A self-drive safari with 4×4 rooftop tent car is the best way to explore Uganda as a country and its parks at large. There are four routes to take a self-drive with a rooftop tent in Uganda. When you decide to look out for the best routes, you will probably go for the southern to the northern then go round through the south western route. Or you can decide to take only the south western route. For our case we took it from east-north-south western route.
Upon arrival at Entebbe international airport, we met our car supplier, signed a contract and gave us the 4×4 car with rooftop tent fully equipped with the camping gears and started our journey taking the eastern route of Uganda with an en-route to Mabira forest for the first adventure.
We were able to take an afternoon zip lining activity in the forest. Mabira forest has the only Zip-line in East Africa. It is built to pass on top of the trees giving a clear view of the vast forest canopies.
The equipment used is of international standards and was secured from Europe. A group of Volunteers from the Peace Corps helped put up the facility and then trained Ugandans on how to maintain it.
We later continued to Jinja heading direct to River Nile Explorers where we spent nights in our rooftop tent. Early morning, took breakfast and took a city tour in Jinja as well as the source of the river Nile and then the next day we took some other adventurous activities along River Nile like the water sliding, rafting, tubing and after we had to continue to Sipi Falls and Mount Elgon. Still with our rooftop tent we managed to camp here at Moses’ camp for some good nights to fully explore the Bagisu region and here we enjoyed the coffee tour with the local guide and it was so amazing and educative to us.
Thereafter, we drove to Pian Upe game reserve on of Uganda’s largest game reserve. Took a night in the nearest camping site in a rooftop tent enjoying the morning sunrise views of the reserve, undulating landscapes and the interesting animal and bird sounds during day and night.
An early game drive in the reserve rewarded us with astonishing views over diverse wildlife species like zebras, buffaloes, leopards, lions, giraffes, greater Kudus, Topis, Oribis, Harte beests, dik-dik, roan antelopes, jackals, aardvark, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, elands, hedgehogs, birds such as Ostriches, Jackson’s horn bills, white headed buffalo weaver, hartlaub’s bustard as well as primates like olive baboons, patas monkeys, vervet monkeys and others.
After the wildlife we had to taste the Karamojong culture and we spent a week in the Moroto, Kaboong and Kotido towns. While in Moroto we stayed at Kara-tunga and with them we managed to organize the type lifestyle of the community by taking an overnight in one of the villages with our rooftop tent and they were so welcoming and kept us whole night on a campfire.
Later we visited the Timu Eco Camp in the highlands of Karamoja and staying here it is so conducive in the night and with the camp management we had interesting cycling in the area. From here we visited to the Nakapelimuro village which one of the biggest local villages in East Africa. Don’t miss to enjoy the local food from Maama Dan restaurant where you will have a mixture of beans and chicken.
Later we proceed to Kidepo Valley National Park reaching late and went direct to the camping site where we enjoyed our rooftop tent services which gave us a great deal of comfortability and flexibility since the tent included all bedding as well as kitchen utilities giving us the chance to prepared our own meals.
On our game drive, we visited Narus Valley containing the only permanent water points in Kidepo Valley National Park. This makes it the perfect location for scouting big game congregating for most of the year. In Narus Valley, we found buffalo, elephants, warthogs, giraffes, lions, and zebras. We were so lucky to even spot a cheetah.
We visited the Lorokul Cultural Group located just outside of Kidepo Valley National Park and it was a good experience. Notorious cattle-herders, the remote Karamojong tribe has created a welcoming space to share their culture and traditions with visitors to the region.
This is one of the most unique tourist attractions in Kidepo Valley National Park. Had a great night in the rooftop tent and on the following day via Kitgum – Gulu we had to proceed to Murchison Falls National Park and we camped at the Fort Murchison Camp at the edge of the park.
We hiked to the top of Murchison Falls the moment we arrived. The hike took about 1 to 1,5 hour and offered stunning views of the falls and the surrounding landscape. A guide of Murchison Falls National Park accompanied us and told us everything about the falls. Later went to the camping site and made use of our 4×4 rooftop tent jeep and camping.
