Game Drives in Uganda
Game Drives in Uganda
Game drives in Uganda are an interesting activity. You drive around in the wild or at a national park while viewing the animals in their natural habitat. This allows you to capture moments, enjoy, and explore what the national park has to offer. You can do Game drives either in the morning or in the afternoon. The morning game drive allows you to see the animals getting out of their sleeping nests. You also see animals grazing, mating, and the sunrise, among others. This makes mornings perfect for game drives. You can also go for game drives in the late afternoon. You will be able to see animals constructing new homes for the night and the sun, among others. This gives a wonderful experience to the visitor on a game drive safari.
Vehicles for Game Drives in Uganda
During the game drive, you can use different vehicles. These can be comfortable and reliable, with spacious, adjustable seats. Some of them have individual charging facilities, drinking water, and spacious windows for great panoramic viewing. For example, a 4X4 pop-up roof vehicle, an extended Land Cruiser, a salon car, or a coaster for a big group of visitors. The visitor can either do a self-game drive or a game drive with a park ranger or a driver-guide. We advise that you always choose to do it with a driver-guide. The guide knows most of the tracks in the national parks and where you can view the animals properly.
4×4 Safari Land Cruiser with Pop-up Roof for a game drive
Rules and Regulations to Follow During Game Drives in Uganda
When doing the game drive in the national park, the visitors are free to stop the car to see the animals clearly and take wonderful photos. However, you have to follow the park rules during the game drive. For example, you should not drive off-truck, and not sound the motor horns because they disturb wildlife. You should not exceed the speed limit of 40km per hour. There shouldn’t be any destruction of the vegetation in the park or littering of the environment. Also, you should not drive in the park between 7:30 pm and 6:00 am unless you are on a night game drive, among others.
Visitors going for the game drive in the national parks can carry cameras. This will help them capture the game drive moments with plenty of photos. They can also use binoculars to see the animals at far distances and those that will be hiding in the shrubby bushes. Animals with such behaviors include lions, leopards, and some birds. You can also carry sun protection equipment like sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats, among others.
Game Drive Destinations in Uganda
Murchison Falls National Park Game Drives
Murchison Falls National Park is in the northwestern part of Uganda. It is the largest national park, requiring a 5-6 hour drive from Kampala. The park is home to various wildlife species, including 76 mammal species and 450 bird species, among others. You can view some of these during the game drive in the park. In Murchison Falls, an early morning game drive starts at 7 am. Meanwhile, the afternoon game drive starts at 4 pm. However, the morning game drive is the best for a great experience.
You follow different tracks in the national park, which will lead you to a wide number of wildlife species. This includes following the Buligi track, which is a 7km track north of Paraa. It’s the most common due to the many wildlife species on it. It takes you to the Albert Victoria and the Queens tracks on the northern bank of the River Nile.
Wildlife to see on a game drive in Murchison Falls National Park
During the game drive, you will be able to see 4 of the Big 5 animals. These are: elephants, buffalo, lions, and leopards. The leopards may be rare during the day game drives, hence necessitating a keen eye.
You can see other animals grazing in the savannah grasslands, some hunting, and others feeding. Some of them include bushbucks, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeest, hyenas, hippos, baboons, and monkeys, among others. You’ll also see some bird species, including the Abyssinian ground hornbill, secretary birds, black-billed bustards, window birds, open-bellied storks, and marabou storks, among others. Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park are an all-year-round activity. However, the best time to conduct the game drives is the dry season. During this time, the grass is short, hence allowing you to see animals, even from a distance. Game drives in Murchison Falls take approximately 2 to 5 hours, hence giving you lifetime memories.
Queen Elizabeth National Park Game Drives
Many consider Queen Elizabeth National Park to be the best destination for Game drives in Uganda. It is in western Uganda in the Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri districts. It takes approximately 400kms from Kampala, and it’s the second-largest national park in Uganda. It’s the most beautiful protected area with 95 mammal species, including the tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector. The park also boasts 10 primate species and over 600 bird species, among others. Game driving is one of the common activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Visitors get an opportunity to view wildlife in its natural environment. The park has the morning game drive, which is the best game drive, and the late evening game drive. There are different tracks in the park, for example, the Kasenyi track in the northeastern sector and the Kaguta track.
