Robin's Adventures

There were many pied kingfishers living in areas around the Nile River. They were interesting to observe when they went fishing. They fly over the water, hover to get a fix on their prey, and then rapidly dive by plunging beak first into the water.

The shoebill is a tall stork-like bird with an interesting shoe shaped bill. It can hold very still for long periods of time when hunting and then strikes rapidly to catch its prey.

Yellow billed Storks and Grey Herons were also common along the Nile River

Lots of birds were hanging out near the water. We saw some Goliath Heron, some Cormorants, some African Jacana, and a Water Dikkop.

Steve arranged for us to go on a sunset cruise along the Nile. We watched the animals get ready for nightfall as the sun slowly began to sink.

Large flocks of water birds, such as egrets and cormorants, began to come in over the water and settle in trees along the shore. As the trees filled up, it looked very festive, like someone had hung holiday ornaments.

As we continued to meander down the river, we noticed that the baboons were also settling down for the night. Groups were getting comfortable in different trees near the shore.

When we arrived back at the Nile Safari Lodge, our guide was waiting for us by the waterfront with one of the lodge employees. They had cool washcloths waiting for us on a tray.

There was a charming outdoor dining area at the Nile Safari Lodge. The advantage of dining al fresco is that the small animals in the area provide the entertainment. During the day we often saw colorful African Rainbow Lizards basking in the sun.

In the evening we would hear, and sometimes see, the frogs that were so abundant along the river. There were also quite a few bats that hung out and as the sun set they would fly erratically through the air catching insects. In addition to providing entertainment, these guys also provided pest control by disposing of the insects. As I said before, it's the little things...

Off to the airstrip for yet another bush plane flight. The good news was that Robin's luggage had been located and was waiting for her at the airstrip. The bad news was that Steve's luggage had not yet been found. Fortunately, it would show up the next day and we were both very excited to have some clean clothes.

Our flight took us to Kibale National Park. We could see that the surrounding area had lots of small farms, especially fields of bananas, coffee, and tea.

We landed in a very bumpy grassy field that was surrounded by people. I asked the pilot what was up with the crowd. He explained that they don't often see airplanes, so when one comes in, many people show up to watch it.

We stayed at the Kyaninga Lodge in a stilted cabin overlooking a large lake in a collapsed volcanic crater.

One night after dinner, the staff of the lodge surprised us with an anniversary cake. We especially enjoyed the small flares in the cake.

This morning we set out on a chimpanzee trek so we could observe the chimps that live in the Kibale Forest. Along the way, if you looked closely, there were many different types of fungi and also a large white caterpillar.

We spent several hours trekking through the Kibale Forest finding and then observing the chimps. They spent most of their time up in the trees picking and eating the fruit. Each seemed to have its own personality and they were all very expressive.