Reset search
Uganda
Satellite

Uganda
Nwoya District

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • TravelerUganda
      Day 5

      Our First Safari!

      February 9, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      There is no way to write a short summary of this so I just have to give you the play by play 😂 I was taking all the best photos on my camera but these are just my phone photos. Will share the real ones when I get back!

      - 6:00am We left the hotel to begin! The morning is the best time since it’s still cool and the animals are waking up and on the move :)
      - 6:30 First spotting a rabbit who served as our good luck charm because seconds later we spotted a giraffe walking right next to us!
      - 6:45 As we approached the park we picked up our ranger guide Savior (pronounced Sevia) who despite the time was already filled with joy and his passion for the animals was immediately apparent. The reasons for having a ranger in your car are: the knowledge of the park (driving directions and popular animal locations), your safety (they carry a gun that they would fire into the sky to scare the animal if ever you were unsafe) and their communications with all the other rangers (when someone spots something good, they alert the others).
      - 7:00 We reached the start of the game drive and as the sun began to rise, saw our first field of kobs, oribi and buffalo
      - 7:20 Our guide told the driver to stop because he spotted one of the kobs “producing”. We didn’t understand what we meant until we looked over and saw she was in labor! We could see the head was already out and stayed and watched the entire delivery with dad nearby protecting them from predators. It was a surreal way to begin the day and we came back later to check on them and saw the baby taking it’s first steps and nursing. One thing that made it even more significant was after Savior working there for 8 years it was his first time seeing a kob give birth.
      - 7:36 Savior got a text and we started driving quickly, not knowing where we were headed. We arrived at the spot and saw the 2 hardest animals to find- a lion and a leopard. They were far so we couldn’t get a good photo but we were so excited and completely content thinking that was as close as we get. Only to drive a few more feet forward and find 4 lionesses lying 10 feet from our car.
      - 8:00 We began driving again and pulled out our breakfast to enjoy along the way. Our favorite was the Spanish omelet rolled in a chapati. The lodge so thoughtfully packs you breakfast and coffee to go since people leave so early to catch the animals before it’s too hot! We witnessed our first graiffe in full day light cross the road right in front of us.
      - 8:40 Savior knew where a lion cub may be based on their location the night before and he was right!! All on our own (no other cars around) we got to witness a baby cub and his older cousin. We learned that during the night the lions separate for hunting and his older cousin was keeping him safe until he reunited with his mom.
      - 9:30 We enjoyed a peaceful drive spitting some smaller animals and birds and arrived at the spot on the delta of the Nile where you can get out to stretch your legs and use the restroom. We poured some coffee and got to enjoy it with the warthogs, something we never dreamed of 😂 Lisa (who loves birds) and Savior spotted a stunning Madagascar Bee-eater bird in the tree! I purchased the “Wildlife of East Africa” book and we enjoyed checking the animals off as we saw them!
      - 10:15 Back on the road, we began seeing tens of giraffe at a time. It was magnificent. Pretty much at all times you can see the Uganda Kob’s and oribi. So even though rangers describe that as “nothing”, it’s really something!
      - 11:15 Lisa and I both adore elephants and coming across our first elephant we were in awe. The first few were far away at the edge of the Nile but within minutes, we had one right outside our window! We began counting out of excitement she quickly went from seeing our first to seeing 36!!
      - 12:00 Game drives are supposed to be 3-4 hours, we were lucky to stay out for 5! We rushed back to the hotel for a quick lunch, changed and got ready for our next activity :)      Read more

    • TravelerUganda
      Day 6

      Evening Game Drive- Lions!!

      February 10, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ 🌩️ 29 °C

      As we drove across the bridge to pick up Savior (our ranger/guide), we saw elephants on the Nile with 2 adorable babies- Lisa’s favorite! Savior hopped in the car and it felt like we were reunited with an old friend. It’s been so refreshing to be surrounded entirely by people who are filled with passion and joy for what they do! You can’t help but love every minute of every day. We made our way to a different part of the expansive Savannah grasslands, which was filled with Giraffe, Oribi, Uganda Kob, Antelopes, Warthogs, Water Bucks, Buffalo, Birds and more. But this time since we had already seen the hard to find animals (lions, leopards) we were driving slowly, standing on the seats with our heads out of the sunroof soaking in the warm breeze and sunset. Suddenly, Savior got a call from Sarah (another ranger) that she had spotted. We were at least 20 minutes away she and her car of tourists kindly waited for us to point them out. There is no way we would have seen them in the tall grass! We pulled right up (uncomfortably close) and in front of us were 2 mothers who had brought back a fresh kill for their 3 lion cubs (only 1 year old). You wouldn’t have thought they were cubs by how large they were but our ranger was thrilled to see how healthy they were, thanks to their moms being incredible hunters. We got so close I was almost frozen in fear and asked Godfrey (our driver) to please close all the windows. But he and Savior laughed, assured me there was no way they would attack us and encouraged
      me to stand up, be confident and start taking photos!! This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! I (sweatily) did as I was told and with my heart pounding, snapped away! And boy am I glad I did :) We spent at least 30 minutes with them, what a treat. The Sun had set and it started getting dark so we began our journey home to the lodge. On the way out, we saw our third Hyena! Lisa is officially the ambassador of changing the reputation of hyenas because they are actually quite beautiful in person, especially the spotted fur! We enjoyed our final dinner at Murchison River Lodge with beautiful live music from some local musicians in the background. Just another way MRL is continually supporting the local community! We can’t recommend staying at MRL enough :)      Read more

