On this week’s blog, writer and guest blogger Diane Squires tells us what it’s like to search for lions at Murchison Falls in Uganda.

Once known as the ‘pearl of Africa’ there is something quite intriguing and very beautiful about Uganda.

It’s a country with a troubled past, who can forget the days of Idi Amin or the movie – the Last King of Scotland which portrays a barbaric nation. But it’s a country that is leaving that past well and truly behind and evolving as a real drawcard for those wanting to travel to Africa.  

What surprised me about Uganda, was the diversity of the landscape and the stunning vistas everywhere we travelled, but it was the people I fell in love with the most, the Ugandans are truly some of the friendliest and most welcoming people on earth.

I’ve travelled to Africa before and taken safaris in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania but Murchison Falls was different again.

But first, before visiting the Falls, we make a quick stop at Ziwa Rhinocerous Sanctuary where for a walking trek to see the rhinos.

The Sanctuary was established to reintroduce the white rhino into Uganda. They currently have about 17 rhinos in the park.

After a quick lesson on the lives and habits of rhinos our small group sets off on a short trek in search of the stars. We trek for about 40 minutes across relatively flat reserves and dense shrubbery.  Our guide stops to point out various geographic features of the park along the way and then we see them. The stars of the sanctuary, four rhinos sleeping soundly under a tree.

If you’ve never seen a rhinoceros in real life, trust me when I say they are huge, far bigger than I had thought possible. And even more unusual looking than the pictures would suggest. I still can’t decide whether I think they are ugly or cute, but they are certainly prehistoric looking.

Rhinos have an acute sense of hearing, but can’t see very well, so while they likely can’t see us, they will know we are nearby. Our guide assures us we will get three warnings if any of the rhinos are going to charge.

But looking at these rhinos it’s unlikely they’re even aware of our existence. It’s so hot the rhinos barely move beneath the shade of a large tree canopy. We spend about 20 minutes with the rhinos, photographing them from every conceivable angle, studying their features and watching their ears flick away the flies.

When it’s time to leave, we are well and truly ready to see what other wildlife Ugandan parks have in store for us and so we begin the four-hour drive to Murchison Falls National Park.

Along the way we stare out the windows and watch the rolling change in scenery pass us by. Despite being a relatively small country, the landscape in Uganda changes frequently, one-minute dry savannah, next lush green forests.

Like the rest of Uganda, the landscape within the park changes frequently too – open savannahs, dense forests, huge estuaries and swamp areas, all divided by the River Nile. The park is Uganda’s largest national park and is home to a variety of African wildlife as well as the spectacular falls.

Despite arriving late in the day, and racing against the sunset to get to our lodge and home for the night, we see many warthogs, antelope, hartebeest and even an elephant or two, not to mention the most amazing sunset. I’m not sure what it is about Africa but the sun always seems bigger and more orange in this part of the world.

The next day we are up early to spot as many animals as we can. It is a successful morning, as well as more antelope, buffalo and warthogs we see some very curious giraffes – I’m sure they found us just as interesting as we found them – elephants and not one, not two but three lions resting under a tree. There is something quite magical about seeing wild animals in their natural environment. The thrill of travelling through great open spaces in search of these majestic creatures is an unreal experience.

In the afternoon we take a boat ride out to see the Falls. They say you can’t say you’ve been to Murchison Falls without actually taking a boat ride out to see them.  And sitting at the base, not too close mind you, there is a lot of power in that volume of water tumbling down the crevasse, it certainly is an awesome feeling.

The Falls are said to be the most powerful Falls in the world. A massive volume of water – about 300 cubic metres per second – squeezes through quite a narrow space of about seven metres wide down a drop of about 43 metres. Before we even reach the Falls we hear the raging torrent of water and see the white swells forming in the water from the power of the drop.

The Falls were named after Sir Roderick Murchison, then President of the Royal Geographical Society. They sit on the White Nile and it is quite a thrill to get our first look at the Nile.

There are truly so many amazing sites packed into this one small part of Uganda, each more amazing than the experience before. Go for the gorillas, but don’t miss the other adventures this country offers.

Want to experience this for yourself? Check out our Uganda tour here.