Holy Freaking Crap!

I have to thank Dan for the title of this post. We were making the long journey back from Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda on the border of the Congo, thinking of a way to describe the 4 days of safari there. As you can see Dan's idea won.

We made the journey of about 300 miles to the southwest crossing the equator on the way, in a van that is retrofitted especially for safaris. The roads there are some of the craziest things I have seen. The "disorder" of traffic at low speed in the city is not so bad. The disorder once you get out where people drive fast is at the least scary, then at knee deep potholes.

I can't think of a way to describe the country in comparison to anywhere in the US. Parts are dry and others are so lush with tea and bananas growing on the side of the hills. We arrived at our camp called Jacana Safari Lodge. It was beautiful, good food, great wait staff etc. That night was time for the first game drive.

In the US we cannot imagine the amount of wild animals running around. Maybe Yellowstone can compare, but the amout of "DLT's" (Deer Like Things) in type and number is unreal! So I will just summarize what i saw:

DLT's (thousands and thousands of them...)
-Kob (cute)
-Topi (awkward)
-Bush Buck (one killed - more on this later)
-Water Buck (huge)
Warthogs (super cute aka Pumba)
Elephants (amazing - more than you could ever see in a zoo)
Leopards (killers)
Lions (saw two different prides)
Hippos (huge and scary)
Cape Buffalo (huge and mean)
Zebra (but not in the park)
Monkeys
-Colobus Monkey
-Olive Baboon
-Chimpanzee
-Vervet Monkey
Birds
-Vultures and Eagles (tons)
-Guineafowl (cutest bird ever)
-...and many more!

The coolest part of the trip was the saddest and the most interesting at the same time. Since the park was busy the guide decided that it would be best for us to take a scenic drive where there would be less people. The park is situated in a dormant volcanic zone where there are many remnant craters. Beautiful at the very least, but we got lucky in the terms of a safari.

Driving up the road we saw a leopard cross, this is actually our second sighting which is also very rare. We noticed that it was eyeing something in the grass and making noise. We stayed to watch, we knew it was hunting but we really couldn't see what it was. Then we waited...forty minutes of the leopard slowly moving hiding its noise with the breeze, glancing back at the van every once in a while annoyed with our presence. All of the sudden, POUNCE! Then some of the most horrible noises you have heard in your life. We couldn't see everything that was happening but you could tell the leopard was winning. A female bush buck ran for her life, there was kicking for life and then nothing. When we drove up closer there it was, the leopard with a male bush buck in its mouth. The leopard was physically tired, breathing heavily and the bushbuck was very dead. Again sad, but beautiful at the same time, ohhh the circle of life.


Today we are in Kampala again for and tomorrow east to Jinja and the source of the Nile and then to Mbale to see some friends and Sipi Falls.