Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Uganda's National Park: The Queen Elizabeth

It is going to be 4 years since we went to Uganda, July 2008, our second destination in Africa in the south hemisphere. Our first destination was Botswana the year before and it made our trip: Kalahari, Okawango (Moremi), Savuti, Chobe river, Victoria Falls, all a "must-see".
This time we were thinking about the high mountains of central Africa. First option was Kilimanjaro, but we couldn't; so we thought about the Mountains of the Moon. We tried to arrange a hiking up to those mountains but we didn't have enough days for it. Finally we chose Uganda because all its highlitghted places: Virunga NP, Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Rwenzori Mountains, Lake Victoria and Queen Elizabeth Park.
We went by our own with a driver and the Bradt guide under the arm. We entered the Q.E.N.P. by Ishasha where the climbing lions live, crossing tea plantations. Unfortunately, we weren't lucky and we couldn't enjoy the beauty of these feline although we saw a variety of animals: buffalos, impalas, monkeys, elephants, antelopes, and the screams of hippos in the river... When we arrived to the camp, we met a dutch guy who showed us the climbing lions on his videocamera. That's safari, luck.
We headed towards our cottage, typical round house with three beds with mosquito net and a oil lamp. The accomodation was fair for our budget and the toilettes I don't remember, but when you are in safari...
Next day we headed to Mweya, where the Q.E.N.P. headquarters are. The trip was a tough one due to the condition of the track. It rained and the dirt road was very muddy. Finally we arrived Mweya. We couldn´t afford the Mweya Safari Lodge, but it looked great. Actually we went there for a delicious dinner and for a whisky on the rocks, all of it for a very reasonable price. If I remember well, the whisky was 2 euros. We lodged at the Mweya Hostel which was simply ok, just for sleeping. That afternoon we took the boat that goes along the Kazinga channel, an extremely recommended activity. We watched lots of animals: hippos, buffalos, elephants, cocodriles, antelopes and, over all, birds, lot of them, it was a great spectacle. And the sunset over the Lake Edward, superb.
Next day, we took a loop around the Q.E.N.P. with no luck again, no felines sighted. We exited the park and we headed towards the close Kyambura Gorge where we enjoyed watching the chimpances jumping from tree to tree and the hippos bathing. And we left behind the Q.E.N.P. stopping at the equator line enjoying a fresh Nile Special.

Conclusion: we enjoyed being at Q.E.N.P. although we weren't lucky with felines. It is a very easy-to-handle park.
Here you can take a look of one of my videos there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_aDSUC6vk

My visit to QENP was brief but very enjoyable, fairly good game viewing in an exceptional setting.

My visit to the QENP began early, leaving Kasese early in the morning before crossing the equator on the way. We drove into the Park area along a tar road, turning off the For Portal-Katunguru road toward Katwe, passing the Nyamayuka crate lake. Further on, we turned off at the QENP entrance, where I paid US$30 to enter, comparable wth many other countries. Driving along the dirt road, we headed for Mweya Safari Lodge where we had arranged to meet with friends. Along the way we saw waterbuck, buffalo, elephant and warthog. The setting is beautiful, overlooking a lake and channel, where large herds of elephants and buffalo can be seen, along with various antelope. Lunch & drinks were very pleasant but pricey (not too surprising), although the staff were very good and friendly. We took a different route out, along Leopard Trail and Leopard Loop (only suitable for 4 wheel drive) before heading onto the tar road back to Kasese. We saw as much game from the main road (before the equator) as inside the park itself, includng herds crossing in places. Heading back to Kampala next day we drove along the tar road and up to a couple of viewing areas overlooking the QENP - stunning views, and baboons on the road. Next time I hope to spend more time at QENP, perhaps in a different part of the park.

Amazing Experience

My expections were pretty high, since I have always heard amazing things about QENP. And I must say I was not disappointed.

The day started in the best possible way: Reaching the main road of the park, we spotted a Hyena. As we were moving towards the park entrance, we also spotted elephants and crocodiles near Katunguru bridge.

But when we reached Kasenyi plains... Thatºs when the magic started.
Large herds of Ugandan Kob and buffalos were easily spotted. Waterbucks are also common in this area. Warthogs and hippos are abundant in QENP.
I was expecting to see a larger variety of herbivores, but it seems the park is a bit limited when it comes to that - no giraffes, zebras, etc.
The main gold for the morning was not achived, tho: Tracking lions and leopards.

Then we moved to Mweya so we could have lunch. The dense vegetation didn't allow us to see more than a few waterbucks and some baboons, but when we reached Mweya Lodge - which is indeed a lovely place - we could see the elephants on the other side of the lake. Warthogs are also around.

As we decided that Ishasha should be postponed (it was about to rain and our guide called another guide to check the situation in that sector - no lions were spotted in the morning), we came to the conclusion that we should go back to Kasenyi plains to track the big cats.

We drove for almost an hour when we finally spotted them: A lioness, with four cubs. After driving around, we were lucky enough to spot a few more lions.
But the best was yet to come. The leopard. We spotted her on top of a tree, with a warthog in her mouth. She climbed down, and we stood near her for more than one hour and a half. We watched her drinking water, cleaning herself, resting, anyway, a true lifetime experience.

All in all, I must say it was one of the best days in my life. I truly recommend this experience and this park to anyone.

Kyambura Gorge is amazing!

If you assess the park purely on the game drives, then it was very disappointing. There are only a few species that we saw: elephants, hippos, warthogs, buffalos, waterbucks and Ugandan kobs. However there are some activities which are excellent, making this a worthwhile destination:
1. Lion and leopard tracking with big cat research scientists. Thanks to the tracking collars we located 2 beautiful male lions, then 3 females and finally a female leopard. Going off road (since we had a ranger with us) made it even more fun!
2. Boat trip on Kazinga Channel is a wonderful way of seeing hippos, elephants and buffalos, plus water birds. Loved it.
3. Finally, the Kyambura Gorge. This place alone is worth the visit to this park. Rainforest in the middle of the savanna. The most beautiful forest I have ever been to. If you are lucky, you might find chimpanzees as well (I did not), but even without them the place is extraordinarily beautiful. You can see monkeys, birds, and the river is full of hippos.
Please keep in mind that there are about 40,000 people living in the park, and about 80,000 around the borders, so sometimes it does not feel like that you are in a national park.

Amazing classic safari lions are common as well as leopards

Amazing............. it was so good myaya is a must see place

it was amazing

classic safari destination with good variety of animals

Fantastic both for close up of wildlife and birdwatching

The boat safari as well as a jeep safari enabled me to see so many birds and lots of other animals. Absolutely brilliant place and super guides too.

Spotted hippos, elephants, lions, buffalo etc