Zinta and Tim suggested we join them on their trip to Murchison Falls National Park in the north-east of Uganda. This is the place where the Victoria Nile enters Lake Albert, just to leave it as the Albert and then White Nile, once in Sudan. Before the water reaches the extensive lake though, it has to cross a tremendous rock formation, over which it thunders down with all the power it carries. But more to that later.
Richard, Marie, Zinta and Tim with the Rift Valley and Lake Albert behind them
Beautiful scenery in the valley
At the north gate of the park.
Wahlberg's Eagle at dusk
You can almost smell the scenery in that picture
Richard and me checking on the birds at the Chilli Lodge.
...doing the head-bobbing....
Abyssininan Ground-Hornbill
In order to reach Murchison Falls, we decided to travel through Biso down into the Rift Valley and then head north through along the shore of Lake Albert, entering the national park through the south gate. The original plan was to drive up Friday evening, spend the night at the Red Chilli Lodge, then go for a game drive in the morning and do a boat tour to the actual waterfalls in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the ferry for the vehicles was broken so that we had to change our plans. Instead, we drove to the top of the falls in the morning. Actually, I am glad we got to see the falls from the top. What an impressive place! Incredible amounts of water make their way down through a steep valley and one can literally see the momentum and stone-crushing force in the floods. The thundering can be heard from the parking lot already but it does not prepare you for the sight to come. Untouched by humans, the whole valley lies in peace. The fact that we were basically the only people there strengthened that impression. Well, no words can really capture these moments, I can just urge all of you to go there and find out for yourself. And that was just the beginning.
what more can words say than these pictures?
Buffalo and yellow-billed Oxpecker
there were hundreds of these guys
African Fish Eagle, the king of the Nile
The other kings of the Nile
We almost missed the boat and had to run quite a bit in the soaring heat to hop on in the last second. Good thing that Mr. Richard Odong To, our witty trouble shooter, knows everyone and got us on there. It took me a while to realize it. I was floating on the NILE. Just that alone was very special to me. And then there were the elephants drinking on the other side of the river. And the Hippos next to them. And the African Fish Eagle in the air. I will spare you from reading the whole list, but a few highlights deserve mentioning: The warthogs next to our hut at the lodge, the crocodiles, the pied kingfishers, the Wahlberg's eagle, the buffaloes, the many different antilopes and the other 70 bird species we saw in two days.... (!!!!!!!). Well, with a newly polished bird list (130 now!) and burning eyes, we returned from a three-hour drive into paradise. How lucky we are to experience a last bit of planet that is somewhat in order. Every once in a while I had to pinch myself to make sure that I am not just watching National Geographic Channel. And we did not even see the lions, leopards and giraffes yet. Well, I guess we just have to go again!
