Wild Royalty Safari

Your Africa Flash McTours guide will meet you in the morning, either at your Kampala hotel or on arrival at Entebbe International Airport. After getting acquainted, you’ll board our vehicle for the seven-hour drive to your first wildlife destination: the Queen Elizabeth National Park. En route, you will stop at the Equator, where the northern and southern hemispheres meet, as well as in the town of Mbarara for lunch. Arriving at your home for the next two nights, you can spend the evening at leisure in anticipation of an exciting day ahead.
Queen Elizabeth National Park spans an area of 1,978 square kilometres (764 sq mi), including Lake George and the eastern shores of Lake Edward. Uganda’s most frequently visited park, it is home to four of the Big 5 – lion, leopard, elephant and Cape buffalo (rhinos are absent). Aside from these iconic species, the park is well-populated with other game species, and you’re bound to see numerous Uganda kob, defassa waterbuck, bushbuck, topi, and a variety of primates. For birdwatchers, the park is regarded as one of the best places in Africa to visit, with over 600 species ruling the skies. All of this is made possible by the diverse habitats. Much of the park consists of savannah grasslands where various herbivores graze and predators hunt. Adding to the scenic beauty are several swamps, pockets of rainforest and ancient volcanic lakes.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Lunch and dinner, not breakfast
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

To take advantage of the cooler temperatures when the wildlife is most active, you’ll rise early to depart on a morning game drive after breakfast. From the comfort of your safari vehicle, your guide will show you a variety of wildlife, flora and birds. The park supports healthy populations of Cape buffalo and elephants, both of which enjoy spending time at the various swamps and water holes. Interestingly, the park’s buffalo often sport a reddish coat, thanks to interbreeding with forest buffalo. The game drive continues into the late morning, returning you to your lodge in time for lunch. You can then relax until the afternoon’s water-based activity.
Two lakes feature in the park’s geography: Lakes George and Edward. They are connected by the Kazinga Channel, and it is along these waters that you can soak up the sights and sounds on a relaxing boat cruise. The swift waters are inhabited by rafts of hippos and numerous large crocodiles, and you may even spot a rare giant forest hog in the riverine forest. Rich in aquatic life, the channel attracts a large number of pelicans and other waterbirds, each adding colour and their unique calls to the spectacle.
Afterwards, you’ll return to your lodge for dinner and bed.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

This morning, you’ll rise early for breakfast before setting off in search of the park’s unique big cats.  Travelling southwest into the Ishasha Sector, you have an excellent chance of seeing lions doing something they do in few other places: sleeping in trees.  It is believed that lions in this area have resorted to doing this in order to avoid annoying insects found at ground level.

After the game drive, you will leave the park, heading south to your next wildlife destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.  The journey should take in the region of 4.5 hours, arriving at your lodge in time for dinner and a well-deserved rest.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a relatively small national park, covering just 321 km2 (124 sq mi) of both lowland and montane forest.  The park was established in 1991 to protect a range of species, especially the mountain gorilla. A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is home to an estimated 450 mountain gorillas, about 43% of the global population.  The park is only accessible on foot and is home to a huge diversity of life.  This includes 120 species of mammals, more than 350 species of birds, and innumerable different insects, reptiles and plants.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

Early in the morning, we will transfer you to the park. We strongly recommend that you wear a comfortable pair of hiking boots for this activity, and a reasonable degree of fitness is essential to navigate the dense, occasionally difficult terrain. Once there, you will meet your gorilla trek guides. These seasoned professionals are well-versed in gorilla behaviour and know the forest like the back of their hands. Before departing on the trek, you will be given a briefing regarding conduct during your gorilla encounter. Please note that to ensure that disturbance of the gorillas is kept to a minimum, once located, you will spend a maximum of one hour with the troop.
Mountain gorillas are a highly endangered species. Their numbers dwindled to a few remnant populations in east central Africa, due to excessive poaching, habitat loss, human conflict and disease. Today, as few as a thousand mountain gorillas live across Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mountain gorillas live in troops that range in size from 5 to 30 individuals. Each troop is led by a ‘silverback’ dominant male, with a few submissive males playing a sentry role. Generally, females remain bonded to their ‘silverback’ for life.
After the trek, you will return to camp where you can enjoy some leisure time before dinner and bed.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

Depending on your specific travel arrangements, you can enjoy a leisurely morning before breakfast and checkout time.  Once you’ve said your goodbyes to the lodge staff, we will transfer you to a nearby airport for your return flight to Entebbe International Airport, just outside the capital city of Kampala.  

As you rise over the steaming rainforests, take a moment to reflect on the various ways your senses have been stimulated over the last four days.  You’ve seen lions sleep where they shouldn’t, heard the contented rumbles of gorillas at peace.  You’ve smelled the loamy richness of the forest floor and had a taste of adventure: Africa-style.  We do not doubt that this sensory adventure will combine to touch your soul, leaving you longing for more.

We hope that when you decide to return, you’ll allow Africa Flash McTours to host your next safari of the mind, body and soul.

• No accommodation, this is the final day
• Breakfast and lunch, no dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra