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8 Days Birding and a bit of Wildlife Safari
This eight day safari will take you deep into Kibale forest searching for primates like Chimpanzee, Grey Cheeked Mangabeys, Red Colobus among others. The forest boasts of 375 bird species some of which are endemics of this region of the Albertine Rift valley.
Enjoy the scenic beauty of the savannah and its wildlife which includes elephants, water buffalo, lions, Spotted Hyenas, Ugandan Kob, and over 640 bird species—– the highest number in any African park. Queen Elizabeth National Park has one of the top biodiversity ratings of any game reserve in the world.
Begin to wind up with the zebras, Elands and Rothschild giraffes of Mburo before picking a memento at the equator and not forgetting a visit to the shoe billed stork of Mabamba.
Includes: Accommodation, Meals as per the itinerary, Chimp permit for Kibale, Park entry fees, Game drive on northern side, Cruise on the Kazinga Channel, nature walk in Mburo, boat ride in Mburo and private 4×4 ground transport with an English speaking driver guide.
Excludes: Beverages, tips, and personal expenses.
SAFARI ITINERARY
Day 1: Kampala
Upon your morning arrival at Entebbe Airport, a representative of Stream Safari will meet you and take you to your hotel in Entebbe. In the afternoon a safari briefing will be followed by a visit to Entebbe botanical gardens. Established in 1901, the botanical gardens have since become one of Entebbe’s major attractions to both foreigners and locals. Enjoy your first Ugandan birding experience along the shores of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in of Africa.
Look out for fruit-eating birds such as Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Ross’s Turaco and the enormous Black and White Casqued Hornbill. There is also small woodland where Black and White Colobus and Vervet Monkeys can sometimes be seen, along with species such as Great-blue Turaco, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Woodland Kingfisher, Diederik Cuckoo, and Splendid Starling.
Lake shore birds include Orange, Northern Brown-throated, Vieillott’s Black and Jackson’s Golden-backed Weavers, Great Cormorant, Blackheaded and Green-backed Heron, Hamerkop, African Open-billed Stork, Pied Kingfisher and Angola Swallow. Overnight at Boma Guest House.
Meal Plan: Bed and breakfast.
Travel time: 5 Minutes
Day 2: Kibale National Park
Enjoy an early breakfast before your driver guide picks you up to embark on the drive to Kibale Forest, an exquisite rain forest known to harbor more than thirteen primate species. Drive through Mityana and Mubende town continuing through large tea plantations before reaching Fort Portal town. After lunch proceed to Kibale and check in at your lodge for evening relaxation before dinner and overnight. Dinner and overnight at Kibale Primate Lodge.
Meals include lunch and dinner
Travel time: 5 Hours
Day 3: Kibale Forest National Park Chimps and Bigodi
Following breakfast you will transfer to the park offices for pre-trek briefing by your ranger guide before setting out on the popular primate walk. This half day activity will take you searching for the Chimpanzee, Grey Cheeked Mangabeys, Red Colobus (an endemic species only found in this forest in Uganda) among others.
With over 335 bird species recorded in this virgin rainforest some of which are endemics of this region of the Albertine Rift valley, Kibale is a hot spot for birders. After the trek return to your lodge for lunch before taking a nature walk in the forest around the park visitor’s centre for a chance to see African Goshawk, Yellowbill, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Black-necked Weaver or even a Crowned Eagle circling overhead.
Hiking through the different trails we will be looking for species such as, Grey-winged Robin, Yellow-spotted, Hairy-breasted and Yellow-billed Barbets, Superb, Green-throated and Green-headed Sunbirds, Narina and Bar-tailed Trogons and African Grey Parrot. Meals and overnight at Kibale Primate Lodge.
Meals include: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 4: Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast, we take a 3 hours drive to our next park, Queen Elizabeth National Park. Along the journey don’t miss the sight the of the Rwenzori mountain also known as “Mountains of the Moon” in the backdrop as it domineers the surrounding landscape. This is the third highest mountain in Africa. This national park comprises of rolling grasslands, crater lakes, tropical forests, papyrus swamps and extensive lake shore and contains Uganda’s best game populations as well as some of Uganda’s best bird watching, boasting an incredible bird list of 640+ species, the highest in Africa!
