The Essence of the Journey!

Queen Elizabeth National Park – Uganda

Blog & Pictures by Danica de Freitas (9)

 

It turned into a bit of a night drive (as one of the trailer’s springs broke) upon arrival. The village-filled landscape changed to grass so long on the side of the road we couldn’t see over it. A hyena ran away with a large bone and a large python ventured out of his stalky world to cross the road flicking his tongue in greeting.

 

When we reached the entrance gate one of the rangers accompanied us to the Ishasha Campsite, telling us all about the animals and we found out that Queen Elizabeth hosts more than 400 species of birds and five resident prides of tree climbing lions (which we never saw) and the ranger was obviously very proud of that fact. Another thing was that within the parks borders reside some 6000 elephant, sadly often poached if they cross the river (that we camped alongside) into the Congo.

 

Chattering cries led me to my first sighting of red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus

 ascanius) early the following morning. Their twitching tails were much easier to see than the monkeys themselves which overall stayed much more still while eating figs.

When they decided to switch branches their back legs boosted them and their illuminated tails stayed stiff.

 

Once we had finished drinking our tea we hopped into the car and set off on a game drive hoping for the best. The wheels kept turning for at least an hour while Nicolai and I busied ourselves with schoolwork when Mom noticed a male antelope’s head

poking out of the grass. It was most definitely not an impala and was too big for a duiker. I just happened to open the mammal book on the correct page and read out the name “kob” to the rest of the family. He had a white patch on the underside of his throat, a coarse coat and magnificent horns. We soon found out that the kob is Uganda’s national animal and saw a herd of about 200 shortly after that first sighting.

 

Topis kept a lookout on top of the termite mounds and buffaloes barged each other out of the way trying to get to an already overcrowded mudhole. Small, swampy waterholes were a lively attraction for a series of waterbirds including Greater Jacanas and their chicks, Hamerkops, Egrets and Herons while a Black-headed Gonolek (a special of the area) was usually present perched on the shaggy bushes singing merrily above the pools.

 

Returning to camp we found our lush, campsite meadow full of butterflies pollinating microscopic flowers and our resident pod of hippos had gathered on the stony sandbank in the centre of the river where they were socially interacting with naps, short swims, nudges and yawns.

 

 

“Off to the Lake Edward Flats,” said Dad at 2pm where there was apparently the best game-viewing in the entire park. Defassa waterbuck, several herds of kob and more buffalo were thus added to our list. Warthogs trotted stealthily away when they heard the car, young piglets trailing behind.

 

The following morning we made our way through a beautiful forested area up to the northern section of the park, crossing a bridge over the Kazinga Channel where Lake George joins Lake Edward. A huge fire across the grassland made me really upset especially when I saw a herd of elephant just across the road and wondered what would happen to them. Dad told me about block-burning but I hated the idea. What about the ground-nesting birds, warthogs’ burrows and predator’s cubs hidden in the grass?

 

We drove in to the barren Myewa Campsite surrounded with flowering candelabras and overlooking the larger Lake Edward. On the opposite bank thousands of Marabou Storks and massive congregations of elephant, waterbuck and buffalo were drinking. A little Bwamba dark form Zebra Mouse (Lemniscus striatus) scurried out to greet us.

 

Dad and Nicolai unusually were the first ones awake and had already seen a warthog and three waterbuck come to drink at one of the puddles left by the night before’s storm. I followed their tracks around a few bushes, found them in a clearing and edged closer and closer. I managed to get within 2m from them then turned my attention to the warthog. He was rolling to his heart’s content in the sloppy mudpool which was of no interest to any other animal, except two female warthogs passing through the area. A good old body-scratch around the tap and he went away to look for some bulbs or more places to satisfy his itchy behind. Only one of the other warthoga wanted a mudbath while the other kept oinking, calling her I suppose for she was soon up on her feet but she couldn’t resist digging up some loose sand with her snout to coat her mud.

 

After our last game drive up the lava flow hills surrounding the beautiful Crater Lakes, the Marabou Stork that had been patrolling since dawn watched us leave with sad eyes and took to the sky.