We left Bwindi Impenetrable Forest this morning and drove into Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is in the far western part of Uganda and part of the Great East African Rift Valley. After a short pause to change a flat tire, we went into the southern part of the park. The terrain here is totally different. It is much more open and savannah like. We saw some elephants in the distance, more topi and some Ugandan Kob, which are similar to impala. In search of spoonbills, we went to a marshy area. We did not see the spoonbills but we did see several plovers, herons, and very beautiful and colorful bee-eaters. There was a large monitor lizard too. Then, we ate lunch along a river where there was a herd of hippos in the water. At this point, we were right across from the border with Congo. We drove through the Ishasha area in an effort to see tree climbing lions in the umbrella trees, but did not spot any. Continuing north, where there are several lakes and it becomes more forested again, we arrived at Jacana Lodge (named after a bird species) at about four in the afternoon.
Our room at Jacana lodge is a lovely wood cabin on the shores of a crater lake. There is a small screened in porch, where I am sitting, that has a gorgeous view of the lake and the mountains in the Congo in the distance. There is a bedroom with a wooden peaked ceiling, and a bathroom with a shower that has pebbles for the floor. The electricity here is by generator and is only on for a few hours in the evening and from 6am until 8 am in the morning.
We went for a walk and caught glimpses of three kinds of primates: black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, and olive baboons. Unfortunately, it started thundering and threatening to rain, so we have returned to our cabin. Tomorrow, we continue further north in Queen Elizabeth National Park…
-Karen
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