Wildlife to See in Queen Elizabeth National Park
You will see 4 of the big 5 animals: elephants, buffalo, leopards, and tree-climbing lions. You also have other animals like hippos, antelopes, Topi, warthogs, waterbucks, chimpanzees, monkeys, hyenas, and Uganda kobs. Additionally, you see giant forest hogs and sitatunga antelopes. The park is a charming destination for bird lovers with a wide number of bird species, some of which you will view during the game drives around the park. These include the purple heron, Abyssinian ground hornbill, clapper tons francolin, African jacana, western yellow wagtail, black crake, black-bellied bustard, and crowned pploverer among others.
These make your game drive safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park a memorable one. However, Queen Elizabeth National Park offers other activities apart from game drives. These include bird watching, boat trips on the Kazinga channel, and chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge. You can also partake in nature walks or hiking in the Marammagambo forest, and cultural encounters in the surrounding villages. Additionally, you can visit the Katwe Salt Lake tour, among others. These will give you the best experience on your safari in Uganda.
Lake Mburo National Park Game Drives
Lake Mburo National Park is one of the best destinations for Game drives in Uganda. It is in the Mbarara and Kiruhura districts of western Uganda. The park offers morning and late evening game drives, which last for 3 to 4 hours. Game drives in Lake Mburo National Park are better in the dry season when the animals assemble around the waterbodies, such as the lakes and swamps. The visitors follow different tracks in the park during the game drive. These include the zebra track, which connects to the Ruroko track junction. It then traverses through the wetland and thick acacia woodlands. It allows you to view the olive trees, euphorbia tree species, and animals like the Burchell’s zebra along the roadsides. You also see other animals like elands, giraffes, bushbucks, Oribi, reedbucks, impala, buffaloes, and hippos, among others.
The Kazuma track passes through the grasslands dotted with wood species and explores the five lakes in Lake Mburo on top of Kazuma Hill, during the game drives on this track you will see the water environment, swamps that surround Lake Mburo with water birds like the black-billed bustard, crowned cranes, crested francolin, southern red bishop, pelicans, herons among others for the bird lovers to explore. Lake Mburo National Park is one of the three national parks in Uganda that harbor the Burchell’s zebra. The park offers other activities apart from game drives, including bird watching for bird lovers. There’s also a boat cruise, cultural encounters, nature walks, sport fishing, guided biking, and horse riding. Hence, it’s the only park in Uganda that offers an opportunity for visitors to explore the park on horseback.
Kidepo Valley National Park Game Drives
Kidepo Valley National Park is a remote national park in the Kaabong district in northeastern Uganda. It takes approximately 12 hours by road from Kampa, and you can also access it by air. The park is a great destination for game viewing because it’s home to 80 mammal species. 28 of these are endemic to only the Karamoja region. Kidepo National Park has the morning game drive, which starts at around 6 am, and the evening game drive, which starts at 4 pm. Game drives around the park are interesting when you go with the guide. You will see the grasslands and open savannah vegetation.
This is very interesting to look at in the park. You therefore spot wildlife species like Uganda kobs, elephants, duikers, reedbucks, waterbucks, antelopes, elands, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, Oribi, cheetahs, leopards, and additionally you spot some bird species like the ostriches and the yellow-billed hornbill, among others. You can visit Kidepo National Park any time throughout the year. However, the dry season between September and March is the best time to visit the park. This is because there are fewer crowds and short grass for great wildlife viewing opportunities. The park also offers other activities, including bird watching, nature walks, and visiting the Karamoja/Ik village, among others. These give you interesting, exciting, and unforgettable moments on your safari in Uganda.
Semliki National Park Game Drives
This is another good place to do Game drives in Uganda. Semliki National Park is in Bwamba County in Bundibugyo district in the western region of Uganda and borders the DRC. The park is home to over 60 mammals, 400 bird species, and 8 primate species. It is also home to 300 butterfly species, which you can view during the game drive on a safari. You drive through the savannah grasslands and the forest of Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve to view different animals. These include buffaloes, hippos, waterbucks, warthogs, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, bush babies, forest elephants, monkeys, leopards, pygmy flying squirrels, and baboons, among others.
The park offers other activities like bird watching, primate walks, nature walks, boat rides on the Semliki, hiking to the Nyaburogo gorge, visiting the Semliki hot springs, and cultural encounters, among others, which give you a lifetime experience on a safari in Uganda. The game drive is an interesting and adventurous activity that visitors in Uganda explore and enjoy by viewing different wildlife, taking a lot of photos, and recording videos of the environment, the landscape, their favorite animals, and birds, among others, for great memories and experience on a safari in Uganda.
For the most satisfying experience through game drives in Uganda, contact us. As a tour operator, Safari Vacations and Travel Services has gained experience over the years and is unmatched. Fill out the form below, and we’ll make your dream tour come true.
