6th June. Murchison Falls NP

Once the most popular park in Uganda, the animal population was devastated during Idi Amin’s reign in the 70s & early 80s. The elephant population, for example, was reduced by poaching from over 15000 to just 860 beasts by the mid 80s. The numbers have increased since then and at the camp site where we are we watch warthogs, olive baboons and bush buck wander past 20 metres from the van. The big attraction of the park and one of the highlights of an African trip is to view the Murchison Falls where the White Nile pours through a crevice 8 metres wide. We are taking a boat trip to see this tomorrow. At the moment we are relaxing in an area opposite the camp Hq and bandas. Nice because we are the only ones camping.
The road here was so potholed in parts that you just stop the van and ponder which potholes will be the best to go through. The whole road was a mass of pot holes. We found out when we arrived that the road marked as not more than a track was in fact the better road.
7th June
Headlines: ‘Tourist Boat Sinks in Croc infested Waters’ It did happen but not the way the mind imagines. We went down to catch the boat up the Nile to the Falls at 9am only to find the 12 seater boat had sunk at its moorings. It was the tourist boat and there are big crocs all along this waterway. We were just pleased it didn’t go arse down half way to the Falls where the crocs are bigger and more feral. Though it did blow our plans a bit. The Parks bloke managed to organize the trip in the afternoon for us. It was quite an experience. The 9km stretch to the falls passes an endless parade of hippos bathing, wallowing, feeding, blowing plumes of vapour into the air. It was amazing. The crocs in this area are big. The biggest we saw was just below the falls and would measure a good 4.5-5 metres in length. Apart from those two there were many types of antelope, and great birdlife.
The Murchison Falls themselves were awesome. All that water going through a small crevice. Actually it’s not all the water of the Nile now as heavy flooding in the last couple of years forced some of the water to take an alternative route. Still, it is an amazing display of nature’s force.
We ate at the camp restaurant in the evening, a gathering place for backpackers getting away from the usual trail for a while. We were walking back to the van when one of the staff called out ‘Mrs Joan, be aware!’ Flashing his torch at a hippo that was nonchalantly grazing a few metres from where we would have crossed. You have to treat them with the greatest respect. I went for a pee behind the van last night when I disturbed one grazing a metre from the van. They are unpredictable and very dangerous.
8th June.
We caught the early ferry across the river, the game viewing is better on the northern bank where the Nile forms a delta leading into Lake Albert. This park is much bigger than Lake Nakuru, the animals are more spread out and there are more types of vegetation. We spent the morning meandering around the various trails finding many types of antelope, elephant, a pride of lions and a herd of Rothschild’s giraffes. Once again the bird life was prolific: one of the highlights was seeing a couple of crowned cranes, a large bird with a yellow crown on its head.
There is a camp site just above the Murchison Falls and what better way to spend the last night in the park than to camp overlooking the rapids before the water plunges down the fall. It is another fantastic spot with only someone in a tent as company. The rapids are fast and many, yet I watched a hippo nonchalantly making its way across from an island in the middle seemingly with no problems. Before coming to the camp site we went to the top of the falls where the water rushes over. Such force.
Occasionally there are moments in ones life that things seem to click into place. Times when you think it couldn’t get better. No negatives to dampen the feeling. There are usually not many and they are fleeting. As I watched down on the rushing waters of the Nile, a mild evening, looking forward to a well prepared meal and a glass of wine, no problems with the road, and after a great morning viewing the animals, this was one of mine.