Enchanted by nature at Murchison Falls
Jan 23, 2009
It had rained heavily. The lush green vegetation reflects the dull evening sunrays. On our left five buffaloes are wallowing in the mud.
BY JOSEPH KARIUKI
It had rained heavily. The lush green vegetation reflects the dull evening sunrays. On our left five buffaloes are wallowing in the mud.
A few metres away, a pungent smell hits us. The driver, Stephen Byenkya, sensing our discomfort points to a rotting carcass. In the sky are vultures hovering over the carcass. The last time I remember vultures being mentioned was when I was a student and President Museveni compared journalists to vultures.
The driver, who witnessed the demise of the buffalo, says it was a lion that killed it. We brace ourselves for more carcasses and if we are lucky, Christine Nakayenze, our guide says we may stumble upon a lion having a meal of a warthog, but first things first.
Our journey started at 8:30am at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) offices in Kampala. UWA was taking a student, Judith Dushimimana, who had won in a raffle draw at Makerere University for a two night’s tour of Murchison Falls National Park for two. Dushimimana went with a friend.
The trip kicked off at 10:00am. The mood inside the green Nissan vehicle was that of excitement.
By 2:00pm we were in Masindi the home of the famous Kabalega of the Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom.
After a quick lunch we hit the road to Paraa our destination. It takes five hours to reach the Nile River crossing at Paraa, the heart of Murchison.
The drive is made livelier by scores of baboons breastfeeding their babies on the road and the more daring ones making love oblivious of the passersby.
A group of warthogs pass by showcasing their funny looking teeth the only feature distinguishing them from pigs. We are told warthogs are the lion’s most delicious meal.
As we continue admiring the beautiful scenery made lively by different birds we pass by the first lodge, Sambiya Lodge, and before long we are at Red Chilli camp. We then proceed to the ferry.
Murchison Falls National Park is bisected by River Nile and to access Paraa Lodge we had to cross using the ferry. At this hour the ferry is busy with tour vans carrying hundreds of tourists. We cross at 5:00pm and we check in at Paraa at 5:30pm.
The next day after breakfast, we go for a boat ride upstream. We enter one of the big boats named Kiboko (Swahili for hippos). All of us, about 20 with majority being school children are excited. Our guide James tells us what to expect.
We meet the dominant animals on the river — hippos. In Alur, a local dialect, Paraa means the place of hippos (Pa-place and Raa hippos)
Before long the hippos are joined by the crocodiles basking in the sun with their saw-like teeth bared out. After a three-hour ride we reach the foot of Murchison Falls.
From a far we see the cloudy waters of the falls that gave it a beautiful rainbow as water droplets are reflected by the sun rays.
After savouring the beauty of the falls, time was ripe for a game drive.
It was a lucky day for us. After seeing a number of baboons and warthogs, our vehicle came face to face with giraffes. The giraffes are such majestic creatures that the catwalk must have been copied from their swagger.
As the giraffes catwalk past us we see the Uganda kobs, who have a habit of building their toilets on the roads; indeed we find heaps of their dung everywhere.
As we cruise in the direction of Packwach we meet the most dangerous animals in the park the buffalo. Just a few metres away our driver Byenkya points to a herd of elephants so huge that our vehicle looks like a toy car.
After admiring the Jumbos we can’t help but see the tiny oribi. These, we learn, are leopard’s easiest prey because of their tiny neck. By the time we reach Lake Albert and the Nile delta we are tired. A consensus is reached that we should save the hunt for the cats; lion and leopard for the next morning.
Indeed early Sunday morning, which is also our last day at Murchison, we come face to face with a leopard. We are told we are lucky because leopards are hard rare especially during day.
After seeing the leopards we decide we have had had a nice trip and it is time to return home.
It had rained heavily. The lush green vegetation reflects the dull evening sunrays. On our left five buffaloes are wallowing in the mud.
A few metres away, a pungent smell hits us. The driver, Stephen Byenkya, sensing our discomfort points to a rotting carcass. In the sky are vultures hovering over the carcass. The last time I remember vultures being mentioned was when I was a student and President Museveni compared journalists to vultures.
The driver, who witnessed the demise of the buffalo, says it was a lion that killed it. We brace ourselves for more carcasses and if we are lucky, Christine Nakayenze, our guide says we may stumble upon a lion having a meal of a warthog, but first things first.
Our journey started at 8:30am at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) offices in Kampala. UWA was taking a student, Judith Dushimimana, who had won in a raffle draw at Makerere University for a two night’s tour of Murchison Falls National Park for two. Dushimimana went with a friend.
The trip kicked off at 10:00am. The mood inside the green Nissan vehicle was that of excitement.
By 2:00pm we were in Masindi the home of the famous Kabalega of the Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom.
After a quick lunch we hit the road to Paraa our destination. It takes five hours to reach the Nile River crossing at Paraa, the heart of Murchison.
The drive is made livelier by scores of baboons breastfeeding their babies on the road and the more daring ones making love oblivious of the passersby.
A group of warthogs pass by showcasing their funny looking teeth the only feature distinguishing them from pigs. We are told warthogs are the lion’s most delicious meal.
As we continue admiring the beautiful scenery made lively by different birds we pass by the first lodge, Sambiya Lodge, and before long we are at Red Chilli camp. We then proceed to the ferry.
Murchison Falls National Park is bisected by River Nile and to access Paraa Lodge we had to cross using the ferry. At this hour the ferry is busy with tour vans carrying hundreds of tourists. We cross at 5:00pm and we check in at Paraa at 5:30pm.
The next day after breakfast, we go for a boat ride upstream. We enter one of the big boats named Kiboko (Swahili for hippos). All of us, about 20 with majority being school children are excited. Our guide James tells us what to expect.
We meet the dominant animals on the river — hippos. In Alur, a local dialect, Paraa means the place of hippos (Pa-place and Raa hippos)
Before long the hippos are joined by the crocodiles basking in the sun with their saw-like teeth bared out. After a three-hour ride we reach the foot of Murchison Falls.
From a far we see the cloudy waters of the falls that gave it a beautiful rainbow as water droplets are reflected by the sun rays.
After savouring the beauty of the falls, time was ripe for a game drive.
It was a lucky day for us. After seeing a number of baboons and warthogs, our vehicle came face to face with giraffes. The giraffes are such majestic creatures that the catwalk must have been copied from their swagger.
As the giraffes catwalk past us we see the Uganda kobs, who have a habit of building their toilets on the roads; indeed we find heaps of their dung everywhere.
As we cruise in the direction of Packwach we meet the most dangerous animals in the park the buffalo. Just a few metres away our driver Byenkya points to a herd of elephants so huge that our vehicle looks like a toy car.
After admiring the Jumbos we can’t help but see the tiny oribi. These, we learn, are leopard’s easiest prey because of their tiny neck. By the time we reach Lake Albert and the Nile delta we are tired. A consensus is reached that we should save the hunt for the cats; lion and leopard for the next morning.
Indeed early Sunday morning, which is also our last day at Murchison, we come face to face with a leopard. We are told we are lucky because leopards are hard rare especially during day.
After seeing the leopards we decide we have had had a nice trip and it is time to return home.