Kampala City Tour
September 28, 2022Murchison Falls National Park Safari in Uganda
December 4, 2022
Guided safari game drives in Uganda and any other destination in Africa are basically driving through a savannah park in a four-by-four safari vehicle, guided by an expert local guide, viewing wild animals. A game drive highlights any classic Africa safari taking you deep into the natural wilderness and getting you closer to the big and small animals within the protected confines of a 4×4 truck.
Anyone can take themselves on a safari game drive in Uganda. However, most tourists prefer to be guided, which promises a more relaxed experience in the wilderness, knowing that a local expert will take care of finding the animals and place you in the right spot at the right time.
In this guide, we take a look at what you should expect on these drives, which parks offer the best game drive experiences, and also give you a few tips on getting the most of driving in Uganda’s safari game parks.
What to expect on a guided safari game drive
Expect the most rewarding guided game drives to head out during the misty sunrise and late in the cool evenings or at night—the coolest times of the day when most animals are more active. Irrespective of the safari destination, every game drive is unique, making wildlife encounters unexpected and exhilarating. However, the operating format may be similar with different ground operators.
A typical game drive in Uganda may last 3-4 hours. Other game drives head out for more than six hours with short breaks allowing the traveler to get out of the vehicle, stretch, loosen up, and snack. The guide usually chooses somewhere with great views of the plains for short breaks. Some safari camps offer breakfast settings in the bush for early morning game drives. Afternoon game drives are usually arranged to end at a well-set refreshing sundowner.
The local guide will most probably be your driver, who is mostly in control of the adventure expedition, spotting out the animals, taking you through unexpected game viewing tracks, and throwing in humorous stories about your wildlife encounters.
Although wildlife densities in Uganda’s safari parks don’t match eastern destinations, wildlife viewing on an expert-guided safari game drive in Uganda is much rewarding. The number of tourist vehicles in the game parks is a mere fraction of those visiting the more developed destinations, making game drives in Uganda a more private experience. On a good day, lion, elephant, or leopard sightings are a moment to treasure, and you’ll seldom share such moments with swarms of vehicles.
Famous game drive sightings on Uganda’s savannah plains include the tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha sector, elephants, buffalo, leopard, various antelope species, hippo, and the localized Rothchild’s giraffe.
You should expect to drive in a generally closed 4×4 Landcruiser customized with large windows for every seat and a roof pop-up for photography. In other instances, you may find an open-sided four-by-four cruiser at some camps, but it’s improbable in Uganda. Uganda safaris operate in closed cruisers to avoid long windy drives from the airport to the safari park.
Number of guided safari game drives per day
Generally, two game drives a day are ideal. Expect to take your very first safari game drive on the afternoon of your arrival. Safaris routing from trekking gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can’t avoid the tree-climbing experience driving through Queen Elizabeth National Park’s southern Ishasha sector.
Safari trips usually spend a day or two in the safari park with at least two game drives per day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, lasting about three to five hours each time. On the last day in the park, your local guide may throw in another safari game drive while heading to the next destination.
Let’s say you’re spending about three nights at the safari park or lodge. In that case, you have about six short game drives on your itinerary. Photography safaris usually take one safari drive per day, stretching 6-10 hours, with a packed picnic lunch. Travers who prefer a single drive per day typically want to come back to the more relaxed activities in the afternoons at the camp like nature gazing, walks, chats, swimming, reading a book, or local cultural shows.
On all-inclusive Uganda safari trips, the local driver-guide is usually paid per day to chauffeur, manage and guide 1-6 tourists per vehicle. They can determine how many safari game drives go out per day. You should discuss with your guide or tour manager early morning or after every safari drive to determine how many drives you should have that day or when the next one should be.
Our private tailored Uganda safari game drive allows for one to six people per safari truck (excluding the guide), giving each occupant an adjustable window seat with enough legroom.
Which destinations in Uganda offer game drives?
The mosts rewarding safari game drives in Uganda occur in four of the ten national parks. The wildlife reserves in the country offer meager wildlife viewing experiences. Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National Park in southwestern Uganda are popular with tourists hoping to adventure in the primate-rich rainforests of Bwindi and Kibale.
Murchison Falls National Park in the northwest along the Victoria Nile and the remote wilderness Kidepo National Park in the extreme northeastern corner usually feature on safari packages lasting more than a week or two.
Queen Elizabeth National Park | Guided safari game drives
If lions are a must-see on your safari holiday in Uganda, then safari game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park must feature on your itinerary. The park protects the highest number of lions in the country. However, finding lions on a safari game drive is always challenging anywhere in the wild and requires a good spotting local guide, luck, and perseverance. It’s not as simple as what the nature television channels depict out to be.
A knowledgeable safari guide will find the big cats within the grassy Kasenyi Plains in the northern and southern Ishasha sectors. Besides the typical lion spotting, the park has a high reputation for its tree-climbing lions regularly spotted contentedly lazing in the giant fig trees that sprout in the southern Isashasha region.
Other animals tourists commonly encounter driving through the Queen Elizabeth savannah plains include enormous herds of elephants and buffalo. You’ll also spot out many interesting antelope species such as Uganda kob, topi, and bushbuck. The giant forest hog is unusually easy to spot. Search around the Kasenyi tracks for the elusive leopard. However, night game drives are perfect for finding the elusive leopard.
A typical Uganda safari will usually include a couple of safari game drives and a boat safari with two nights in Queen Elizabeth National Park after or before the gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Jomert Gorilla safaris offer trips with two nights in Bwindi, two nights in Queen, and end the journey with two nights in the Kibale chimpanzee jungle.
