Kibale NP & Budongo Forest - Tracking our closest cousins

Chilling out

Uganda, referred to as the pearl of Africa, is the premier destination for chimp trekking in the world. Uganda is also home to other great wildlife including Africa’s big five. Uganda boasts some great national parks including Queen Elizabeth (QENP), Muchinson's and Kidepo, with the first two also being home to chimpanzees. Chimp tracking is done in a number of other parts of Uganda with the premier destination being Kibale NP in Western Uganda.

Mabamba Swamp - Searching for the Shoebill

Shoebill - One of the most unusual birds to be seen

The search for the shoebill was aroused by its strange appearance more than anything else. We first became aware of the bird once we got to Tanzania and got our edition of the Birds of East Africa which claims that its stronghold in the region is the Moyowosi – Kigozi wetland complex in Western Tanzania. This is pretty much the wild west of Tanzania located in no man’s land between Kigoma and Tabora and not a place to be messing about in, as not even tour operators venturing into the area.

Uganda - The pearl of Africa

Crossing the Equator, just up the road from QE national park

The only real point of reference we had for the Pearl of Africa was the Semliki Forest. Much like the Serengeti, Maasai Mara or the Okavango delta are hotspots to the wildlife enthusiast, the Semliki is for birders due to the sheer number of endemics this small dot on the map seems to have. If you have ever paged through any volume of the ‘Birds of East Africa’, the Semliki will most certainly catch your attention. There are other draw cards for Uganda including the primates and of course the shoebill and all this lay within a day’s drive Kigali!