We then took a morning game drive which gave us the opportunity to spot many towers of giraffes, a big herd of buffaloes, elephants, Ugandan Kob (the national animal of Uganda), hyenas, baboons, monkeys, hippos, a leopard tortoise, a leopard in a tree and a pride of lions.
Took a boat safari on the Nile River one of the best ways to experience Murchison Falls is by taking a boat safari on the Nile River. This allows visitors to get up close and personal with the wildlife that congregates around the river banks, ending with an amazing sight of the Murchison Falls. On the cruise we were able to see hippos, and crocodiles.
Continued to Kibale Forest National Park with an en route lunch in Masindi town. We reached in Fort Portal town and took up a city tour which took us to the king’s palace where we were able to learn about the Toro kingdom and then went direct to the camping site where we enjoyed our rooftop tent services as well as preparing our own meal from Fort Portal produce.
Early morning we took off for chimpanzee trekking starting with the briefing at the park headquarters and then head for the trek in groups and once we came across the chimps, we took one hour with them learning how the behave and socialize. We took as many photos as possible and then went back to pick our trekking certificate then lunch.
Embarked on the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park for yet another wildlife encounter. At no panic since we had the steering in our hands, we went to the camping site where we prepared our meal and rested for the next day.
Early in the morning, we embarked on a game drive in such for the big five as well as other wildlife. We spotted an elephant, the largest land mammal using its trunk to feed, a lion preying on an antelope or a hyena patiently waiting to devour the lion’s leftovers from a distance. Different groups of animals like Buffalo herds and Uganda Kobs traverse the game park all day long. Warthogs, leopards, the giant forest hog are among the others animals we were able to spot.
We also took an afternoon boat cruise at the Kazinga channel. We enjoyed the various sights and sounds that the park’s rich aquatic life extravagantly offers. Besides the large hippopotamuses taking their dips in the waters, the fierce Nile crocodiles basking lazily on the channel banks for a feel of the warm sun are some of the lifetime experiences we encountered on the cruise. Not to miss are the Pied Kingfishers attempting to grab a meal.
Transferred to the Ishasha sector where we met the tree climbing lions. The lions were perched up on acacia and fig trees resting as well as keeping an eye on what will be their next meal. Besides the amazing tree climbing king of the jungle, the sector is also home to other animals such as herds of buffaloes, large numbers of elephants, warthogs and antelopes all which make for a memorable trip to the game park.
Transferred to Bwindi national park for another memorable experience. Having the steering in our control we drove at our pace direct to the camping site and took our time to prepare a meal as well as an overnight in the rooftop tent.
We wake up early after breakfast, transferred to the park headquarters for briefing with all the necessary documents including the permit which costed $800. We were put in groups of eight people to track one gorilla family. It took us 5hours to searching for the apes and once we located them, we spent one hour with them learning their behaviours as well as their social life. Picked our trekking certificate and went for lunch.
Transferred to lake Mburo national park which marked our last national park for the route we took. The game drive allowed us to spot most of the park animals and birds that call the park home. The game drive was led by an armed ranger from the Uganda Wildlife Authority who helped identify the different species of animal and birds.
A boat cruise along the Lake Mburo helped unlock all that is beautiful about the park. This is more so during the dry season when most of the animals come for a drink. During the boat cruise we spotted zebras, antelopes, crocodiles, hippos, otters and buffaloes.
Once we finished with Mburo national park, we took a scenic drive to Mbarara where we spent a night at Igongo cultural centre. In the morning, we visited the Eitaramiro culture village from where we learnt about the day-to-day life in a typical Kigezi and Ankole homestead. While at the homestead, we saw homestead items like traditional garden tools, grinding stones, millet grains, calabashes, milk gourds, hides and skins among others.
There is also a music and dance troupe at the Igongo cultural Centre. The traditional dancers entertained us with their amazing local instruments and dance styles. One dancing style involved recreating a cow horn in a twisted move. It was worth an experience.
Embarked on our journey to Kampala with an en-route stop over at the equator where we took a number of photos. The journey was extremely unforgettable since it involved beautiful scenery yet at our own pace. At reaching Entebbe airport, mike was already waiting to pick the car as we also embarked on our final flight.
