We're going on a lion hunt...

Jen & I have just gotten back from Murchison Falls - a national park about 5 hours West of Kampala.  And it was another in a series of FANTASTIC weekends!

We arrived at our campground in 45 degree heat. Gross.  But then quickly settled in with an ice cold bevvy and got to meeting some people.  The campground was full of awesome folks from all over the world (this is proving to be one of my favourite things about being here - everyone, locals and expats, are so friendly and so ready to meet people and have fun!).  We sat around and soon met Matilda and her three babies, the resident warthogs.  They usually came around when dinner was out (pictured here!)

Then on day 2 we set off on SAFARI!!  Dream come true!  I love wildlife - and big, rare wildlife is much much more fun!

So, here's how the day went:

We set off for the day at 6:30 am - before the sun was up - because the animals are most active in the very early morning, before then sun gets too hot!  It sucked getting up that early (especially after a late night!) but the sunrise was beautiful...

George-the-ranger joined us in our van and proceeded to give us the lowdown on what we could expect to see.  He said that Murchison has most of Africa's big game, but that lions are very rare to see and that giraffes are also hard to find in the park.  I had recently read a book where giraffes were profiled so beautifully as being the most elegant animals - so I was disappointed to hear that I might not have the chance to see these long-lashed beauties.
But, we drove down the road, and the first thing we came across was a big ol' group of... giraffes!!!  They were so much fun to watch - and they really are an elegant animal!  Our friend Mark decided to see how close he could get to them without them running away, and even as it fleed in fear from that frightening blonde creature coming at it, the giraffe was elegant.

We continued on down the road and came along a family of baboons blocking our path.  Inquisitive little guys... but not too bright.  Took them a little while before they realized they should get out of the way!

We kept touring for a while without seeing much, when George called out a huge 'STOP!'.  We couldn't see anything around us, and so we couldn't quite understand the command.  He promptly hopped out of the car - his old body surprisingly nimble - and sauntered to the front.  He called the rest of us out and point out to us the fresh lion print in the dirt.  SWEET!  The hunt was on - we were going to find us a lion!  And wouldn't you know it, about 15 minutes later, we did!  There was a big female lazing about in the little shade that was around, and she let us get about 15 feet away from her before she lumbered away slowly, surprisingly undesturbed by our presence.

At this point, Jen & I decided that it would be much more fun to ride on TOP of the car rather than inside.  So we hopped up onto the luggage rack for the remainder of the ride.  It was definitely a much better view.  

We soon came across a group of 5 elephants hanging out right at the side of the road.  We went up beside them and watched them for a long time - snapping many, many pictures all the while.  The little guy got to playing with a stick, and I honestly think he was trying to show off!

We turned around to head back the direction we had come, but in the process got pretty close to the elephants.  The big one, who I assume was the mom, turned around, eyed our approaching van, and then started giving warning signals and rushing towards us (with Jen and I ON TOP of the van)!  I started yelping, I'm sure of it, but our driver backed away in time - phew.  Being attacked by an elephant is not how I plan to go!

We had a full morning of game viewing, and thoroughly enjoyed all of it!  Then for the afternoon we took off on a boat ride to find us some hippos and crocs.  And MAN did we find us some hippos and crocs!  The hippos were everywhere.  Huge creatures - and much uglier than I had anticipated.  My favourite sighting was when we got too close (seems to be a theme here) and the head bull swam out a bit towards us, stood up, and started ...ahh... doing a number 2 while his tail wagged, throwing the poo all over the place!  Apparently this is how they show that it's their territory.  Gross.

We ended the ride relaxing on the roof of the boat (This time with no threat of elephant attacks though!), and enjoyed our view of the Nile while sipping on a semi-cold Nile beer.  How quaint! :P

Only one weekend left in Kampala.  Tear.  I'll be sad to leave this place, for sure.  But it also marks the beginning of travels with Kenn - which, at this point, we think will take us to Rwanda, possibly Western Tanzania, and likely back into Uganda.

Uganda really was quite a fluke for me - it was just the first international placement opportunity that worked out.  I wanted to come to Africa, but didn't really care where in Africa I went.  As it turns out, I think that the fates served me well, because this country truely is one of the gems of the continent.  I honestly do plan to return!