    • Michi, derLet’s bring Sauna into Africa
      1
      Day 417

      Down to the waterline

      February 6, 2021 in Uganda ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Bsss! I want to move south through Murchison Falls National park but the ferry crossing the Victoria Nile is not operating since July 2020 due to … flooding. Again! Lake Victoria and Lake Albert have higher water levels than usual. I decide to enter the burning park anyway and spend around 270 km on self-driving safari within 1.3 days. The Murchison Falls themselves are not accessible from the north but from the south only. The northern path is so overgrown that I rip off my right mudguards with protruding, low bush branches and have to reverse 1.5 km before the falls. Again a poor view because the guys are also burning parts of this national park. But there are tons of Uganda kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, Jackson’s hartebeests, Rothschild’s giraffes and buffaloes around which are not impressed by my car at all. My extended catch list: baboon, warthog, tsetse, southern ground hornbill, hippo, vervet monkey, black/white colobus monkey, patas monkey, elephant, jackal, Rüppell’s vulture, Adim’s stork, a tree-climbing African harrier hawk and one rare, shy bongo in the morning! The second night I want to spend wild-camping at the shores of Lake Albert but my designated places are flooded and I decide to go for the ruins of an old lodge but am interrupted by a broken bridge. Luckily a safari tour vehicle comes by the same way and the driver guides me through a secret detour over freshly burned grass to the far too expensive Pakuba lodge. They want 120 USD for a room, camping not allowed. Up your asses. It is dark already and as I am about to leave for the nearby ruins one of the staff approaches me and offers an unofficial campsite in front of the rangers’ headquarters. Splendid! I learn that they are burning parts of the park for various reasons. First of all the antelopes prefer low grass for safety and would move out of the unfenced park towards human areas because the humans are keeping the grass low through burning. Also they prefer freshly growing grass after burning over the older dry one. But the bordering humans would simply eat them. Allegedly the burning also controls the ticks and tsetse which I consider a poor argument. The last argument probably is the most important: Animals are better seen by tourists in low grass. In the end a national park is just another form of governmental and private income source. No animals, no tourists, less money.

      At midnight we hear nearby lions roaring and in the early morning, shortly before sunrise, I naively point my low-glooming headlamp around while brushing my teeth and suddenly see a pair of yellow eyes staring at me without being able to make out a silhouette of the starer. I switch the lamp to full power and see a huge lioness standing on the small access road just around 30 m away from my car. The next moment she disappears. Or was it a leopardess? But I didn’t see any pattern on the fur and this thing was huuuge! At sunrise I leave some Trinkgeld for the rangers and continue my safari after a great shower! All antelopes and buffaloes are migrating to the lake shore for a morning drink. I again meet a tour vehicle from this noble lodge. The same driver! He tells me that they saw two lions far away in the grassy valley and points me in the right direction. These guys are amazing! No human on earth can see anything in this grass on this distance and even with binoculars these two lions resemble more what I would nowadays call “pixel noise”. The good thing is that they are moving in direction of a branching track. So, I just drive around the corner with my car where I think they are heading, stop next to a tree, climb on my roof, sit down and wait. They are approaching some gazelles against the wind and are coming nearer but stop at some point. Very funny to watch that the gazelles are aware of the lions veeeery early but do not move at all. They let the lions approach to something like 50 m before galloping away. But maybe the cats are not hungry? Who knows ...      Read more

    • S&L go Africa
      1211
      Day 22

      Murchison Falls Nationalpark

      September 26, 2021 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Am Samstag ging es schon um 6 Uhr früh los in Richtung Murchison Falls Nationalpark. Gegen 12 Uhr sind wir im Park angekommen und nach einer weiteren Stunde haben wir unseren ersten Stopp beim Murchison Wasserfall gemacht. Wir waren fast alleine dort und die Stimmung war magisch. Es wurde gerade der alte Zaun ausgetauscht, sodass wir bis ganz an den Rand gehen konnten. Normalerweise haben wir bis jetzt immer nur Wasserfälle von unten betrachtet, es war richtig schön das Schauspiel mal von oben zu sehen.

