Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Last night we slept serenaded by a bunch of frogs, including some that sounded like quacking ducks, some like wind chimes and some making “boing” noises. Awakening before dawn, we had breakfast and set off on the road to do a game drive through the northern part of Queen Elizabeth national park. Almost immediately, we saw some lions lounging in the morning sun and then move into the shade as the African sun very quickly heats up the landscape. We saw several birds, more wart hogs, antelopes, and elephants. We even saw another monitor lizard crossing the dirt track through the park. The landscape is gorgeous with grasslands punctuated by acacia trees, umbrella trees, and cactus like trees all with the Mountains of the Moon in the background at the Congolese border.

We arrived around lunchtime at Myewa Lodge, which is situated in a beautiful location on Lake Edward, which is connected to Lake George by the Kazinga Channel. This is a more hotel like place and, while certainly not bad, lacks the personality of the other places we have stayed. This afternoon, after lunch, we will be doing a boat trip on Lake Edward and then another evening game drive. More later….

Part II
After lunch, which we ate surrounded by small yellow weaver birds that tried to eat some of our meal too, we went to the boat launch. The boat trip went from Lake George through the Kazinga Channel to Lake Edward. Along the way, we saw lots of hippos and cape buffalo in the shallow water trying to keep cool. There were elephants, a few crocodiles and lots of bird species including Goliath heron, saddlebill and yellow bill storks, skimmers, pelicans, terns, pied kingfishers and Egyptian geese. Near Lake George, we saw one of the eleven fishing communities that exist within the park.

In the evening, we took a game drive through an area where the land is pockmarked by craters from former volcanoes. Some are porous and have just vegetation, some are fresh water lakes and some are saltwater lakes. Some salt collection is done in the saltwater lakes and there are flamingoes. The scenery is amazing and the sunset, although obstructed by clouds, is gorgeous. We got back to the hotel around 8 pm, ate dinner, and went off to bed, tired after another busy day.

-Karen