Murchison Falls
During the month of December we had two opportunities to visit a popular game viewing area at Murchison Falls. At the beginning of the month we were there with Sally Jo’s brother and nephew, Gerald and Steve Miller, and at the end of the month we went again with our daughters Michelle and Andrea.
The falls themselves are located on a westward flowing section of the Victoria Nile. Much of the waters of the River Nile originate in Uganda. The Victoria Nile flows out of Lake Victoria, through Lake Kyoga, and empties into Lake Albert briefly before continuing into the Albert Nile that flows north into the White Nile that eventually passes through Khartoum and Cairo. Murchison Falls are quite spectacular, especially from the top, because at that point a large amount of water is forced through a very narrow gorge in the rock cliff.
On both visits our lodging was on the south side of the river, and we needed to take an early morning (7 am) ferry crossing for the best opportunity to see the animals on the north side. With Gerald and Steve we stayed at Sambiya River Lodge and heard cape buffalo feeding on the grass outside our rooms at night. With Michelle and Andrea we stayed at a “rest camp” and saw warthogs and hippos wandering through the grounds munching on the grass at night. They were literally right outside our windows!
After crossing the river on a small ferry, we took a game drive in our car for about 4 hours with a ranger/guide who helped us find and identify the animals and birds that we saw. Then we had lunch at Paraa Lodge on the north side of the river. After lunch we took a 3-hour boat trip to the base of the falls and observed many more animals and birds along the way. The entire stay was very interesting, and our guests all reported that it was a highlight of their time in Uganda.
