Murchison Falls National Park – Our first safari

After a night back at Red Chilli in Kampala, Claire and I awoke bright and early to jump on board our 7.30 mini bus to Murchison Falls for our first African safari experience. Our driver, Nor, was to take us to the falls where we would get a close up look at them in all their thunderous glory. From there we’d be heading to the campsite and getting settled in for the night. Then, we’d be up before sunrise to hit the National Park on a game drive, followed by a Nile River Cruise to the foot of the falls. Then the final day would see us head on another game drive before heading home, with a stop off at another waterfall on route. That was our itinerary.

Claire and I were joined on our trip by a small group of truly lovely people. We had Mime and Moses, a sweet Swedish couple. Moses is an Arsenal fan who was lucky enough to witness Ibrahimovic’s cracking overhead kick against England in the flesh. He and his family had left Uganda when he was eight and this was the first time he had been back since. Mime, who has an interesting name anyway which is pronounced Mee-meh (I think that’s correct) has a brother who is called Geronimo. How fantastic is that?

We were also joined by Marie and James, another fantastic couple from France and South Africa respectively. James was born in South Africa to English parents who had left the UK during the 70s. Marie claims to have improved James by persuading him that cycling sunglasses are not quite appropriate to wear when out and about. James now has two pairs of sunglasses. These two were great fun, both interesting and entertaining to talk to. I hope we can entice them down from London for a few drinks in the Brighton sunshine when we are back from our trip.

Last but most certainly not least was Louise and Dor, a couple of friends who had met whilst travelling. Louise is also from Sweden – there have been a fair few Swedes on the trip so far. She’s currently studying Biomedical Engineering and is preparing for an Erasmus year in Italy. Louise also likes humming. Dor, an Israeli, has been travelling through Africa for the last six months and has a wicked sense of humour and an interesting outlook on life. He has, at the time of writing, not used soap for around two weeks, leaving him convinced that humans no longer need soap and has spent the last six months visiting Tanzania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

It was a friendly group who gelled quickly making the long drives to and from the National Park very enjoyable, rather than the chore that timely hot journeys on bumpy roads can become.

The group (from left to right): James, Marie, Me, Dor, Louise, Caire, Moses, Mime 

Murchison Falls National Park is the oldest and the largest National Park in Uganda, and was given its official status in 1952. The famous falls are located in the park where the huge River Nile squeezes itself through an eight metre gap, which causes a monstrous surge of water. It really was a sight to behold. After we had taken a look at the falls we were driven to the campsite where Claire and I dumped our stuff in our cute little safari tents, before grabbing a beer and ordering our packed lunch for the following day. Before bed we were warned that the camp site was situated in the midst of the National Park and wasn’t fenced off. There were large warthogs – referred to by almost everyone as ‘Pumbas’ – wandering freely about the camp and we were not to leave food in our tents as they have no issue barging their way in and causing a ruckus. There were also mentions of hippos making their way through camp at night. Hippos are not to be messed with, however, our guide did tell us that a while ago his friends had placed a bet offering 500 dollars to the first person to stick the sticker from a beer bottle on the backside of a hippo. I can’t remember who it was, but someone rose to the challenge. It turns out hippos are remarkably quick across the ground, but turn like the Titanic making them pretty easy to evade. Despite this, we were not to interfere with the wild animals.

Murchison Falls

Our tent from the outside

Our tent on the inside

The sun was still nowhere in site and it was cold. That is my first memory of the morning as my alarm went off, followed by Claire’s, followed by about 10 others in the tents around us. The early start saw us and the rest of the group jump back in the minivan for a game drive. Today we’d be seeing some animals. We pulled up to the serene River Nile. The sun was just making its way into the air as we stepped onto the ferry which was taking us, the van, and a bunch of other vehicles to the other side of the river. By the time we had made it to the other side the roof of the van had been raised leaving us with the ability to stand up and take a proper look at whatever wildlife we would come across. There was also a warning that the baboons on the bank were not shy, so we were urged to leave our packed lunches well hidden. I will come back to this later on, as someone did not heed this advice the following day.

Early morning at the Nile

We drove through the magnificent savannah eagerly anticipating what was to come. We were eased in with some buffalo, warthogs (Pumbas), antelope and a couple of big and remarkable water bucks – the national animal of Uganda with impressive horns. Then, in the distance, our guide for the day – I am sad to say I cannot remember her name – had spotted some giraffes. We were able to get pretty close to these elegant creatures and get some great pictures as they grazed on the vegetation.

Warthogs with 70s Spinal Tap hair

Antelope

Giraffe, one of many we’d end up seeing

As we continued along the trail we ended up seeing a lot of giraffes, as well as a lone jackal making his way across the plains. The sun had begun to make its way higher into the sky turning dawn into day. Monkeys were also on display throughout the park include a varied and interesting array of birdlife from vultures to guinea foul. We were even lucky enough to see an antelope giving birth. The mother was in the middle of labour with the head of the baby visible. She made her way into some bushes and we were unable to see the rest, so continued on our route. Then our guide came into her own. She made a noise and our van pulled to a stop. We reversed about five metres and she pointed out a lioness chilling in the thicket. How she spotted it at that speed, I do not know. It was hard to spot when given time to gaze directly at it, and after a few minutes straining our eyes to see the creature relaxing in the shade, we were off.

