Uganda: 20 days discovering authenticity (page 4 of 9)

In East Africa and maybe elsewhere, tourists throw cans at lions that aren't active enough

I hadn't even imagined someone could think of something like that 🏴‍☠️

Happy New Year 2020 to everyone!

A little stroll through Bigodi Swamp:

The next day, a walk in the Rwenzori Mountains:

























These chameleons are simply stunning, and I was really hoping to get the chance to see them. 🙂

After a long journey, here we are in Ziwa:

On foot, we set off in search of rhinos—it's impressive because they're so close.



The next morning, we wake up at dawn to search for the shoebill.



We happily wade through 30 cm of water 😉.





There it is 🙂!



Then, a little canoe trip.









Another amazing visit. The day continues with the journey to Murchison Park.

The shoebill is magnificent! Did you see it at the Ziwa Sanctuary?

Hey Régis,

Among other places, you can see them in the Mabamwa Swamps. I talk about it here https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=8250053;a=8250053

Personally, we didn’t find the Ziwa Reserve a must-see. It was nice to be able to observe the rhinos on foot, but that’s about it.

Love the photos of the different monkeys!👍 Carmen

Ziwa is still a rhino sanctuary—there probably weren’t any left in Uganda. I don’t have anything against it. There’s Khama Rhino in Botswana and Tsavo with its rhino enclosure, but honestly, those are set up entirely for show. Seeing multiple rhinos at once hardly exists anymore except in Kruger, Etosha, or game ranches. So, you’ve got to put your luck into perspective.

Hi Carmen,

Mabamwa Swamps.

I knew about it, but I didn’t know this spot for observing them.

these people have always coexisted, so what’s the problem—it’s not wild enough?

Yes, it was at Ziwa—that’s why we went there, since we couldn’t make it to Mabamwa Swamps. As for rhinos, they’ve completely disappeared from Uganda, and they’re hoping to reintroduce them gradually.

It’s definitely not a must-see visit, but for those who’d like to spot this beautiful bird, it can be a good alternative. Just FYI, we also saw it in Murchison.

I agree, the visit isn’t a must-do, but for us it was a great chance to spot the shoebill, and the sunrise walk to see it was really lovely (way more interesting than the rhinos, in the end)! Instead of stopping in Hoima (where, according to our guide, there’s not much to do), we took this little detour before heading to Murchison. Thanks! The monkeys at Bigodi were super photogenic—we could’ve spent hours watching them… !🙂

What beautiful observations, Delphine! 😊 I think chameleons are really stunning, but even though I know the shoebill is rare, I don’t find it very attractive 😅

Here we go again 😎. Your red-tailed monkey (which we can’t see) is so cute:



The chameleons are amazing too!

I’d hesitated about spending one night at Ziwa on the way to MFNP (didn’t think of going there on the way back instead of stopping in Hoima 🏴‍☠️), but I thought the chances of seeing a shoebill were really slim—turns out, they’re not that bad... or maybe you just got lucky with sightings 😉. I’m a bit like Isabelle—I think they’re ugly, but they’re rare (kind of like brown hyenas 😇). Muriel

Hi Delphine,

A huge thank you for this super detailed Uganda travel journal with such beautiful photos. I already really wanted to visit the country, but now it’s going to become an obsession!

Best wishes for 2020,

I think it's ugly,

I wouldn’t say that—it’s not exactly elegant, but you’re impressed by this beast from another era (a bit like rhinos or crocs). It’s huge (about 1 to 1.2 meters tall), and when it looks at you, you don’t dare "provoke" it 😉

Probably "in real life," it doesn’t have the same impact... In photos, you don’t really get a sense of the size. Plus, there’s the mythical side to it... Muriel

even the baby birds aren't that cute

Hey! Well, like Muriel, I didn’t think the shoebill was that big 😊 Honestly, I’ve never been too interested in that animal 😅 But yeah, it must be impressive, and maybe it’s actually worth going to see it 🤔

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your comments 🙂.

True, you can’t really call the shoebill "beautiful," but it’s fascinating, and personally, I really wanted to see one 😛. Apparently, the chances are good at Ziwa and Murchison depending on the time of year.

So here we are at Murchison Falls Park. The afternoon is spent on a cruise to the falls:





Our first giraffes 🙂. These are Rothschild’s giraffes, a subspecies found only in Uganda and Kenya.



The boat drops us off, and we continue the visit on foot to the top of the falls.









The cruise was really nice, but we preferred the one we did on the Kazinga Channel—way more animals in our opinion, though of course, that’s just our personal take 😉.