MRJ Does Uganda - a travel blog

[MRJ]

Introduction

It is now just over a decade since @Hix started his “Hix Does Uganda” blog. I’m visiting Uganda this February for a 25-day tour, so thought I’d also write a blog about my experiences, and name it in honour of Hix’s blog.

I have visited Africa one before – a brief trip to attend a wedding, which we followed with four nights at Chobe National Park in Botswana. I left a report of that visit here. They say Africa gets under your skin and I certainly felt that I had to return after that experience. I chose Uganda because of the wide diversity of habitats in a small country, the incredible biodiversity – 1065 recorded bird species to start with – and it is well set up for wildlife tourism.

My plan in this blog is to write about the experience, and so will include highlight animals but will record the species seen in the Zoo Chat Big Year 2023 thread. I do plan to attach a list of all observations after I return. Initially I will include a couple of posts about the planning process to this point.

 

[Coelacanth18]

They say Africa gets under your skin and I certainly felt that I had to return after that experience.

Well put! It's been over 4 years since I was there and I probably still think about some thing or experience from there at least every couple or few days. Even with the long list of places I'd like to travel to, a return is still very high in my priorities.

I'm very excited to read this I've always wondered if I should have written down and shared much more of my own experiences there, it would be easier to reminisce with clarity. I hope that's what you find by doing the opposite of me - having forethought

 

[snowleopard]

ZooChat is on a real upswing and here's another thread to look forward to. Excellent!

 

[Hix]

Introduction

It is now just over a decade since @Hix started his “Hix Does Uganda” blog.

Actually, it's now just under a decade - I started the write up in July and travelled in August/September 2013.

But I'm glad you're going and I look forward to reading your blog!



Hix

 

[MRJ]

I'm very excited to read this I've always wondered if I should have written down and shared much more of my own experiences there, it would be easier to reminisce with clarity. I hope that's what you find by doing the opposite of me - having forethought

I/m certainly hoping that is how it works out. We shall see...

 

[MRJ]

Actually, it's now just under a decade - I started the write up in July and travelled in August/September 2013.

But I'm glad you're going and I look forward to reading your blog!



Hix

I thought the same then when I went back to check it I must have misread it.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

ZooChat is on a real upswing and here's another thread to look forward to. Excellent!

He's started the thread a fortnight too early to benefit from the fact it will doubtless be one of the best of the coming year, though

 

[lintworm]

He's started the thread a fortnight too early to benefit from the fact it will doubtless be one of the best of the coming year, though

I feel the rules need an update then, as nominating for this year has already closed, and not having a single opportunity doesn't feel fair @pachyderm pro

 

[pachyderm pro]

I feel the rules need an update then, as nominating for this year has already closed, and not having a single opportunity doesn't feel fair @pachyderm pro

I agree. Like @snowleopard just said a few posts ago, a lot of quality content is being produced on ZooChat right now and it's not fair for certain threads to miss out based on timing. So I'll amend one of the rules: any thread created after the nomination period (December 15th) will be eligible for the following years competition. I will institute that officially during the 2023 Thread of the Year vote, so this one will indeed be eligible.

By the way, really looking forward to reading this report and seeing any wildlife photos you're able to take. Safe travels!

 

[MRJ]

Birth of a Life List

Returning from southern Africa in March 2018 two things happened. Firstly, I set up a spread sheet to record my sightings, not only from Africa but also from a trip to Komodo the previous year. Soon I was scouring old photos so I could add animals from past trips. Secondly, I started looking for opportunities to add wildlife watching to forthcoming trips as well as opportunities closer to home. I had a Life List and I was going to use it.

It was not too long until thoughts of returning to Africa started to form. I had joined mammalwatching.com, I think first hearing about it on this site, and was soon engrossed in the many trip reports that make up this site. It became clear that Uganda would make an excellent destination.

However I was forming a list of "excellent destinations" and I decided on a plan, I would do a "big trip" once a year, starting with Sri Lanka in 2020 and followed by Uganda in 2021, then somewhere in the Neotropics in 2022 and so on. I did get to Sri Lanka in February 2020 and it is a wonderful wildlife destination. If you want to get a flavour of my experiences you can read my postings in the Zoochat Big Year 2020 starting here.

And in the meantime a wildlife photo - a scene from Sri Lanka

 

[Hix]

Birth of a Life List

Returning from southern Africa in March 2018 two things happened. Firstly, I set up a spread sheet to record my sightings, not only from Africa but also from a trip to Komodo the previous year. Soon I was scouring old photos so I could add animals from past trips.

If you're interested, I have a spreadsheet for Uganda I could email you.



Hix

 

[MRJ]

If you're interested, I have a spreadsheet for Uganda I could email you.



