Why Impala spices up Wildlife Viewing on a Uganda Safari

Facts about Impala

The Impala whose scientific name is ‘Aepyceros melampus’ weighs between 100-140 pounds and in East Africa it’s mainly found in the savannah and light woodland usually very close to water. A mature Impala is between 27-38 inches tall its life span is 13 years. They have a reddish-brown body with white hair inside their ears, on the chin and over the eyes. Along their middle of the lower bottom runs a narrow black line and black stripe on the back of each thigh. This makes the Impala look so attractive and if found grazing on grass on the plane, one may wonder how God decorated this browser animal. The gestation period of an Impala is between 6-7 months.

Lifestyle of an Impala

An Impala is one of the most social, humble mammals in the wild and easily adapt to the prevailing environmental conditions. Unlike other animals, Impalas can survive in times of famine since they have two stomachs and can store food in one of the stomach for future use. Usually while they are in planes, males set up territories and control them, this is common when food is in plenty. These territories are made out of dung heaps and the male Impalas are seen standing with erect postures, rubbing scent from face glands in these territories. The female Impala and the young ones just follow the males and don’t go beyond their specific territories. The females form herds and wander in and out of the male territories but still the males try to herd them back to the center.

It’s very hard to distinguish between a male and a female Impala because of their body shape. Their bodies are almost the same and the only difference is that the females don’t have horns.

Giving birth

When its time for mating, the males make a lot of noise, making a sound like that of a lion’s roar or a dog’s bark. After the activity, the males look exhausted in that they cannot hold their territories for nearly a month. After about 7months the female gives birth and this is done through pain. The female leave the herd when they are about to give birth and seeks a secluded spot to bear her fawn. She eats the afterbirth and cleans the fawn after giving birth. The mother stays with the fawn for a few days or even leaves it lying out for a week before returning to the herd. If there are other fawns in the herd she may take her fawn to the others and live together and form a nursery group. This is done because it’s very hard for predators to pick from the nursery group. The young Impalas grow very fast and suckle for about 6 months after which they start to graze on grass.

Although Impalas keep themselves in territories, they are always attacked by their predators such as; lions, hyenas, hunting dogs, and leopards. This has led to a great depletion of Impalas in East Africa.

Touring Entebbe - Uganda Safaris

Entebbe is the arrival point for most of the tourists since it has the best international airport known as Entebbe international airport. It is an adventurous town in Uganda and is where you can make a safari that can expose you to historical places, islands, the national zoo (known as Uganda Wildlife Education Center) and many more. Today many tourists that tour Uganda first move around this organized town before they could continue with their safari. It is a lovely city with its markets busy throughout the day and just beyond, there are many other things to do and see.

The pleasant climate that is availed due to the presence of Lake Victoria (the world’s second largest fresh-water lake), is one of the attractions that persuades tourists to at least stay for a night and enjoy the breathtaking moments in the town. On Lake Victoria, you can take a boat cruise as you look at a wide variety of birds and mammals in the clean waters.

The must-see in Entebbe

1. Entebbe botanical gardens; these are one of the special offers that this splendid town has to offer to its visitors. It is a great place to spend a half or full day. The lovely flowers at these gardens are attractive, green trees, birds, monkeys, and the playing butterflies. You will love each and everything that comes to your sight on this Uganda Safari tour.

2. Entebbe beaches; given the fact that the town is on the shores of Lake Victoria, there are well organized beaches for those tourists who want to chill and sunbath at any time of the day. These sandy beaches are great places to relax and enjoy as you see the sun setting in the sky.

3. Bird Watching on the shores of Lake Victoria is another activity that the town offers and there are over 400 bird species along the lake.

4. Entebbe-Uganda Wildlife Education Center; you can always take an afternoon safari at this place because it has a wide range of wild animals and birds that are kept in their respective places.

5. Chimpanzee tracking at Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria near Entebbe town. A guided tour to the island is carried out and tourists get a chance to track one of the hard-to find chimps.

Chimpanzee at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre

6. Sport fishing at the lake is also possible for those interested in the activity and this is done at your own pace. Have a chance to catch the large Nile Perch, Tilapia or other fresh water fish.

7.Snake park; just a few kilometers from Entebbe town, there is a snake park where you can find all types of snakes that you have ever wished to see most especially the vipers.

8.Chilling at Ssese Island; There is a beautiful island near Entebbe found on lake Victoria that one can visits and spend some precious evening looking at the flying birds in the sky.     

