Our tented cabin at the Nile Safari Lodge was... rustic. There were candles in the room for use during the hours that the generator was not running. The generator was on for an hour in the morning and three hours at night.
The tented cabin was up on stilts with a wonderful view of the Nile River. At night we were serenaded by frogs and other animals until we drifted off to sleep.
The showers at the Nile Safari Lodge were... rustic. We told the staff what time we wanted to shower, and they would make it so.
They hauled water to the kitchen, boiled it, and carried it to our tent. They climbed the ladder strategically placed outside our bathroom and filled the bucket on the roof with the heated water. When the bucket was empty, our shower was over.
There are some things people add to their "bucket list" that just can't be explained. I could say that it is because I am a science geek and that insects is one of the topics I have passionately taught for many years, but the reality is that I am simply fascinated by the idea that these beetles create the perfect environment for their eggs that also provides nourishment for the hatching larvae by using the natural resources provided by their environment. How cool is that?
Murchison Falls is only 23 feet wide and about 140 feet tall, but large amounts of water from the Nile River are squeezed through this narrow gap very rapidly making a spectacular display that fills the air with spray and emits a mighty roar. We enjoyed the view as we hiked around at the top of the falls.
Our lodge was just across the river from the National Park, so we began our morning with a short ferry ride across the river.
As we got off the boat, there were several young men sitting under a tree playing music on an adungu which is an arched harp common to native tribes of northern Uganda. Baboons were scurrying about in the background under the sausage trees and the whole scene was somewhat delightfully surreal.
We saw a delightful interaction between a mother baboon and her baby. The music in the background is from the adungu, an arched harp common to native tribes of northern Uganda.
Our game drive vehicle had a pop top so we could hang our heads out, watch the scenery go by, feel the wind in our hair, and photograph the animals. Most of the time the dusty, bumpy roads were wide open. This morning, however, one rather large and very grumpy elephant decided that he owned the road.
He came out of the trees and started to come at our car rather rapidly. Jason, our guide, rapidly put the vehicle in reverse and we backed up a safe distance. Every time we tried to move past, the elephant would begin to charge and we had to retreat.
Soon another vehicle came and then two more. We watched as they each experienced the same advance and then retreat as the elephant held his ground. The show went on for about 30 minutes before the elephant finally wandered back into the trees and we could safely pass.
The Ugandan kob was ubiquitous as we drove through the national park. They look very much like impalas, but they have a white throat patch, eye ring, and inner ear. We saw large herds grazing throughout the savanna areas of Uganda and Uganda has a picture of the kob on its coat of arms.
Waterbuck are another savanna animal that grazes on grass. They are, however, very dependent on water and generally are found around lakes or rivers.
Birds often hang around by the waterbucks because as the bucks walk through the grass, they stir up the insects and provide the birds with an easy meal.
