Safari

We departed the Jesus House (together with driver Paul and passenger Eddie) on Wednesday morning at about 10am. We made our way north along Gulu Road for about 3 hours and then turned west onto Misindi Road for about an hour. After lunch at New Court View Hotel, we drove directly to Murchison Falls National Park (via a very picturesque dirt road full of pot holes and wildlife).

As we drove through the main gates of the National Park (about an hour and a half drive from Misindi) we were greeted by baboons. The drive from the main gate to the Nile River ferry also took about an hour and a half. We were again greeted by animals on our arrival - this time by water-hogs and hippos. The Nile River flows right through the Murchisin Falls National Park. Interestingly it is called the Victoria Nile where it is fed from Lake Victoria, the Albert Nile where it is fed from Lake Albert and then the White and Blue Nile as it travels north to Egypt. Paraa Resort is a few hundred metres from the eastern bank of the Victoria Nile.

After settling into our respective rooms, we met Eddie in the restaurant for a buffet dinner (with an amazing choice of food).

After an early night we awoke at 5.30am for our first safari drive. We saw giraffes, elephants, cobs, Cape buffalo, a lion, his lioness, lots of birds (including many crested cranes), a goanna look-alike and many Jackson antelopes.

After a late breakfast and a swim in the resort pool, we enjoyed a buffet lunch - again, with another amazing choice of dishes.

After applying liberal amounts of sunscreen and insect repellant, we boarded the 'African Queen', a double-story tour boat, which took us downstream to Murchison Waterfall. En route we were escorted by hippos, crocodiles and an amazing array of bird life (including weaver birds, kingfishers, saddle-billed storks, lilac-breasted rollers, carmine bee-eaters, scarlet- tuffed malachite sunbirds and eagles). The saddle-billed stork is especially impressive with its long beak featuring vibrant red, yellow and black, the colours of the Ugandan flag.

Eli won't forget the experience as Moses, the captain of the tour boat, let him steer for much of the journey up the Nile.

When we returned to the landing site for the 'African Queen' we were entertained by a handful of friendly baboons. They hopped onto the roof of Paul's car, poked their heads inside the sunroof and generally fooled around. To be honest, I think it's become a bit of a game for them as there were probably five baboons 'playing' on the roof of another nearby car, bending the aerial and pulling out the rubber from the windscreen wipers (I captured some of these antics on HD video). While it was all a bit of a joke, I'm sure it could easily become quite scary for an unsuspecting tourist.

On our return to Paraa Resort we enjoyed a buffet dinner, followed by two games of pool and another early night.

On Friday morning we set our alarm for a 5.15am start as we wanted to commence our safari drive at 5.45am to catch a little more of the darkness before dawn. Unfortunately as Hannah and I were up with diarrhea and vomiting during the night we didn't attend the morning safari drive.

When Sonia, Lydia, Eli and Eddie returned they kept talking about the leopard they saw lying in an Acacia tree. They each had a look through the binoculars and could explain the intricate pattern on its coat. They also saw a large herd of giraffes and Cape buffalos.

Following breakfast and a quick swim (for Lydia and Eli) we had a quick lunch before departing for home.

As we waited for the ferry to cross the Nile we were again entertained by a couple of baboons who harassed a school bus full of school girls. One baboon actually jumped up to an open window, made his way inside the bus, provoked about 50 girls to scream and stole a handbag. It was another reminder about the potential dangers of wild animals!

After crossing the Nile we drove to Misindi via the top of Murchison Waterfall - another amazing experience, although we did need to stop a few times on the way for me to vomit by the side of the bumpy road.

I'll write a separate blog about our return trip.

What an amazing few days - in hindsight we should have stayed a few more days. I'll recommend to Peter that he encourage future guests to stay for at least 4 or 5 days given the time and energy to get there!

In the visitors book at Paraa Lodge I wrote 'Praise God for His creation. The whole experience was inspiring and uplifting for the whole family'.

As the local Africans would say 'Thank you Jesus' for three wonderful days.