way to the water. The moonlight glows brightly off of its back.

We check into the Paara Lodge. Built to match the environment here, it sits on top of a hill overlooking the Nile River. After dinner, we head to our rooms. There are mosquito nets that need to be pulled around the beds, then it’s lights out.