UGANDA, Nile River Cruise, Murchison Falls

Nile River Cruise Safari

February 24, 2013

After lunch at Red Chilli Camp we climbed back into the minibus and drove back to the Nile and boarded a cruise boat for our safari up the Nile River. We departed about 2 pm and cruised until almost 6 pm. We saw lots of hippos, elephants, crocodiles, and many varieties of birds. We cruised all the way to the mouth of the Murchison Falls and then returned.

UGANDA, Murchison National Park, safari

February 24, 2013

Up early and arrived at ferry to cross the Nile River into the Murchison National Park. The entire game drive, as most, was done in our 4 x 4 vehicle. The Park is bordered by the Nile River. The roads are really good and normally you can see most of the animals. Unfortunately, we did not see any big cats but saw lots of elephants, giraffes, wart hogs, hippos, and cape buffalo.The game drive lasted about 3 hrs. Then we returned back to Red Chilli Campgrounds where we were staying in Safari Tents which were large and really nice with proper beds. We could also see the Nile and surrounding area from our camp perched high on a hill.





















 

UGANDA, Murchison Falls on Nile River

February 23, 2013

5 hr drive to Murchison Falls on the Nile River. We only hiked for about an hour to view the falls from the top. Tomorrow we will view the falls from a boat near the mouth of the waterfall. The force which the falls shoots through the 25 meter gorge has been called the most powerful in the world.

LESOTHO

Left the amphitheater Lodge for a day tour of Lesotho, the highest country in the world according to its lowest elevation of 3200 feet. It is completely surrounded by South Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world.

We stopped at the border to receive our visa stamp and then preceded down a horrible dirt and rock road to a school house that had recently been built. The nearest school before they started this school was over 100 miles. Before the building was built they used to have classes under a big tree even in the winter when there was snow on the ground. (I guess snow days were not a good thing for children then)  We went to the classroom and spoke with the children. Only 4 out of 8 children have an opportunity to go to high school and only 2 out of those 4 have an opportunity to go to the university. The families must pay for high school. We then hiked up to view the beauty of the back of the amphitheater Mountain and surrounding valleys and mountains of Lesotho. 

Then we hiked down to a village where we tasted local beer which was made and fermented for 4-5 days. Not bad. Then we visited a local medicine who uses local herbs to help simple illnesses and uses basic first aid. Lastly, we visited some locals who gave us some of the local dishes to try. I tried it but not really my thing but most really liked it.