Elephant feeding in Swamp
A stop-over in-between other national parks
We travelled through the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) on two different occasions. Once, we drove through from Kibale National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, another time we drove through to Mgahinga National Park. On both occasions, I didn’t understand why QENP failed to seduce me as other Ugandan parks had. In retrospect, I understand that my travel partner had everything to do with my lacklustre experiences. He was preoccupied by his hard-kept secrets at home, hardly present with me at all. Months later, I understand that his emotional discontentment affected my entire holiday, something like the emotional equivalent of second-hand smoke polluting your personal space while your trying to enjoy the flavors and aromas of a fantastic meal.
Not all holidays are joyful.
The ecosystems I enjoyed in QENP:
Kazinga Channel connecting Lakes Edward and George
Grasslands
Swamps
Tropical rainforests
Kyambura Gorge
Palm Nut Vulture perched on Euphorbia or Candlabra Tree
Kazinga Channel
We followed the travel guide’s advice and boated on the Kazinga Channel during our first visit to QENP. Birding from a boat is always a great perspective, but I wouldn’t say that I would recommend paying for this excursion.
African Skimmers, Kazinga Channel boatride
Wildlife sightings along the banks of the Kazinga Channel were scarce
Kazinga Channel
Kyambura Gorge
Lake George
On our second visit I insisted that we trek with chimpanzees in the Kyambura Gorge. As we descended the gorge through the dense tropical forest with our guide, we heard elephants trumpeting down below. By the end of the afternoon we had crossed the gorge, reemerging on the other side only to see elephants chasing chimpanzees from a fig tree on the plains. I never imagined we would see chimpanzees in the grasslands, an absolutely stunning sighting. The Kyambura Gorge hike was environmentally different and much more difficult physically than chimpanzee trekking in Kibale NP. I certainly recommend treking chimps in the Kyambura Gorge!
Kyambura Gorge
Chimpanzees on the savannah