Murchison Falls National Park

So it was all a bit impromptu, but I decided to got to Murchison Falls this weekend with some of my friends from the office. Murchison Falls is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Uganda (probably second only to Bwindi Impenetrable forest), and I was so devastated that I left Uganda last time having not yet been there.

The National Park is built up around the falls and hosts elephants, giraffes, lions, Ugandan kobs, waterbuck. buffaloes, hippos and crocodiles. In the 1960s this was Uganda's best and most national park, attracting tourism from all over the world. Unfortunately political disruption and hunger later led troops and poachers to wipe out a vast majority of the game in the park, and animals numbers nowadays are much less dense.

So it was all left to the last minute and unfortunately, we couldn't secure any accommodation within the Park itself! We had to settle for staying at Masindi Hotel instead.

At first I was disappointed... until I found out that the Queen has stayed there!!! And Ernest Hemingway!! Oh and Katherine Hepburn when she filmed The African Queen. So then I found the accommodation quite suitable.

Masindi Hotel

We set off on Saturday morning and the roads to Masinda were pretty good. Through the park though, not so much (as you'd expect!) , Just look at the roadsign! Fortunately this didn't happen to us!

On Saturday afternoon we took a river cruise along the Nile to the base of the falls. We saw lots of game! Elephants, Hippos, Crocodile and Buffalo. It was so hot. I wish I knew the temperature, but it was the kind of heat when you have to breath with shallow breathes.

In the evening we had dinner at the Masindi Hotel. I had Fish & Chips. I think it's probably what Lizzy would have ordered!

Sunday morning, we caught the ferry to Paraa and then took a game drive. The park was so busy that there were no game wardens available so we just drove around aimlessly for a while. We saw some Giraffes, and I was thrilled, because these were the first ones that I had seen in Uganda. But no lions!

In the afternoon we went to the top of the falls. I spent the entire time there terrifies of the tsetse flies that were buzzing round waiting to bite me. They land on your clothes and then bite you, hard. I spent the whole panicking that I could hear buzzing.
It was so beautiful at the falls. They have been described as the most spectacular thing to happen to thee Nile along its 6700km length, and they certainly are exquisite! The noise is incredible, and I got soaked by the spray!