Lake Mburo

A while back we were talking about how we got to Uganda just over a month ago, and we still hadn’t experience an African safari yet. So on Saturday we went on a day trip to a local wildlife park. Lake Mburo National Park is in the western part of Uganda and only just an hour away from us here in Masksa. When we first got to the game part it was raining pretty hard. Considering the fact that our window shield wipers didn’t work and the rain was heavy, we still saw quite a few animals out and about. As we were driving into the park we saw packs of zebra, gazelle, water buck and even a lone monkey in a tree. I was super excited to finally get into the part if this was only the introduction to what the day held for us.

As the morning wore on, we observed the wildlife through the windows of the cab because of the never ending rain. Even just going to the bathroom had becoming an orchestrated production as everything and everyone was soaked from the rain. As we moved further into the park we saw more zebras and gazelle, and also saw some warthogs and even more monkeys. The best part was that within every pack of animals that we saw there were babies, including the baby monkey that we witnesses attempting to climb up the tree only to fall from his perch.

Finally the rain let off and we were able to venture out of the cab and see the park from the back of the truck. We had an amazing set up; we sat on foamies on top of the box in the back of the truck. From here you could see everything around you. It was an amazing experience just to be able to see the park from this point of view. If felt like we were a part of the Lion King movie.

After a few sketchy parts of the road (many of the roads were very muddy and partially washed out because of the heavy rain earlier in the day), we arrived at our lunch destination. The place was absolutely amazing. The lodge was carved into the side of the mountain, and you could see over the entire park. The view was breathtaking. You could see the entire savannah, including a watering hole that we could see animals such as zebra and warthogs grazing at. The food was amazing (a three course meal), but the best part was that we got the use of the lodge’s pool. The edge of the pool hung over the edge of the side of the mountain and it looked as if it dropped off the side and from here you could enjoy every part of the view.

On the way out of the park we ran into another couple whose driver had gotten their vehicle stuck in the mud. So after a failed attempt to pull them out of the mud, we ended up taking them to the main gate where they had to call a tractor to pull their van out. The day was full of so many different things. All in all, this was an amazing way to be introduced into the world of Ugandan Safaris. I can’t wait until we can more of these trips and see the amazing landscapes and animals.

LAKE MBURU NATIONAL PARK - October 22