Queen Elizabeth National Park, Boat Cruise and the Road to Ruhija

Sunday at Queen Elizabeth National Park

By dawn break the hippos have gone back to the water. They are nocturnal, sleeping in the water during the day which protects their skin from the hot sun and going onto land to graze all night.

At 6:00am a lodge staff member knocks on our cabin door and takes us to breakfast. We ordered bacon and omelettes the night before and also help ourselves to the fruit and other items on the buffet.

We head off. Our safari van enters Queen Elizabeth National Park in the early light. There is a road that runs through the park that leads to a local community . I’ve noticed the odd car and motor bike using the road. I ask Bosco if people on the bikes get hurt by wild animals. “Not usually”, he replies.

We see three elephants; mom, a teenager and a baby.  Click here for a short video. We stop to watch as they cross the road in front of us.  A motorcycle comes along the road. I guess he comes too close for mama’s liking. The youngsters keep walking but she turns towards the bike, her body tense and trunk moving in agitation. She watches the bike, turns around and rejoins her family.

Of course we see many birds, Uganda Kob, Waterbuck, Warthogs, African Buffalo and more. It’s amazing how quickly I take for granted that they are there. We quickly adjust to our surroundings.

We spot a lioness sleeping in the grass. We stop and watch but she has no intentions of getting up so finally we move on.

A couple hippos are snoozing in a pond. 

Next stop is at a lookout that has some local souvenir stands, washrooms and a guy selling hot and cold drinks and a Ugandan local snack called ‘rolex’ which is an omelette rolled in a chipati (similar to a crepe). John watches the man make it while I am souvenir shopping. I come by in time to help him eat it.

Three black headed weavers greedily watch on from their perch above.

Back at Queen Elizabeth Bush Camp

We head back to Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge where we have lunch, recharge our phones and relax. There is a beautiful lookout over Kazinga Channel. As I mentioned previously, at 42 km, this is the longest natural channel in the world. There are two types of boats used on the channel; tourist boats and fishing boats. 

Canal Boat Cruise Safari

In the afternoon we head out for a cruise on the Channel. Normally it takes under 10 minutes to get to the docks but it takes us longer because a slow moving, friendly elephant that the locals named John is blocking traffic.

As soon as we start our two hour safari cruise, we come across an old male elephant in the water. He has a large gash in his trunk. Our guide says that when pulling trees, large branches can fall and damage the elephant’s trunk. This elephant is also missing a tusk, probably from fighting.

The elephant wades right through a herd of hippos in the water. A baby jumps to get out of its way.

Hippos are everywhere. There are between 2,000- 3,000 hippos in this channel.

A crocodile is sunning itself on shore while Egyptian Geese walk nearby.

We see lots of kingfishers and other birdlife. We also see Nile Monitor Lizards.

A dead waterbuck lies on the bank, predators haven’t discovered it yet. 

A mother hippo is hidden away from the pack. She is probably soon to give birth as pregnant mothers separate themselves from the herd before delivering. If she has a girl she rejoins the herd but if she has a boy she stays away because the males will try to kill it in order to get rid of future competition. A few minutes later we see a dead baby hippo near the shore, presumably a male baby. 

Another crocodile is spotted floating near shore while two nervous storks watch it.

On our drive back to the bush lodge, Elephant John is still causing a traffic jam. I think he loves the attention. He is a local celebrity.

Back at the lodge, we shower, sort our laundry from the laundry service and I relax with a glass of chilled wine while working on the blog. I also try some Amarula which is an African liquor similar to Baileys.

After sunset, we have an outdoor four course supper with Bosco. Lions roar, hyenas yip and the ever present hippos do a mix between a grunt and a roar.

A big campfire is built in the middle of the yard.

We are accompanied by staff back to our cabin and fall asleep to the sounds of the animals and insects.

Monday: Off to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

We get to sleep in today, breakfast is at 6:45am. It is bright enough to head to the main yard unaccompanied . We leave Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge by 7:00am. It is a seven hour drive (with stops) to Bwindi.

To get to Bwindi we have the choice of a 260 km route on paved road or a 160 km route on dirt roads that passes through Kigezi Game Reserve. On Bosco’s recommendation we choose the more scenic dirt road so that we can see more animals. And that we do.

Almost immediately we pass elephants.

We see a herd of buffalo in the distance and then come across a Fisher Eagle and two Hammerkopt birds. They are all near a river and so close to us.

Nearby we see Forest Guinea Fowl. They are so cute.

There is a pond so covered in waterlilies that we think it’s land until hippo ears appear. Egrets sit on an island in the middle.

We pass an area of tall grass and trees that often tree climbing lions use to look for prey. Today we are out of luck.

We stop at a small camp in the middle of nowhere for a break. Uganda is very clean. Even in this far off- location the washrooms are spotless.

On our way again, we often pass numerous groups of baboons on the road. Click here for a short video.

Crossroads to Democratic Republic of Congo or Bwindi

Continuing on our way, we come to a crossroads; one leads to the Democratic Republic of Congo (21 km away) and the other leads to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

We start to travel up, up the lush green mountains to Bwindi. The road is very bumpy.

Travelling past fields of tea and banana plantations, we rise. We go through many little villages with the church being the focal point. Ugandans are very spiritual.

People are busy working in the bright sunlight; herding cows or goats, or working their fields and plants; picking tea leaves and drying coffee beans  in the sun infront of their homes.

Every corner we turn (and there are a lot of them), offers us views that leave us breathless. There are no guardrails along the dirt road but there are small banks before the sheer drops at the sides.

We continue going up and up and up. Children wave to us and yell hello as we pass.

Yes we could’ve taken the highway and saved time but this is soooo much better.

As we go higher the road narrows to single lane…almost a pathway. Can we get any higher?

Yes we can. The road gets steeper and blessedly, a bit wider. 

I have to go to the bathroom. The road is so bumpy and rutted that we are just inching along. We should be there in ten minutes.

Thirty minutes later we are still driving. Bosco asks if this is the worst road we have ever been on. “Yes. I have never been on a road this bad for this long but it has the best views,” John replies.

Twenty minutes later we arrive at our accommodations at Ruhija Gorilla Friends camp. We are shown to our tent which has its own bathroom and shower and I immediately use the facilities. My body is buzzing from hours of bouncing and swaying on the dirt roads. The tent has a balcony with a wonderful view over the forested hills and valleys.

Walking around the Village of Ruhija

We spend a relaxed afternoon and take a walk through the lively one road village of Ruhija. The views looking down in the valley are lovely. Pigs, cows and goats wander freely. There are little shops and even a beauty “saloon”.

We meet Florida who works at the orphanage in the village. We walk together and chat. She informs us that more people than usual are out and about because they are just coming back from the funeral of a 95 year old lady.

We meet most of the children from the orphanage.Click here for a short video.

We head back to the camp for supper and an early night to bed. Tomorrow is our gorilla trekking day when we hopefully get to see endangered Mountain Gorillas. I am excited and nervous. I am worried that I might not be able to manage the steep trek. I hope I can sleep.