A TWO-DAYS TOUR TO BUDONGO FOREST RESERVE

Have you ever thought of making an unforgettable Uganda Safari in your life? This happened to me as I decided to tour Budongo forest that is found in Masindi about30km from Kampala. I started my journey at around 2:00pm from Kampala Taxi Park in a bus. While in the bus, it took us only two hours to get to the reserve. I made sure I reach early before the gates of Murchison National Park are closed.Consequently, tourists are not allowed in beyond 7:00pm so as to prevent accidents since at this time different species of game cross the roads from one side to another. I witnessed this when an monkey was about to enter into the wheels of a certain car leaving the parking yard of Budongo Eco lodge out of the blue, 30 minutes after I had arrived in the park.Budongo Eco lodge is situated in the heart of the forest reserve inside Murchison Falls National park.

A WONDERFUL EVENING AT THE PERK

I was invited for a campfire as I waited for dinner and I joined over 30 tourists from different corners of the world. But as I had just joined other tourists, one of the guides warned us against eating foods with strong aromas such as meat and bananas, so as not to provoke the attack of animals like leopards and chimps. What I can never forget about this campfire is the sweet piece of music by an owl nearby. It gave that strong emotion of being at peace with nature.

A glance at the finely furnished interior of the Eco-friendly room in the Hornbill lodge was enough eye candy for me. The rooms at this lodge are too organized that I even wished I could have my honeymoon here. I had a wonderful night at this place and one unique thing that I can ever forget is that I forgot to dream.

Chimp  trekking in the morning

I woke up at around 8:00pm and I remembered that I had to go chimp trekking. But before going for the day’s adventure, I first joined other tourists and had a cup of coffee. The guide on duty briefed us about the planned chimpanzee trekking. Without this coffee, there is no doubt that would have reconsidered trekking the moment the forest welcomed us icy due drops from its trees. It was cold as if winter had struck Uganda.

By 9:00am we were happily lost in the middle of the forest. This forest I said to have been the hunting ground for Bunyoro’s king and that’s why sometimes its called Kabalega’s forest.

As we made our way through the thick green forest, we heard roars from the trees. We later discovered it was a clique of four chimpanzees fighting to ripe apart a white monkey. Unfortunately for the poor monkey; it was not only fighting for its dear life, but also preyed on alive.

In the forest: the guide told us that there are about 350 species of birds and 289 species of butterflies. He also noted that Budongo forest has the oldest trees in Uganda, with muvule of about 220 years and mahogany of about 250 years.

Time for departure

Had I not had a crucial appointment in Kampala that evening, the beauty of Budongo forest was going to keep me there for along time. So I left Masindi at around 2:00 pm for Kampala.

How to get to Budongo forest

Using private arrangement, you can find your way to Masindi by road and there after drive 30km north to get to Budongo Central Forest Reserve through Kichumbayobo gate.Take the main road to Para if you want to get to Budongo Eco lodge for about 12km.

Why you must make a Rwanda Safari this year

Rwanda is found in East Africa in the west of Uganda in the Eastern rim of the Albertine rift valley and this makes it the smallest landlocked country in East Africa.Due to its peace and culture, it has become one of the rapidly growing countries in terms of both cultural safaris and gorilla tracking. This is happening after Rwanda experiencing genocide in 1994 which disorganized its tourism industry. Sometimes Rwanda is referred to as a ‘land of a thousand hills’ simply because of its beautiful numerous hills that leave visitors wondering whether it’s the highest point in the world.

 

Today the country receives more than  500 international tourists on a daily basis and it’s regarded as a safe place for adventure. Having a Rwanda Safari is very easy because the distances are relatively small and the paved roads are generally in good condition.

You will never regret having made a  Rwanda safari since your warmly welcomed by the local people and you get to visit the following places; five volcanoes in a row and the biggest concentration of mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe forest –a tropical rainforest with chimpanzees, Red-tailed monkey, large troops of Angolan Colobus, blue monkeys and Patas monkeys.

Visit the western and central Rwanda where there are steep mountains lying at evolutions between 1500 and 2500 meters above sea level. Lot of hiking opportunities through the beautiful sceneries is given by the Virunga volcanoes. In the Eastern parts of the country (boarder with Tanzania), lies the steep mountains. The lower lying terrain is part of the Lake Victoria basin, with the Kagera River. This wonderful Ecosystem is much protected by Akagere National Park.

Apart from being the cleanest country in East Africa, Rwanda is a tropical country and much of it lies in the African plateau. Therefore Rwanda has a tropical climate, with temperatures between 24 and 29 degrees Celsius during the day and between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius at night. Rain in Rwanda is experienced from March to May, and October to December.This known-calm climate favours tourism throughout the year.

Kinyarwandais and French are the mostly used languages in Rwanda, but English is also widely spoken. The currency is the Rwandan French (RFr). Beautiful things about Rwanda can’t be exhausted but making a Safari to the country is more ideal.