Uganda: Masindi to Murchison Falls.

Tuesday 16th June: Uganda. Masindi to Murchison Falls, North Western Uganda

After a good sleep, we met for breakfast at 9am & we were on the road at 9.45. We entered the Murchison Park and drove 2 hours to the Murchison Falls area

Before we viewed the falls, we wanted to secure beds for ourselves. We picked the 2nd place we visited, The Nile Safari Lodge. However, it is not as grand as it sounds on here because we actually picked the camp site, a few hundred metres away. The Lodge itself was lovely and in the most beautiful setting overlooking the river. When we saw our site, we were equally happy because it too had a commanding view over the river, and no one else nearby. We had it to ourselves. We then set up our tents.

After that, it was time to visit Murchison Falls and we were not a bit disappointed. It is truly spectacular to see the river gushing through a gorge about 6 metres wide and the power of the water is frightening. I was standing a mere 10 feet from the water as it rushed through the gap. 

We walked around as much as we could and were amazed that there wasn’t another human being in the area. For us, that was a truly awesome experience.  We also had our first encounter with the Tsetse fly. They were everywhere, and they were huge.We just got taken by surprise. We were squashing them inside the vehicle as well, and thankfully our fly swatter was coming to good use. It was an all out war. You couldn't stop to deal with them because then another swarm would descend on you. Some of them were sitting on the wiper blades and other parts of the vehicle. Regardless of the speed or the windscreen washer being used, they clung on for dear life. We were truly amazed at what they could resist. Thankfully, by the time we got back to the campsite, we'd finally lost them all. They are huge, and very nasty.

Later, we went back to the Lodge & had our drinks there, looking down on the river.

We then had dinner at the Lodge & were escorted back to our camp site in the dark, to be pleasantly surprised to see a camp fire lit & lanterns hanging in the trees. Now that was truly special. This is no ordinary campsite. No matter how romantic that was, there was no way John & I were going to hold hands:))) Heck, we won't even share a room. This lovely scene necessitated a couple of hours sitting around the camp fire and having a nightcap. Off to our  tents about 1030 pm with just the sound of Hippos snorting, mere feet away in the river. Africa, Gods continent.