Hix

Yes, I'd love to see it! Will PM

 

[MRJ]

And COVID arrives

We started hearing about COVID in early 2020. It struck home when boarding the flight to Sri Lanka when confronted with all the flight attendants wearing masks, and on arrival at Colombo airport we had to march past a thermal camera. Things were still fairly normal when we got back to Australia but it did not take long to change. Within a couple of weeks borders were closed and a shut-down imposed. Moonlit Sanctuary was of course closed to visitors. Suddenly there was ample time to read trip reports, tour company web pages and watch YouTube videos. Slowly a clear picture of my options formed.

It is possible to self-drive in Uganda and I came across several trip reports where people did just that. There are even camping grounds in some National Parks. Car hire can also be quite economical if you are prepared to take, say, a 10-year-old RAV-4, as the people writing one trip report did. However, that was not for me, as I would have to do the driving and would be watching the road rather than looking for wildlife. Many roads are also not in good condition and services scarce, and I would hate to have to deal with the logistical problems that a breakdown or accident would present.

Uganda does have a comprehensive if chaotic public transport network, but I don’t know how well wildlife areas are served. Then there is the question of what you do when you get there. Walking around Queen Elizabeth National Park checking trees for tree-climbing lions does not sound like a viable option. Not surprisingly I have not read any reports of tours where public transport was used.

So that leaves guided tours. Go online and you will find an almost limitless number of “safari” options, some as short as four days, a day for gorilla trekking, a day for Queen Elizabeth NP, and two days to get there and back. Even if a safari with a suitable route and sufficient length was available, I was not particularly keen. My experience in Botswana indicated the average safari customer was really only interested in larger mammals. One German even expressed total disinterest in antelope, referring to them as deer. It was obvious even to me that there was a level of frustration with my safari partners in my interest in birds, and I hate to think how it would have gone over a couple of weeks rather than a couple of hours.

Another option would be to join one of the many birding tours that visit Uganda. While this would guarantee lots of birds it would also mean that other animals were likely to be largely ignored. They also tend to be quite expensive and mean you end up travelling with half a dozen strangers, which could be great but also might be terrible, especially if they were the type of birder who goes tick, what next?

During this time, I discovered an ad for Harrier Tours on the Mammalwatching.com website. The Harrier Tours website has a “Primates and Birds” tour that seemed to strike a better balance, at what seemed a reasonable cost. About the middle of the year, I contacted the proprietor of Harrier Tours to discuss options.

Some people even think antelope are boring... (Greater kudu, Chobe National Park. Botswana)

 

[MRJ]

The Booking the Tour Saga

Picking a tour company, you also have to be happy with the people involved. I was impressed with the proprietor of Harrier Tours, Harriet Kemigisha. One of the reasons she started the company was to encourage female bird guides, as a way of empowering women in a country that is still very conservative about gender roles. She also supports female-based charities, the retraining of reformed poachers and works to assist with conservation within Uganda. Knowing all this I first contacted Harriot in July 2020.

We discussed the options and she produced a tour itinerary based on the “Birds and Primates” tour. The route was basically a triangle, from Entebbe west to Murchison Falls National Park, heading down following the Albertine Rift and the DCR border, then back to Entebbe. Most tours to Uganda basically follow this route, the main differences being the number and length of stops in different habitats.

Uganda has two dry seasons, one in January-February and the second mid-year. I wanted to go in February as this is a quieter time at Moonlit. I think Harriet was quite pleased with this as I presume her busy time is mid-year during traditional summer holidays in Europe and North America. I explained that I doubted Australia would be open to international travel in February 2021 but hoped I could travel in 2022.

Harriet asked for a small deposit, to assist in keeping her office open. I was happy to oblige as my feeling was, we had to support good operators in a time like that or else they would not be around when we wanted to use them. I know from personal experience that a lot of good tourism companies did not make through COVID.

Come February 2021 Harriet contacted me to book for 2022. Wherever possible she likes to book 12 months in advance as activities like gorilla trekking often book out. At the time we were still in the depths of lockdowns and I thought there was a good possibility I may not be able to leave the country at that time. We agreed to defer to February 2023. As it happens, I could have gone in February 2022 but the announcement opening the borders was only made a few weeks prior.

By the start of 2022 a number of countries had already opened up and several trip reports had appeared on Mammalwatching.com of trips to Uganda using Harrier Tours, including one by our own @Giant Eland . They were all very complimentary about Harriet and her team. I guess COVID has changed me in that I want to make the most of every opportunity and was also conscious of the carbon footprint of my flights. All up I decided it would be better to make a longer trip of it and asked Harriet for a 25-day itinerary.