We will check into Mweya Safari Lodge located on the peninsula that separates the Kazinga Channel from Lake Edward. Take a late-afternoon bird watching that is likely to produce African Mourning Dove, Greyheaded Kingfisher, Black-headed Gonolek, Slender-billed, Yellow-backed and Lesser Masked Weavers, Pin-tailed Whydah or Black-winged Pratincole. Return to dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Travel Time: 3 hours
Day 5: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Today we shall start the day quite early. Take a hot cup of tea or coffee and thereafter we shall embark on a bird and game drive through a grassy plains, which support large flocks of a variety of stork species including the spectacular Saddle-billed Stork. Raptors include Brown Snake-Eagle, Bateleur, African Harrier-Hawk, Amur Falcon and Grey Kestrel. Vulture species like Palm-nut, Ruppell’s Griffon and the immense Lappet-faced Vulture are normally sighted when the big predators make a kill. Other birds to be seen include Senegal, Crowned and African Wattled Plovers, Harlequin Quail, Common and Black-rumped Buttonquails, African Crake, Painted Snipe, Little Bee-eater, Yellow Wagtail (feldegg race), Red-necked Spurfowl and Rufous-naped and Flappet Lark.
Return to your lodge for breakfast and after lunch you will go for a Cruise along the Kazinga channel. The 32 kilometers stretch that joins Lake Edward to Lake George is believed to hold the largest concentration of hippos in the entire world. Elephants, solitary buffaloes and waterbucks are among the animals normally sighted at the banks. On a lucky day lions and other predators are also sighted in the hideouts waiting to catch their prey as it goes for a drink at the channel.
The channel is also rich in bird life as thousands of birds are always at the channel both indigenous and migrant species that fly thousands of miles all the way from Europe and other parts of the world to escape the winter. Some of the bird species include the Martial Eagle, Black-rumpled Buttonquail, African Skimmer, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Great White and Pink backed Pelican, African Broadbill, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed Lark, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Corncrake, Lesser and Greater Flamingo, Shoebill, Bar-tailed Godwit.
Other birds include Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Open-billed Stork, African Skimmer, White-faced Whistling Duck and Knob-billed Ducks, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, Water Thick-knee, African Wattled Plover and Yellow-backed Weaver.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has one of the top biodiversity ratings of any game reserve in the world so enjoy every moment as it lasts. Return to lodge for dinner and overnight.
Meals include breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 6: Transfer to Lake Mburo
Breakfast then transfer to Lake Mburo National Park driving through amazing sceneries, beautiful tea estates and splendid banana growth canopy. The drive will take you through Bushenyi and Mbarara before reaching Lake Mburo National Park with an en route game drive.
This afternoon we will take a birding nature walk through the designated trails. Birds on our list include; Crested Francolin, Black-bellied Bustard, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Lilacbreasted Roller, Common Scimitarbill, African Grey Hornbill, Blue-naped Mousebird, Spot-flanked Barbet, Nubian Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Trilling Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, White-shouldered Tit, Black-headed Batis, African Darter, Hamerkop, Spur-winged Plover, Pied and Malachite Kingfishers, Yellow-throated Leaflove and Southern Red Bishop Greater Blue-eared Starling and Marico Sunbird. Dinner and Overnight at Kimbla Mantana Lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Transit Time: About 3 Hours
Day 7: Lake Mburo National Park
After an early breakfast you will embark on the morning game drive for a chance to see the hyenas coming back to their dens, hippos walking back to the water and the recently reintroduced Rothschild giraffes roaming the park. Other animals here include buffaloes, zebras, impala and topi. On a good day the rare Sitatunga might also be seen.
The drive to the Mbamba Wetlands will take approximately 3 hour and a half. On arrival we will jump into the dugout canoes to embark on the search for the magnificent Shoebill. Paddle out into the dense papyrus swamps in search of our goal. Mabamba also offers a large selection of other species which might include Carruthers’ Cisticola, Saddle-billed Stork, Spur-winged and African Pygmy Geese, African Jacana, Purple and Goliath Herons, Yellow-billed Egret, White-faced Whistling Duck, Yellow-billed Duck, African Fish Eagle, Black Crake, Long-toed Plover, White-winged Tern, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Swamp Flycatcher, Winding Cisticola and Fan-tailed Widowbird. Proceed to Entebbe for your overnight. Dinner and overnight at Boma Guest House.
Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch.
Day 8: Return to Kampala
After a relaxed breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to catch your home bound flight.