      Nach dem einchecken, im Red Chili Restcamp, sind wir um 16 Uhr mit Quraish zu unserer ersten Safari bzw. „Game Drive“ aufgebrochen. Das Dach war geöffnet und da wir alleine waren konnten wir uns ganz frei im Van bewegen. Wir haben Giraffen, unzählige Antilopen, Vögel, Nilpferde im Wasser, Elefanten, Warzenschweine und Büffel gesehen. Das Licht und die Stimmung waren unfassbar schön.

      Nachts sollen hier Nilpferde in die Lodge kommen, deswegen darf man sich nicht ohne Taschenlampe bewegen. Gestern Abend haben wir sie aber nur gehört und nicht gesehen.
      Sonntag früh ging es wieder um 6 Uhr los um den Sonnenaufgang im Park zu sehen und weil die Chancen Löwen oder Leoparden zu begegnen früh morgens oder spät abends höher ist. Wir hatten großes Glück und haben vier junge Löwen aus der Nähe gesehen. Nachmittags haben wir eine Boottour auf dem Nil gemacht und dabei vor allem Krokodile und Nilpferde beobachten können.      Read more

      See translation
    • Koen JacobsWild Uganda 2021.
      Day 7

      The road to Murchison...

      September 8, 2021 in Uganda ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

      Vandaag weer voor zonsopgang op want er staat weer een lange rit op het programma richting Murchison Falls National Park. Het weer zit vandaag ook niet mee,zo goed als heel de tijd regen, regen en nog eens regen maar op zich beter bij een dagrit dan bij een uitstapje ofzo... Door de regen zijn de wegen ook bijzonder slipperig en modderig en als we dan al eens een asfaltweg tegenkomen zit deze vol diepe putten en moeten wagens alles en elkaar ontwijken en zelfs spookrijden... Maw het gaat traag en op de koop toe schiet de koffer los en vallen onze rugzakken er uit! In de namiddag krijgen we nog een lekker buffetje onderweg en tegen 17u30 komen we aan in onze Park View Lodge. Ondanks de regen zoeken Yasmin en ik al snel het zwembad op. Nu er eens één is besluiten we maar gewoon in de regen te gaan plonsen. Al snel volgen de anderen want het water is lekker warm. En niet lang daarna stopt het met regenen en kan ik nog een droneshotje maken. 's Avonds nog lekker eten en de briefing horen voor morgen, game drive en bootsafari. Yasmin gaat ook proberen om voor overmorgen nog de Rhino Sanctuary te boeken zodat we toch nog neushoorns kunnen zien op de enige plek in Oeganda. Slaapwel.Read more

      See translation
    • Vee LEast Africa
      Day 55

      Perfect day

      February 25, 2016 in Uganda ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

      What a day! Private driver, a 3 hour "game drive" as they call it, a 2.5 hour boat ride and an hour hike up the side of a powerful waterfall.

      We weren't thinking of doing a safari game drive in Uganda, but since the Murchison Falls NP entrance fees were 40$us, we decided to take advantage of a full day in the park. On this drive, we saw Jackson Heartbeats, waterbucks and a hippopotamus out of water - all in the first 10 minutes! The drive was absolutely beautiful, Savannah type landscapes, beautiful shining sun. By the end, we had seen waterbucks, African buffalo's, hippos, Jackson Heartbeats, elephants, Rothschild giraffes, Ugandan kobs (antilopes), warthogs (Gen! Pumba!) and a few gorgeous birds.

      As if that wasn't enough, we had a quick packed lunch and off we went on a boat tour along the Nile! 2.5 hours of wind blowing, cooling us down, drinks being served, and again all along the shores incredible animal watching! More hippos, one girafe, tons of elephants, birds and crocodiles! Beautifully sunny day. Incredibly warm.

      The boat stoped at a dock somewhat far from the falls themselves, but you could definitely appreciate their power and beauty! Jack and I were the only ones to get off as we planned to do the hike up to the falls, and the boat turned back around. Our hiking guide was waiting for us when we got there, arranged by our wonderful private driver Moses. The hike was super easy and it gave us a closer look at these falls. To be honest, they weren't very high, not the prettiest falls I've ever seen, but definitely powerful. I wouldn't want to fall in... Honestly the world's easiest walk, and I managed to fall. Yep, my first true reason to open my massive first aid kit! A bandaid and polysporin... Considering the size of my medical kit, it's kind of sad. I scraped my knee when my foot slid forward in a dry sandy downhill part. Honestly the lamest story ever. I'll be going with lion's bite from now on. This lion's bite was just deep enough to have people concerned about the bleeding, but just superficial enough to make me feel like an idiot. Meh.