Buffalo

The next stop was a large lake in the midst of the National Park. This was the perfect time to get out, stretch our legs, and it also allowed our guide to take some fresh tilapia from the fisherman out on the water for her lunch. To our left we then saw a bunch of hippos relaxing in the water. A few photos later and we were back on our way. Before we made it back to camp, satisfied at the wide range of beautiful animals we’d been lucky enough to see, we came across the birthing antelope again. She was laid by the side of the track and sadly the baby was dead. Unable to finish giving birth, and with the baby stuck, our guide informed us that the mother would most probably succumb to the same fate as her offspring. The cruel swing of Mother Nature’s sword does not discriminate and the sad reality of what we were seeing was a challenge to bear.

After lunch back at the camp we were popped on the top deck of a riverboat ready to head off on the Nile River cruise to the foot of Murchison Falls. The sun was now beaming and luckily there were nice cold beers on board. We were only around 10 minutes into our trip when we saw a pair of elephants drinking from the river. I’ve seen elephants in the zoo, but seeing them in their natural habitat, up close, in the calming silence of the River Nile, was an experience I will never forget. Only a few more metres down the line and we had spotted some warthogs followed by a Nile crocodile relaxing on the riverbank. We saw quite a few other crocs along the way. Almost all of them were sheltering in the vegetation on the banks of the river with their mouths wide open to regulate their body temperature. Large and intimidating, the way in which they sit, jaws agape, showed off their huge lines of dangerous white teeth.

Croc

We were then treated with more elephants. A large group of around 10 or so made their way to the river for refreshments. Huge and lumbering, they ventured from the bushes about 20 metres from the river bank into plain site before dipping their trunks in the water for a drink. The group had a couple of tiny youngsters, rolling around and playing in the shallows. This ended with the larger of the two landing on top of its younger playmate squashing it for a short time. The cruise took us a long way down the Nile, allowing us to observe a range of monkeys and a lot of hippos poking their heads out of the water wiggling their ears. After a brief stop at the foot of the falls, which looked equally as imposing from water-level, we turned around and headed back, with beers in our hands, our feet up, and the sun shining.

Hippos

Our final day in the National Park began with us heading back off on another game drive to see if we could spot a few more animals. Again we were up before the sun, and again we crossed the Nile on the ferry. However, this time someone in a different van had left their packed lunch on the back seat. A baboon waltzed past a group of people, jumped into the van through the now opened safari-ready roof, and grabbed a handful of food before being chased off by a man with an AK47. As our driver started the engine to embark on our second game drive, we passed the guilty baboon who was arrogantly sitting in plain sight with a banana in one hand and a sandwich in the other. It had passed the second banana on to its comrade.

This time we were heading in a different direction, however, before we made the turn off onto the second route we passed the birthing antelope from the day before. Sadly the mother had not made it through the night and was dead, the baby’s head still visible. After a moment of sombre reflection, we all moved on. The mood in the car was one of optimism. We all wanted to see a lion out in the open. We were lucky to spot one the day before, however, the lioness we had seen was reluctant to come out of the thicket, meaning we only had a slight glimpse of her as she relaxed in the mid-morning warmth. We were not disappointed. Our driver got a phone call from a colleague who had spotted a lion. Moses filled us in on the translation of what the driver was saying and we were excited at the prospect. And sure enough, moments later we had come across a lion. A lone male, waking from a morning snooze and walking majestically into the long grass from his resting place in the bush. Seeing this animal with its huge paws and full mane, slowly sauntering through yellow-green grass, as the early morning sunrise bathed the entire seen in a dim orange glow, was a real treasure.

Lion

After many more giraffes – it’s amazing how nonchalant you can get when presented with yet more giraffes – we drove into a picturesque wooded area, with large bare trees spaced far apart and a low lying mist turning the scene into a watercolour painting. Not long after entering the woods we hit the jackpot. A large troop of huge elephants were making their way along the side of the track. We were able to get so close to these magnificent creatures that we were able to smell them. Not long after that, we had another group cross the track right behind our van. Seeing these creatures, up close and personal, meant the trip felt complete. For me at least. We had passed giraffes, both young and old and a range of game from mighty buffalo to prancing antelope. We had passed a lion, the ‘king of the jungle’, elegantly making its way across the savannah and witnessed hippos and crocodiles enjoying the peace of the River Nile. We had seen the true reality of life and death in the wild. And now we got to see elephants, travelling slowly through the woods as day was only just waking up, the sun not yet high in the sky.

Elephants up close