Lake Mburo & Queen(6)
Day One: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport. A member of staff of African Secrets will meet you. Transfer to your hotel in Kampala - about 40 km away. Depending on your arrival time, a complementary sight tour of Kampala City is optional. Overnight in Kampala.
Day Two: Pick-up from your hotel. Take the Masaka Road exit due west. Drive through the rounded-top Buganda hills evenly endowed with papyrus swamps. First stopover at the equator for a snap with a foot in either hemispheres and a glimpse at what Ugandan craftspeople can do at the adjacent souvenir shops.
Continue through the infamous Katonga Bridge, entrenched in the people’s minds for its notoriety during the past wars - more war memorabilia are an open museum spread along the Trans-African Highway. Your guide will recommend worthwhile stopping spots to stretch your legs and enjoy the local highway refreshments of mchomo and softies. After Lyantonde Town, start enjoying the interminable undulating Ankore hills that give way to Lake Mburo National Park, the home of over 68 different mammals and a variety of bird species and reptiles and the natural habitat of the impala, zebra, eland, warthogs, a variety of monkeys, buffaloes, Roan antelope, hyenas, jackals, leopards, hippos, crocodiles, sitatunga antelopes, black and yellow papyrus gonalek, topis and the adjacent majestic long-horned cattle linked to the mysterious Chwezi dynasties.
Enjoy a game drive up to Lake Mburo where you will have packed lunch; shared with nature - the native monkeys, while they entertain you, free of charge, with their acrobatic skills! After lunch complete the game drive circuit amidst nature’s plenitude and game. Drive westwards through Mbarara town on to Kashenyi-Bwoma, the authentic Ugandan village concept. You will feel the warmth of these hospitable country folks while you stroll through the village (crafts) shops, where for the first time you will get a feel of real Uganda village life. Tasting the local gin and banana wine is highly recommended for those who can. Well in time walk back to your accommodation point where you will enjoy the unspoiled hospitality - goat roasting and plantain/potato baking in the open bad-weed ovens. Complementary country entertainment and story telling are optional. Retire to your room - whenever you can’t resist sleep and fatigue anymore.
Day Three: No electronic alarm wake-up bells, hakuna matanta!
Follow the cries of nature. At the first cockcrow, start enjoying the sweet morning bird songs. You can opt to jump out of bed to enjoy the cool morning and the splendid sunrise or stretch out at leisure. A short walk-about will unveil the hardworking villagers in their fields. After an authentic organic breakfast, drive through Ishaka Township on to the Trans-African Highway en route to the splendour of the Great Rift Valley. View, the Igara tea estates before being consumed by the unequalled Bunyaruguru hills; gifted by nature by the numerous crater lakes. Remember to pick up a few bananas for your unexpected friends at a nearby location. No views are greater that at Kyambura where you will commence your descent into the Rift Valley carpeted by the sea like Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to over 100 mammal species and over 606 bird species. The hunt is now on to view a variety of game animals like Uganda kobs, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, elephants and the long promised friends - the baboons together with much other wildlife. At Kazinga Channel, turn left and head towards Mweya Safari Lodge. Lunch at the hotel. After lunch walk down to the Channel for a launch trip that will take you very close to a variety of game quenching their thirst as well as the permanent residents - the hippos. At one spot you won’t believe your eyes by the incredible number of thousands of birds living in harmony. Upon return to the Lodge, drive on to Katwe salt lake where human endeavour survives on nature-given resources. View flamingos on a nearby crater and enjoy a late game drive. Dinner and overnight at your selected lodge in the park.
Day Four: The first of the frenetic search for nature’s secrets - early morning drive to Ishasha, Queen Elizabeth National Park southern sector. Sight the nocturnal hunters (lions, leopards and hyenas) as they head back to their den. Cross the Kazinga Channel at Katunguru. Turn right towards Ishasha, by passing the well laid out hippo pool with frequent sighting of baboons. Packed breakfast on the way. Upon entry to Ishasha, prepare to view a variety of game - buffaloes, topis, and Uganda kob and follow the tracks in search for the famous tree-climbing lions. At Ishasha camp drive on to the River Ishasha dividing Uganda and Congo. At the River you can view hippos at close range. All morning spent on game drives. Lunch at the camp. After lunch drive at leisure back to your lodge in the northern sector with plenty of diversions to view more and more wildlife. Enjoy a relaxed evening at the bar/gardens of your lodge. Overnight at the lodge.
Day Five: The second and final of the frenetic days at Queen Elizabeth National Park; but a worthwhile part of your safari. Very early wake-up call to embark on a game drive. Follow the guidance from the game rangers’ previous sighting of the elusive game, particularly the hyenas, the lions, the leopards and many others. After the selected circuits, head back to your hotel for a late breakfast. After breakfast gear up for the drive back to Kampala marked by stopovers to kill off fatigue while enjoying the revitalising countryside. Arrive back in Kampala late evening.
Day Six: Depending upon your flight details, you will be picked up from your hotel by a representative of African Secrets for a transfer to the airport.
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