Murchison Falls

Sunrise on The Nile

The Crew: Shout out to Margot Farrell
for the selfie stick

Murchison Falls National Park is incredible. I had the BEST weekend there a few weeks ago. We set off from Lacor at 10AM, and after two hours of 'African back massage' (ie. extremely bumpy roads) we landed at the biggest park in Uganda. I travelled with two Italians (an anaesthetist Laura, and photographer Claudio) and a Dutch girl, Famke, I'd met at BJz trivia night two days before. I half expected to see a WANTED poster of myself at the park entrance after the unfortunate incident with the baboon the last time but luckily my sunglasses and beard were enough of a disguise.

Jackson's Hartebeest and Kobs

As we drove into the park the landscape changed from dusty red to lush green and gold. We had arranged a boat trip down the Nile to Murchison waterfalls at 2PM so we barely paused to admire the giraffes, kobs and warthogs that flanked either side of the roadway. After a hasty lunch we were ushered onto the boat (literally the only time I've felt rushed to do anything in the last three months so it was a shock to the system!). In typical Ugandan unpredictable style, the heavens opened and we were met with an almighty downpour of rain. We may as well have swam down the river. This would have been ill-advised though because not long after setting sail we came across a group of hippos (*fun educational fact: a group of them is called a bloat of hippos.. (Love it) ). Hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa and kill more humans than any other. Apparently when they open their jaws it is a sign of major aggression so we gave them a wide berth when one showed his pearly whites.

Hungry hippo

Shnaky wee GATOR GATOR
(#Nostalgia: Shane O'Brien, Kieran Crowley)

We passed several bloats as we cruised downstream, all just lazing in the water on a rainy afternoon. Along the shore we could see a few Ugandan kobs grazing peacefully. We came across two crocodiles a little further on, who were incredibly well camouflaged against the rocks. Once again I was glad I was not swimming as our guide told us they can swallow children whole without salt. Not entirely sure if he was joking.

The skies cleared as we neared the falls, and we soon heard the low rumble of falling water. We started to see white foam on the river when we were still a few miles away - the foam created by the pressure of the falls crashing on the river below. The closer we got the denser the foam became and the louder the sound of millions of gallons gushing, as the great river Nile narrowed to a gap of only nine metres. Kingfishers dipped in and out of the water. Bloats of hippos farted. Tourists ooohed and aaaahed as we turned a corner and saw the waterfall in the distance. We hopped off the boat at an optional hiking point and started to make our way upward closer toward the waterfall. There were breathtaking views of the falls and of the Nile as we climbed (*admittedly some of us spluttering) toward the top. We followed the well trodden path to 'Devils Cauldron', but instead of heat we were met with a refreshing cool fine mist. A Falls fog if you will. It is so loud up there you almost have to shout to hear yourself or others. We got to the crest of the waterfall and the force of all that moving water is one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. It blows you away and draws you closer at the same time. There is no railing or barrier to stop you pottering over to the edge and slipping in (#Africa) but there is a helpful polite sign to let you know it is sort of dangerous. 

Peter our driver said the hike would have to be his exercise quota for 2015

After the Murchison Falls hike we headed to our hotel for the night. As we did in Kidepo National Park we stayed in bandas, which are like the local mud-huts, home to many families in Northern Uganda. They are circular, made of mud and bricks and are surprisingly efficiently cool in the daytime sunshine, yet comfortably insulating at night. (I know what you're thinking.... I should go into real-estate). They are prone to creepy crawlies so we doused ourselves with industrial quantities of bug repellant and retired after a tasty supper of local cuisine. We all had a fretful fitful sleep after we were told lions and hyenas sometimes prowl around the compound at night, so every rustle in the bushes seemed like we might be seconds away from certain death.

We survived the night. We rose at dawn when the skies were pitch black and crickets were singing, and quickly made our way to meet our guide for a game drive. Once again, we were absolutely determined to find lions. We were not disappointed. Within about an hour we came across a lioness with a lion cub in the bushes, completely unperturbed by our presence. We turned around and found another lioness with two cubs only a few hundred metres away and thought it was Christmas come early. We watched them for some time playing together, sticking very close to their mother and left them to sunbathe as we continued our drive through the park. Unfortunately there was a male lion nearby but he was spooked by other enthusiastic game drivers so we didn't get to see him!

Momma and Baby

Wee Simba Himself

Jackson's Hartebeest

I don't know what it is about safari drivers but they absolutely love the power ballads. On this trip, we went through Westlife's greatest hits twice. (Sidenote: Westlife are absolutely HUGE here - particularly Queen of my Heart and Flying Without Wings. I have thoroughly impressed a few friends by knowing all the lyrics to both). Anyway we drove along Swearing it All Over Again (and again... and again) we were not disappointed by the wildlife. We saw thousands of impala, kobs and buffalo. Some buffalo have permanent resident lodgers in the form of weaver birds. These birds sit on the buffalos back and feed off the insects and parasites there, a truly natural symbiotic relationship. We saw the most unusual looking animals called Jackson hartebeests that are only found in Uganda, and of course the Ugandan Kob, which features on the Ugandan national coat of arms.

Giraffes!

Buffalo and Friends <3

Hyenas!

We were really lucky to spot a few hyena later on in the morning, as these are hard to find. They really are such evil looking creatures. The pregnant female was persistently rejecting the male's attempts to have a special kind of hug, as described by our guide. It was our driver, Peter's, highlight of the trip! We saw loads of giraffes and a few elephants (including a wee small one <3) grazing by the roadside. We had to keep a safe distance - elephants are notorious for spontaneously charging at vehicles and they can move surprisingly fast for such huge animals.

As we were finishing up our morning driving we came across vultures, an eagle, and lots of monkeys which was such an added bonus. If pictures speak a thousand words I have several theses on this trip alone - it's hard to capture the moments properly on a camera, and safari is something you can only experience in person. It is so incredible to be SO close to some of the most majestic and dangerous animals in the world. It is particularly nice in Uganda as it is not as commonly travelled as other parts of Africa so there are not quite as many safari trucks or tours at every park. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience (and I've reeeeeally spoiled myself by doing it twice but you've got to carpe diem when you're this side of the planet!)

Weightlifting African shtyle

Musical interlude while boarding the Nile Cruise

Very unfortunate kob...

Bambi-eyed

YOU WANT TO HOLD MY AK47??

Elephant family

Eagle vs Vultures... It was quite a long standoff...

Family of baboons

Pumba

Cheeeeeeky monkey

Monkeys scratching each others backs...

Famke and I with Sam - buzzing around our heads are not birds but these awful flying ants... They are in-season at the moment so they are EVERYWHERE. They are gross. They bite their own wings off and then crawl along the ground as ants. Children catch them and eat them, and sometimes they're cooked and served as a delicacy (known as white ants).

Laura, Claudio, Peter and I at the top of Murchison Falls