UWA ferry to resume services today

Mar 29, 2016

Most tourists had to drive an extra three hours plying the alternative routes through Hoima and Kigumba.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority ferry that broke down in Murchison Falls National Park is expected to resume services Tuesday.

"The resident engineers have been doing test drives with it before it resumes ferrying 8-12 vehicles and 60 passengers per trip," said Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) spokesperson Jossy Muhangi.

 "We regret the inconvenience tourists and tour operators suffered when using the alternative access routes of Wangkwar and Tangi gates."

Muhangi explained that the breakdown was due to the low tide of the water which affected the ferry's propellers, adding that, it is expected to resume services anytime today as the engineers are still performing test drive.

On Sunday, UWA's Muhangi posted this picture on his social media page announcing, and regretting, the ferry breakdown


Most tourists had to drive an extra three hours plying the alternative routes through Hoima and Kigumba.

Crossing the River Nile from south bank to the north takes about 20 minutes sailing on the ferry.  The scheduled Victoria Nile crossing times are always 7am, 9am, 11am and 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 7pm daily.

Silas Kiti, who is the the manager of Paraa Safari Lodge, lamented that the mechanical breakdown started on Sunday at 1pm, leaving 40 of their guests with no option but to use alternative tedious and time-consuming routes.

One of the tour guides/driver, Noel Bako, said such breakdown can bias a guest for the rest of their lives and cautioned that it is such small mishaps that make one opt for a competing destination.

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