Queen, Murchison(12)
A 12 Day Lake Mburo, Queen, and Murchison Falls Safari.
Day 1:
On your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by your Safari guide from African Secrets who will transfer you to your hotel.
Overnight at Sheraton Hotel/ Windsor Lake Victoria Hotel/ Speke Hotel (BB)
Day 2:
Early in the morning, your safari guide will collect you from the hotel and then depart by road through Uganda’s rolling green hills to Lake Mburo National Park (the drive will take approximately 3-4 hours). Lake Mburo National Park is an extension of the Tanzanian plains with big herds of zebra, impala, eland and other ungulates. Spend the afternoon relaxing or take a late afternoon game drive. The Park is famous for Zebras, Impala, Buffalo, Topi, and Eland as herbivores not to leave out the rare slightly of Roan antelope and leopard, hyenas and jackals as predictors.
Bird viewing opportunities are excellent for birders, this is one of the best places to find African fin foot, papyrus bush shrike
Overnight at Mantana Lake Mburo Tented Camp (Full Board)
Day 3:
An early start, a wonderful chance to take a guided bush walk. Return to the lodge for breakfast, after which you will head through the highlands to Kabale, where you will stop for lunch. The road then drops down into a valley, to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to the mountain gorillas.
Overnight at Gorilla Forest Camp/Volcanoes Camp/Buhoma Homestead (FB)
Day 4:
Have a hearty breakfast to give you the energy needed for gorilla tracking. Before 8:00 am report to the ranger station for registration and briefing of the ranger guide; the guides will then take you through the forest pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas. Sit in the forest among the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male (the silverback). It’s amazing to think there are only about 650 of these beautiful creatures left!
Optional: Should you have the energy this afternoon, take a guided walk on the Munyaga River trail, which is an ideal short walk. This trail leads to three delightful crystal clear waterfalls, and there is a profusion of tree ferns, epithytic ferns, orchids and Bwindi’s colorful array of butterflies. If you have the afternoon free, how about a guided village walk to see how the Ugandans live, visit a local bar and meet the local medicine man!
Overnight at Gorilla Forest Camp/Volcanoes Camp/Buhoma Homestead (FB)
Day 5:
From Bwindi drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, famed for its tree-climbing lions. It is a fabulous sight to see the lions draped from the trees and nowhere in Africa do you stand a better chance of seeing this than in the large low-limbed fig tree of Ishasha. We will have our packed lunch along the way before heading to Mweya Safari Lodge or Jacana Lodge.
After checking in and having some time to relax, you will head for an afternoon game drive. We often spot Elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, hippos and others. You might want to head to the Kasenyi area of the park where lions are frequently spotted. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/Jacana Lodge (Full Board)
Day 6:
At 08.00am head to Kyambura Gorge for chimp tracking. These delightful apes, more closely related to humans than to any other living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees. We will return to the lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel gives you the opportunity to view wildlife up close: hippo’s huff and spray mere feet away from the boat, buffalo linger in the shallows. The shores of the channel are also home to an array of birds including pink backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle billed stork and many others. After this wonderful afternoon, a slow drive back to Lodge. Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/Jacana Lodge (FB)
Day 7:
An early rise: a pre-breakfast “sunrise game drive” starts the day after which, we will return to the lodge for a hearty breakfast. We often see elephants as well as water hog, lion, hyena, Uganda kob, waterbuck and bushbuck. We will then depart, game viewing en-route, for an afternoon Chimpanzee in Kibale National Park. The incredibly diverse forest is home to over 13 species of primates including red colobus monkey, the rare L’Hoest, blue monkey, grey mangabey, pottos, black faced vervet monkeys, baboons and also bushbabies. A network of shady forest trails provides much to delight botanists and butterfly lovers, while birders are in for a treat with 335 species recorded including the endemic Prirogrine’s ground thrush. The elusive forest elephant, smaller and hairier that its savannah counterpart, moves seasonally into the developed part of the park, while other terrestrial mammals include buffalo, giant forest hog and a half dozen antelope species.
After tracking the Chimpanzees, we will drive to Ndali Lodge where we will stay for Dinner and overnight/ Rwenzori View Guest house/Palace Motel (Full Board)
Day 8:
Following a morning breakfast, we will depart by road with a packed lunch to Murchison Falls National Park. This scenic drive will take approximately 9 hours. You will be viewing the Ugandan Villages along the way and the views of Lake Albert. Murchison Falls National Park is well cited for the best wildlife viewing - giraffe, buffalo, lion, elephant, Nile crocodile, hippo, orib, bush buck, waterbuck. We will continue game viewing en-route, taking a ferry across the river to Paraa Safari Lodge.
Day 9:
Up early for a morning game drive. This is the best time to try and find lions. Your drive will take you across to Lake Albert and the Nile delta where you will see elephants, buffalo, giraffe, antelope and hopefully lion. Return to the lodge for lunch and the chance to relax before taking a boat trip in the afternoon which takes around 3 hours. This boat trip along the Nile is often cited as being the highlight of a trip to Murchison since it allows you to get up-close and personal with the animals. Along this stretch of the river, there are reported to be around 4,000 hippos in addition to some enormous Nile crocodiles. The bird life is stunning with brightly colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks. If lucky, you may see the rare and prehistoric looking shoebill, which is a cross between the dodo and a dinosaur. The boat takes you to the base of the falls which only adds to their impressiveness.
Overnight at Paraa Safari Lodge (FB)
Day 10:
After breakfast, we will depart to Jinja. This drive will take approximately 6-7 hours drive stopping in Masindi town for lunch. We will continue heading east to Jinja passing coffee, Tea and Sugar plantations and the colorful roadside fruit/vegetable markets. The first stop is the source of the Nile as this is the spot where John Speke discovered the source of the Nile. Here the Nile, the longest river in the world, is forced through a narrow gap in the rock (only 7 meters wide), before ferociously plunging down 43 meters.
Overnight at Jinja Nile Resort (FB)
Day 11:
Following a relaxed breakfast, we will visit Bujagali Falls where different cultural activities take place like Acrobatic, Dances, and waterfalls among other activities. We will then drive back to Kampala stopping at Mabira Forest to see Primates, Birds and Butterflies. On arrival in Kampala, you guide will transfer you to your Hotel.
Overnight at Sheraton Hotel/ Windsor Lake Victoria Hotel/ Speke Hotel (FB)
Day 12:
Your safari guide will collect you from the hotel and transfer you to Entebbe International Airport for your outbound flight.
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