      This is probably the most luxurious day we've had to this day, yet with our skills we are paying the same amount as advertised on a poster for a group of 8 people. We found a driver willing to take us for a good price. And by calculating all the fees along the way we paid the exact same amount as groups do, but we had a private driver doing exactly what we wanted... We want to stop for a photo, we ask. We want to go, we go. Easy.

      Fantastic day. Worth the pretty penny it cost. And now onto the capital! Kampala tomorrow should be quite the change of pace.      Read more

    • skip's retirement travelSub-Saharan Africa, Australia
      Day 3

      Cruise on the Victoria Nile

      February 2, 2018 in Uganda ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

      In Murchison Falls National Park. The Victoria Nile feeds into Lake Albert. When the Nile leaves Lake Albert it is known as the Albert Nile. It becomes the Blue Nile when it gets to Khartoum.
      This is mostly a wildlife viewing cruise as many animals come to the river in this, the dry season. These pics are of birds.Read more

    • Immer den Nasen nachUganda & Sansibar
      Day 13

      „Simba“ Swahili für 🦁

      November 18, 2021 in Uganda ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Wir fanden eine Gruppe junger männlicher und weiblicher Löwen und konnten ihnen ganz nah kommen. Sie haben sich nicht stören lassen. Gejagt wurde, nachdem alle Touris ihre Bilder im Kasten hatten 😄

      See translation
    • Immer den Nasen nachUganda & Sansibar
      Day 13

      Bush camping

      November 18, 2021 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Ein absolutes Muss, wenn man mit Campingausrüstung bzw. Dachzelt unterwegs ist! 10/10!!
      Man bekommt einen Ranger zur Seite gestellt, der mit uns zusätzlich einen Abend-, Nacht- und Morgen-Game Drive machte. Also muss man das nicht zusätzlich buchen. Preis fürs Bush Camping: 40$ für den Ranger + 40$ Eintritt p.P. für den Park + ~5$ fürs eigene Auto (einheimisches Kennzeichen).
      Unser Ranger hieß Xavier und war superfreundlich! Er war ausgestattet mit Fernglass, Zelt, Isomatte, etwas Wasser, einer AK47 und einem Strahler, der über den Zigarettenanzünder im Auto funktionierte. Freundlicherweise kauft man ein bisschen mehr Essen und Getränke und lädt den Ranger ein. Linda machte super Abendessen und Xavier zeigte uns in der Nacht noch eine Python, Hasen und eine Art kleinen Wüstenfuchs. Er war absoluter Tier- und vor allem Vogelexperte und kannte sich perfekt im Nationalpark aus. Wir sahen 4 Arten von Antilopen, 4 Löwen, ein Nilpferd und eine Vielzahl von Elefanten, Giraffen und Vögeln. Und nachts ist das Grunzen der Nilpferde auch überall hörbar. Früh gabs noch ein kurzes Frühstück direkt in einer Giraffenherde. Ein tolles Erlebnis.      Read more

      See translation
    • Immer den Nasen nachUganda & Sansibar
      Day 12

      Bwana Tembo Safari Camp

      November 17, 2021 in Uganda ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Nach ein bisschen Recherche war klar, dass für Game Drives in den Norden des Murchison National Parks fahren müssen. Linda suchte bei Trip Advisor das Bwana Tembo Safari Camp heraus, weil es hier auf Nummer 1 war. Wie überall war auch hier so gut wie nichts los. Die Anlage liegt ganz am Ende einer ziemlich schlechten Straße. Das Essen war richtig gut, das Personal mega freundlich, nur die Aussicht etwas verdeckt durch die ganzen Bäume. Aber uns begrüßte der italienische Besitzer Francesco gleich persönlich und wir kamen ins Gespräch. Wir verabredeten uns mit ihm und seiner Freundin zum gemeinsamen Frühstück, wir erzählen, sie zeigten uns die Anlage und gaben uns wichtige Tipps für unsere weitere Planung im Nationalpark. Eine afrikanische Frisur gabs von der Köchin auch noch 😃 Fazit: Der Weg dorthin ist etwas mühsam, aber es lohnt sich: 8/10Read more

      See translation

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Nwoya District

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

    • 2024© FindPenguins
    • Home
    • About us
    • Blog
    • Group Tracking
    • Press
    • Terms
    • Privacy Policy & Cookies
    • Support
    • Legal notice