UGANDA
SHOEBILL, MOUNTAIN GORILLAS AND THE ALBERTINE RIFT
2013
Dates Pending
With Herbert Byaruhanga and Gary Rosenberg
Price $ Pending
Maximum group size of six
Three-week tour to what is considered one of the most-exciting countries in Africa. Straddling the equator, Uganda has an incredible variety of rich habitats, from Papyrus swamps along the edge of Lake Victoria, where the bizarre Shoebill can still be found, to lush montane forest, home to the few surviving Mountain Gorillas, to expanses of rolling savannah covered with Giraffes and antelope. We expect to see more than 500 species of birds, including members of all the typical "African" families. We also will see about 50 species of mammals, including Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, Lions, and possibly Leopard! The big highlight of the tour will be the opportunity to spend an hour each with both Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees - an experience of a lifetime! We visit such incredible areas as Queen Elizabeth National Park, The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and stunning Murchison Falls along the headwaters of the Nile River. The photographic opportunities on this tour are amazing, and the cost is about 30% less than most companies!
Uganda is a sub-Saharan country in Africa that is about the size of the state of Oregon, yet has an amazingly rich avifauna, with a country list of more than 1000 species! Straddling the equator, a tour of Uganda visits an amazing variety for rich habitats, from lush tropical forest inhabited by Sunbirds and Turacos, to rolling acacia grasslands, covered with large elephants and giraffes. Uganda is, of course, famous for its national parks protecting the few remaining Mountain Gorillas, and we'll devote part of a day to tracking (and visiting with) a family group - an experience of a lifetime! We'll also devote a morning to visiting a family group of Chimpanzees, another truly amazing experience. Of course our main emphasis will be the birds, and we are likely to see more than 500 species in the twenty days. Our primary leader for the tour, Herbert Byaruhanga, is one of the best and experienced birders in Uganda!
Our tour begins with us being paddled through papyrus swamps along the edge of Lake Victoria where we hope to encounter one of the strangest birds in the world - the Shoebill. Its other name is Whale-billed Stork, and Uganda is "the" place to see this speiec in the world. We then travel on to Lake Mburo National Park for a two night stay. The national park has excellent mammal watching, and this will be our only chance for seeing zebras. A morning boat trip on the lake will be a highlight of our visit, on which we have a chance for incredible birds such as African Finfoot, White-backed Night-Heron, and Papyrus Gonalek.
Our next destination is extreme southern Uganda close to the Rwandan border, and two national parks, Mgahinga and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We'll have seven nights (at three different lodges) in this incredibly rich zone, famous for its high number of Albertine Rift endemics, not to mention most of the remaining world population of Mountain Gorillas. We'll spend our time birding in lush montane rainforest, and look for stunning birds such as Rwenzori Turaco, and the African Green Broadbill, as well as many sunbirds, bee-eaters, wood-hoopoes, and a countless number of greenbuls!. We'll devote one day to gorilla tracking - spending an hour with a family of Mountain Gorillas, within 20 feet, is an indescribable experience!
Leaving the mountains behind, we travel next to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Located on the shores of Lake Albert, our beautiful lodge is well situated to cover both the rich savannah, where we have an excellent chance for tree-climbing Lions and Leopard, and the Kahzinga Channel, where we will venture out for an afternoon boat trip among the hippos and plethora of bird life. The high diversity here is exciting, and we have an great chance for Afican Skimmers. Sunset over the lake while watching storks, lapwings, all the while navigating around hippos is an unforgetable experience.
We next continue north to Kibale National Park. It is here that we will spend a morning tracking Chimpanzees. The forest here is lovely, and the birding is quite fun. We'll make an extra effort to look for Green-breasted Pitta, Kibale being the most-reliable location in Uganda for this rare species. The nearby Budongo Forest Reserve, and the "Golden Mile" is a beautiful location well-known for its excellent birding, and such gems as Chocolate-backed Kingfisher. We'll have two full days to explore the forest and nearby areas, such as a wonderful escarpment overlooking Lake Albert.
The tour will conclude with a visit to famous Murchison Falls National Park. Situated between two major channels of the Nile River, the wonderful expanse of rich savannah will provide a lasting memory. Wonderful mammals such as Giraffes and more Lions, the possibility of Leopard, and amazing birds such as Shoebill (another opportunity), Northern Carmine Bee-eater, and wonderful raptors such as Bateleur, make a visit here memorable. Our afternoon boat trip on the mighty Nile River to view Murchison Falls, as well as Rock Pratincoles and numerous Nile Crocodiles will be a highlight of the trip. Finishing off at the top of the falls looking for Bathawk will be exciting!
In total, a tour to Uganda has it all - amazing birds, unforgetable mammals (including Mountain Gorillas!), stunning African landscapes, all made available with a relatively excellent infrastructure of comfortable and safe lodges. Even the amateur photographer will go crazy here!
