Saturday, January 11, 2014

Murchison Falls Trip

The week before I left for China, I went with the FSD staff to Murchison Falls National Park. I spent the weekend before in Kampala with Robert. We didn’t do too much; book shopping, gift shopping, and eating mostly. That Monday, Anita, Nina, and Anita’s son Majid picked us up and we headed for Masindi, the closest town to Murchison Falls National Park. Masindi was really only useful as a launching point for the park as there wasn’t much to do there. We stayed in nice cottages, although both power and water were frequently off.
A perfectly acceptable way to travel

I will never sick of these views!

On the road

The cottages we stayed in


We woke up early on Tuesday morning and found out that Robert had been sick most of the night and would be staying behind. The remaining four of us arrived at the park just after the gates opened and were right away rewarded with a troop of baboons crossing the road. From the gate we entered, it was an 80km drive through mostly forest to the ferry that would take us across the Nile to the main safari area. Along the scenic drive we saw many baboons, a warthog, and several birds including hornbills, ibises, and guinea fowl.





We reached the ferry crossing with about one minute to spare and boarded immediately. The crossing took only five minutes and on the north side of the river, we were joined by Emma, our UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) guide. He has worked in the park for three years and was very knowledgeable and helpful. Five minutes along the track he had already spotted a herd of elephants resting in the shade of a tree. Though quite far away, it was still a good sighting.



We continued on and were soon choking on the dust caused by a dump truck making its way down the track. As we pulled over to avoid its wake, another came up behind us. Emma explained that recently the drilling of oil had been allowed within the park and the truck were hauling dirt to strengthen the ground for the big machines. In addition, other machines periodically jammed the roadways. Emma lamented that the oil company was supposed to spray water on the roads to prevent the inevitable dust storm, as well as pull over to allow safari vehicles to pass; although they rarely bothered.

Luckily It seemed that the animals had become used to the rumbling of passing trucks so they were still visible. Thankfully as well, only the first third of our trip was plagued by the trucks. We were on the drive about 2.5 hours (we had to be back for the noon ferry crossing). There were great vistas of open savannah as well as hilly views. We saw a huge number of hartebeest, oribi, and Ugandan kob as well as buffalo and many giraffes. Also present were quite a few warthogs, some crested cranes, and a monkey or two. Unfortunately we didn’t see any big cats or other carnivores.

Hartebeest

Oribi

Ugandan kob

Hornbill

Buffalo

This one was quite close

The crested crane, Uganda's national bird



We made it back to the ferry and parked in line. I stepped out to walk near the river as we waited and turned back to look at the line of vehicles. All of a sudden, I saw a baboon race towards a mini-bus that a group of Chinese tourists were standing near and leap into the open passenger seat window. In a flash, he had grabbed a bunch of bananas (how stereotypical!) and took off with them. A guard gave chase but the baboon quickly scampered away, shoving its prize into its mouth. Needless to say, the waiting cars were much more cautious about their vehicles and belongings after that incident. As we were about to board the ferry, the baboons saw their final chance and three of them mounted onslaughts, jumping on the roofs of some of the vans. They were reluctantly chased away and we drove quickly to the safety of the ferry.

Running away with his trophy

Cheeky animals!



After returning to the south side of the Nile, we ate lunch and returned to the shore to await our Nile River cruise that would take us close to the base of the falls for which the park was named. The cruise was relaxing and took about three hours round trip. We saw many birds such as fish eagles, kingfishers, herons, and many others I couldnt’ possibly name. There were also a large number of hippos lounging in the shallows and the odd crocodile or antelope by the shoreline. The falls themselves were smaller than I had expected and we didn’t get as close as I had hoped. There was an option to take a hike to the tope of the falls but we decided against it due to the heat and the limited time we had. After we returned to the dock, we made the long drive back in the waning twilight.



Fish eagle

White-tailed colobus monkeys

Gorgeous day

Murchison Falls

Murchison Falls

I spent Thursday and Friday morning in Entebbe at a hostel. Thursday I hooked up with two other travellers and we visited the Wildlife Education Centre. It serves as a rehabilitation centre for injured and orphaned animals. They had a leopard, some hyenas and lions, a shoebill stork, among the usual animals as well. They also had two rhinos and when we reached their pen, they happened to be right near the fence. Our guide went straight to the male and started stroking his butt. Apparently it's a rhino sweet spot. He even let us touch it! The skin was leathery and hairy, but softer than I expected. I guess I didn't stroke well enough because shortly after he moved away. After the Wildlife Education Centre, we got some lunch and wandered over to the Botanical Gardens. They were serene and beautiful as expected. I'm glad I got to spend the extra time in Entebbe before my flight.





Shoebill stork

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