4×4 Car Hire Uganda offers a variety of destinations that you can explore with 4×4 rooftop tent jeep. This type of safari is great if you are adventurous, when you want to have the freedom to plan your own route, go at your own pace and be in the company of people of your choosing. And as an added benefit; self-drive safaris are a lot cheaper than guided safaris or organized tours in Africa.
When in Africa, you will be able to see sceneries and beautiful natural and historical sites. African safaris offer plenty of stunning photographic opportunities for memorable photographs of the incredible places, wild animals, and the people that you get up close to on your journey
Countries best for self-drive safaris in East Africa include
So, deciding which country to visit with our 4×4 rooftop tent jeep can be a little daunting. Sure, countries in East Africa may have some broad similarities in wildlife, landscape and urban development, but they also have their individual quirkiness and unique attributes.
Uganda
Uganda lends itself to self-driving, with well-maintained roads giving you access to visit it national parks. Uganda is a wild, adventurous and dramatic country with exceptional wildlife experiences and extraordinary scenery. This country has something special, and quite different from other safari destinations.
Uganda offers exceptional 4×4 self-drive experiences to Africa’s tallest mountain range, the snow capped Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon, the vastness of Africa’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria, the River Nile that begins its journey through the country to the Mediterranean Sea.
Not forgetting the spectacular Kidepo, Murchison Falls, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (one of the great highlights for visiting Uganda is to see the mountain gorillas see and that experience is worth a whole review in itself), expansive Savannah plains in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kigezi terraced hills (Switzerland of Uganda), it’s stunning.
In the midst of all these you encounter all the wildlife you can ask for, the Mountain gorilla, chimpanzees, lion, elephant, hippo the rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, leopard, zebra, giraffe and a giant bush pig, all the different antelopes and so many birds.
The people of Uganda are warm and welcoming, the climate is perfect and suitable 4×4 vehicles that can take you round on your 03 weeks holiday and more, hot but not too hot and some rain.
Comfortable lodges in beautiful locations and safe camping sites. There is nothing quite like lying in your tent at night, listening to the sounds of lions roaring nearby, monkeys shrieking in the trees, and hippos grazing on the grass outside your tent.
I can say that Uganda is perfect for the more adventurous safari-goer who wants to do something a little different (more on the wild side). If you’re willing to get wet, muddy, bitten by ants, and exhausted in order to get up close, on foot, to some of the most wonderful and rare creatures on earth, this is the place. For me, Uganda is all about spine-tingling experiences in magical forests, and getting face to face with the wildlife, with no vehicles or fences to separate you.
Overall, it’s a great destination. Some of the parks can arrange walks with the rangers, and this is a superb experience as you get to hear and smell live in the game parks much more intimately than when in the back of a Toyota or Land rover.
Rwanda
When you talk about Rwanda, of course you remember the Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed the lives of one-eighth of its population in 1994. Few back then would have predicted that Rwanda would one day rank among Africa’s most compelling wildlife-viewing destinations. Yet that is exactly what it is today. Besides Uganda, Rwanda Indeed, is one if the countries in Africa to host wild populations of all the following iconic creatures: gorilla, chimpanzee, lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, black rhino and white rhino.
For me it was an emotional journey and the beginning of a long relationship with a country. It’s incredible how Rwandans have managed to pick up the pieces and how they’ve moved on. Today the country is flourishing, and tourism is playing a big role in the up-liftment of the people, boosting the country’s attractions from guided tours to self-drive safaris.
The Remarkable Rwanda’s biggest draw is the opportunity to track mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. It is one of only three countries where these gentle giants live (the others are Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo). Rwanda is perhaps the most famous gorilla country as it was here that Dian Fossey first habituated these great apes. If you have read about her and the work she has done, you might be interested in hiking up to her old research station and the gorilla cemetery.
Many tourists visit Rwanda for gorilla tracking only as an add-on to a safari in Kenya or Tanzania. There is, however, a lot more to explore in this beautiful country, referred to as the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’.
You can also visit Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park famous for chimpanzee tracking. This Park protects a stunning montane rain forest that’s home to as many as 13 different primate species, including chimpanzees. A big network of trails makes this a great hiking destination. You can walk to several waterfalls and a swamp, but the thrilling Canopy Walk is a must – the views from the suspension bridge are breathtaking. I would rate this forest as a top-class tourist destination, but I’ve never encountered many visitors here. That’s exactly how I like it.
Akagera National Park has seen an amazing transformation since it came under the management of the capable non-profit conservation organization African Parks in 2010. While wildlife viewing isn’t quite on the same level as in famous East African parks such as the Serengeti and Masai Mara, this beautiful park offers a great alternative if you’re looking for an off-the-beaten-track alternative.
For me, the best way to end a Rwanda safari is to chill for a couple of days on the shore of scenic Lake Kivu. There are several lakeside resorts, but wherever you’re staying, it’s worth getting out and about to soak in a little bit of Rwanda’s cultural life. Shop in a colorful market, try the local food or visit a tea cooperative.
Tanzania
If you’re looking for the “classic” safari in an open-top vehicle admiring the wildlife on the plains on a self-drive safari, then Tanzania is the place to be. Tanzania is so much known because of Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater and with 4×4 Car Hire Uganda self-drive safaris in its national parks and this fact alone makes a thrilling case for declaring it Africa’s best safari country. But, of course, there’s much more than just these two places.
Most visitors stick to the famous Northern Circuit and why not? Besides the aforementioned destinations, with their unbelievable density of Big Five species and sublime beauty, this amazing region around the gateway city of Arusha also includes Tarangire (huge dry season herds) and Lake Manyara (flamingos, tree-climbing lions and Rift Valley scenery) national parks which are awesome in their own right.
Rounding all this off are the country’s three distinct safari ‘circuits’ Northern, Southern and Western. Each of which is unique in terms of animal populations and topography. Spot elephants appearance against the backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro, hear chimpanzees hooting on the forested slopes of Mahale Mountains National Park, feel the pounding hooves of wildebeest on the Serengeti plains and float past snorting hippos on a boat safari down the Rufiji River.
There is also so much to explore before and after your safari: relax on idyllic islands and beaches, hike through rolling hills, and visit colorful market towns. For the quality and variety of its wildlife watching, as well as for the overall travel experience, Tanzania tops my list of African safari destinations.
Kenya
Kenya is a great place to have an adventure self-drive safari. Safari is not only a journey in space dimension but also in time dimension: you’ll see scenes without human influence that are the same from many Centuries. Kenya’s stunning landscapes include rain forest, beaches, deserts and mountains, but it’s the first class wildlife watching that keeps so many visitors flocking back.
Not only is it one of the best places in Africa to see the Big Five, it also counts among the world’s most important bird watching destinations, and is home to one of the most astonishing wildlife spectacles on earth – massive herds of wildebeest making their way across the savanna from the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to Kenya’s Masai Mara in the annual migration.
Tourist hot spots such as Amboseli (perfect for that money shot of elephants wandering against the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro), and the Masai Mara – where on my last visit I witnessed a lion kill, had a close up encounter with a big cat whilst on foot, and sat watching vast streams of grunting wildebeest cross the river – are deservedly popular, but can suffer from 4WD traffic in high season.
The good thing about Kenya, though, is that there are plenty of small and uncrowded parks, wilderness areas and wildlife conservancies where you can commune with animals and nature with hardly anyone else for company.