Harriet came back with an itinerary that added a leg heading north up the east side of Uganda, accessing drier habitats and a suite of species not seen in other parts of the country, as well as trekking for golden monkeys in the south. We would be visiting the north-east and the south-west corners of Uganda and every important habitat.

Transport is to be via modified Land-cruiser. There are three of us in our group, myself, my friend Graeme (who may be known to old zoo hands here as the former Curator at Taronga) and my niece Indigo. My wife was going to come on this trip but sadly a medical condition means she will not be able, so Indigo is standing in. Everyone will have a window seat (up to four passengers can be accommodated). The roof pops up so we can stand and take photos from that position when on game drives. Some operators use mini-buses, especially with larger groups. This may limit where they can go, especially in wet weather. I also read of one woman who was stuck with a window which could not open, meaning she had to take photos through glass.

This is not a cheap trip, especially when compared with what is possible in Asia. However, when the fees for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking are deducted the cost per day per person is less than half what a major American bird tour company charges, and they have up to eight people in their groups. Per day it is also roughly equivalent to what I have often been charged for a night in three-star hotels in the USA. It is all inclusive, including meals, accommodation, transport and guiding. So, I feel it is good value.


Transport will NOT be like these open sided vehicles common in southern Africa. I still don't know why lions don't just see them as rolling smorgasbords. (Chobe NP, Botswana)

 

[MRJ]

Is it a "Safari?

Are we going on safari? The word “safari” gets overused and seems a little naff, and I have been simply calling our trip a tour to date.

Upon investigation, it turns out the word has a long history. It is in fact a Swahili word meaning “journey” and seems to have originated from the Arab noun “safar” meaning journey, travel or trip. The Swahili use can be applied to any journey, even a bus trip between cities.

Safari entered the English language in the late 1850’s to describe a journey to observe or hunt wild animals. It was first used in this context by the explorer Richard Burton who explored what is now western Tanzania, and was the first European (with his companion Speke) to reach the Rift Valley lakes.

Our trip is certainly a journey, and the purpose is to observe wild animals, so I am now happy to describe it as a safari.


Many "safari companies" base their advertising on the Big Five, lion, leopard, bush elephant, buffalo and black rhinoceros. They were reputed to be the most dangerous animals that 19th century hunters on foot could encounter. While we are likely to see the first four, they are not what we are basing our safari on. (African buffalo, Chobe NP, Botswana)

 

[MRJ]

The Safari Itinerary

As Zoochat does not handle tables well I've attached a PDF of the schedule at the bottom. We leave Melbourne on the 27th and arrive in Entebbe, Uganda on the 28th of January.

Habitats are taken from “Habitats of the World” by Campbell, Berhrens, Hesse and Chaon. This is a great book specifically written for the amateur observer and should be in the library of all wildlife watchers.

Treks are conducted by the Ugandan Wildlife Authority and cost wise are the largest single cost after air fares. I’ve got no problem with this as it supports wildlife conservation throughout Uganda. It is possible that the species involved may be sighted at other times, however the treks virtually guarantee it. The boat cruises are short (half-day maximum) excursions to look mostly for waterbirds.

We arrive at Entebbe Airport about 2.30 in the afternoon. I can’t imagine there will be a lot of time after we get through customs and check in to our accommodation for wildlife watching, except to explore around our hotel. I’ll be looking for an early night and an early morning to get attuned to the local time zone.

Day 1 does not have any set activities so as to allow us to rest after the flights and to acclimatize. I’m sure though that we will get to the famous Entebbe Botanic Gardens, which has an Ebird bird list of 471 species itself.

We leave on safari early on day 2, and hopefully see one of the most amazing birds in the world, the Shoebill, that morning. We return late on day 25 for departure the next day. Our flight leaves about 4.30pm so while most of the afternoon that day will be spent at the airport, we will have the morning free. I can’t imagine we will be adding much wildlife that day, but who knows!


Zebras are iconic African safari animals, but are only possible in Uganda in the north-east or at the Mburo Lake National Park. (Plains zebras, Chobe NP, Botswana)

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

I’ve done most of these sites; you’ll have a truly fantastic trip. The quality of “safari” accommodation pre COVID was superb and underused, and the birding and mammal watching superb.

 

[MRJ]

I’ve done most of these sites; you’ll have a truly fantastic trip. The quality of “safari” accommodation pre COVID was superb and underused, and the birding and mammal watching superb.

Thank goodness! No, seriously, that is what I hope and what I expect. It is great to get it confirmed.

 

[Hix]

And I can second those comments. You will love it!

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

Two birding thoughts, are you going to look for African Green Broadbill, and Green-breasted Pitta? Both well worth seeing, but I suspect your timing may be wrong.