TOURING UGANDA, THE "PEARL OF AFRICA": Guest Post by Owen Floody

Lions in tree in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.

With many thanks to Owen Floody, a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist. In 1971, Owen and my husband Art participated in a field course in animal behavior in Uganda. The descriptions in Owen's post below bring back many memories of that first trip to Africa.

Rhinos.

This column describes a 12-day June 2025 safari in Uganda that was run by Wilderness Travel and ably led by Robert Sunday, of Classic Africa Safaris.  After one night decompressing in Entebbe, we began the first of several long drives, aiming for Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda’s northwest.  Fortunately, the drive was broken up by an hour at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.  There, we had great fun tracking white rhinos on foot.  The high point was a standoff between one male and several females: Dust was raised but we apparently didn’t merit any actual contact.

Murchison Falls.

One of the beauties of Murchison Falls is the variety of activities it offers.  We took two Nile cruises, one to the base of the falls, the other to the Victoria Nile Delta in search of Shoebills.  For balance, we drove to the top of the falls, where we surrendered our barrels and marveled at the volume of water being forced through the tiny opening in the rock.  

Giraffe.

In addition, we went on several game drives, during which we even managed to tear our eyes off the giraffes for long enough to enjoy the many other animals and birds (e.g., Ground Hornbill.)

Ground hornbill.

Of course, experiences of this sort can’t go unpunished, so that we then piled back into the Land Cruiser for the long drive south to the Kibale Forest National Park.  This park is one of the relatively few in East Africa consisting of rainforest rather than savanna.  Naturally, then, it features rainforest creatures, chiefly chimpanzees and other forest primates.  The highlight of our visit was the two hours that we spent alternately crashing through the undergrowth and quietly hanging out with a troop of chimps that seemed to ignore us completely.  Out of the forest, we enjoyed a walking tour of Bigodi village, including visits to a coffee farm, banana-beer brewer, and native-plants herbalist.

Chimpanzee.

Fortified by the coffee, beer, and herbs, we hit the road again for the mercifully short drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, perhaps Uganda’s best known savanna park.  Accordingly, we sought grassland animals, on our own and along with researchers tracking radio-collared lions and leopards.  

Lioness.

And we came back to the theme of cruises, as we enjoyed a small-boat ride on the Kazinga Channel.  Along with the Nile cruises at Murchison Falls, this is among the best known and most pleasant water experiences in Africa.  The hippos were impressive and the hyena an unexpected treat, but it was the multitude of Pied Kingfishers and other wonderful birds that stole the show.

Pied Kingfishser.

Finally, it was time for our last stop, at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, near Uganda’s southwestern corner.  Like all other visitors to Bwindi, we were there for up-close-and-personal views of Mountain Gorillas.  We did the smart thing and hedged our bets by scheduling two gorilla treks on separate days.  This was fortunate and speaks to the care with which Wilderness Travel planned this trip.  The first trek was difficult and culminated in limited views.  

Gorilla.

Apparently, no one had told the gorillas of the fans hoping for an audience.  But the word got out overnight and resulted in an easy trek and incredible views the next day.  It is simply amazing how gratifying it is to see these majestic animals so completely at ease and at such close range.  Was it the small plane or gorilla memories that transported us back to Entebbe to begin the long, but satisfying trip home?

BIRDS OF ZIMBABWE, Part 1: Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

 Southern Masked Weaver(male) near Dete, Zimbabwe

My friend Karen Minkowski is spending several months in Africa and sent me some of her wonderful photos taken on her morning bird walks. Karen and I were on the same memorable trip to East Africa in 1971 that I wrote about in my post on May 16, 2011. Karen has been back to Africa many times since then, both for work and for pleasure. I thank her for sharing her terrific photos and observations of African wildlife with The Intrepid Tourist.

For six weeks I lived in Dete, a small town of about 3,000 people in western Zimbabwe on the border of Hwange National Park, while I was volunteering for a foundation that works with local communities. A dirt road separated my house from the bush and the nearby national park boundary. Early each morning I walked along the road observing and photographing birds. The abundance, diversity and beauty of Zimbabwe's birds were a continual source of enjoyment for me. Here are some that I managed to capture with my camera.

A female Southern Masked Weaver is inspecting a nest that appears to be undergoing repairs, as suggested by the juxtaposition of old and new grasses. The male builds the nest, and if the female accepts it she'll line the inside with soft plant materials. Like many weaver species, this one also nests in colonies.

The birds chatter away as they prepare their nests. Each bird extracts a single blade of grass from the surrounding bush or gardens and then flies back to the colony to weave it into the nest. Taking a break to feed, small flocks of Southern-masked Weavers gorge on grass seeds or forage for insects.

The Blue Wax Bill's small size and habit of flitting quickly in and out of bushes made it difficult for me to get a photo. I finally resorted to continuous burst shooting in hopes that one of many images might come out in focus and with the bird acceptably posed.

This is the stunning, yet somehow oddly put-together Southern Red Bishop in full breeding regalia. He looks to me as though he'd donned a red head scarf and then casually tossed the end around his neck before showing up at his display site. Perched below him is his rather drab-colored (potential) mate. 

I loved watching birds interacting. Sometimes an encounter lasted just long enough for one bird to land and another, nearby, to fly off, clearly ceding space to the first; at other times a prolonged interchange would occur.

These two African Golden Orioles faced each other while one chirped at the other. Then they would separate, likely foraging for insects, but never more than a couple meters away. Then they came close together again, with more chirping, and again separated. I couldn't tell if they were mates or a parent and offspring. After a few minutes one flew off to another tree, and the bird remaining behind suddenly changed its call from chirping to a lovely warble. Soon it, too, left the tree and both flew out of my sight.

Late one afternoon, I photographed these Arrow-marked Babblers through my open bedroom window as they huddled together and engaged in mutual and self-preening. They forage in small groups of 9-12 and babble as they move through the lower strata of vegetation and on the ground. The babbling probably serves to keep the group together.

Quite a bit of commotion - movement and noisy vocalization - attracted my attention to these two very animated Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills.

Eventually one, I assume a parent, fed its hungry, insistent young. 

Look for Part 2 of BIRDS OF ZIMBABWE next week.