Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park was everything I hoped it would be and more. The trip was planned for when Dr. Snow came in and also served as a good bonding experience for the Ugandan and American teams. On Friday at 1PM, a total of 11 of us, plus our hired driver, piled up in a van (taking me back to my church trip days) and headed off for our destination.

The drive there was probably the most beautiful I’ve ever been on. The further west you travel in Uganda, the more lush your surroundings become (the southwestern tip is actually rainforest). We traveled a winding, mountainous road, surrounded by fertile tea fields, plantain plots, and what looked like untamed hills of various shades of green. When we stopped along the road at a random community, women carrying bushels of bananas and baskets of avocados, oranges, and passion fruit instantly swarmed the van. We also stopped to see some beautiful crater lakes nestled high in the Ugandan hills and to admire the view of the Western African Rift with the Rwenzori Mountains looming in the distance…



We arrived at the park around 5PM and bought 24-hour passes. During our evening drive, we spotted baboons, monkeys, warthogs, and a herd of elephants having a little dinner. A lone hippo charged the van when we got a little too close – which, now, gives me a laugh every time I think about it. Right at dusk, we spotted a leopard hanging out by the side of the road – a rare occurrence, especially for where we were. It scampered off before any of us could take a picture.

Our hotel was in a neighboring town called Kasese, a good hour-long drive north of the park. It was extremely nice compared to most of the facilities I’ve seen here and a great deal – which is probably why we were staying so far away. We had dinner and were in bed by 11:30PM; however, to be back in time for the sunrise and another van tour, we had to wake up at 4AM (ouch).

We got back to the park around 5:30 AM. As the sun came up, we ventured through a different section and saw antelope, buffalo, various birds, and some more beautiful scenery. We also visited a lake mined for its salt that is the main supplier for Uganda and many other surrounding countries.

After lunch, it was time for the boat ride – the most exciting event animal-wise. I never dreamed of getting a close as we did to such large, wild animals… elephants, water buffalo, even moody hippos, all just a short distance from me. I probably took more pictures than anyone would ever care to look at it. Just amazing!

After the boat, we were exhausted and had pretty much seen all the essential attractions within a 24-hr period – except a lion. Lion sightings are even more rare than leopards at QENP and everyone else staying at the university who had visited hadn’t seen one on their trip. As we left the park, a light rain started to fall and people began to doze off as best as they could on the bumpy road. Suddenly, we heard Snow shout “LION!” I looked out the window to my left and, sure enough, there was a lioness in the distance, sauntering through the rain on the savannah. She was too far away for any of us to get a really good shot on our camera, but I do have a little pixelated memento of something I hope to see again someday up close.

Snow & Co. departed this afternoon. There are a whole lot of new and interesting developments concerning the research project; I’ll be posting on that next time.