Game drive in Murchison falls national park
Game Drive in Murchison falls National park ,Murchison falls National Park is situated in the north western region of Uganda, this park lies in the great Murchison falls conservation national park consisting of Bugungu, karuma wildlife reserves and Murchison falls national park itself. Murchison falls national park also referred to as Kabalega national park lies in the northern end of Albertine rift valley where bunyoro sweeping escarpments tumbles into a vast palm-dotted savannah, the park stretches through an area of 3,893 square kilometers including Buliisa, Nwoya, Kiryadongo and Masindi districts.
Wildlife in Murchison falls national park
Murchison falls national park is a well-recognized home to many a variety of wildlife species estimated to be above 76 animal species, the park is also a habitant to various bird species approximately 451 species which thrive in the regions of the park which are dominated by woodland, savannah, riverine forests like budongo and kaniyo pabidi and in the streams of Victoria Nile. Murchison falls national park is one of the few national parks in East Africa and Uganda particularly to host 4 out of the five big five animals that is lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant which are easily spotted in the park. Animals in Murchison falls national park include lions, leopards, lions, African bush elephants, Rothschild giraffes, Oribis, Uganda kob, hartebeests, antelopes, herds of African buffalo, spotted hyena, side stripped jackal, defassa waterbuck and many more, in the forests of rabongo and kaniyo pabidi found in the park hosts a reasonable population of primates of Murchison falls national park and they include chimpanzees, olive baboons, blue and red tailed monkey black and white colobus monkeys.
As already stated Murchison falls national park is an important birding hosting a wide range of bird species of approximately 460 species which live in a high population in areas like budongo forest, kaniyo pabidi forest, around the banks of Albert Nile and in the savannah plains of the park. Bird species found in Murchison falls National Park include shoe bills, Goliath Heron, Grey-crowned Crane, Saddle-billed Stork and long-toed Plover whilst African Skimmer and African Fish Eagle patrol, Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, Nightjars, Marabou stork, Black headed lapwing, Back-bellied Bustard and many.
Game drive in Murchison falls national park
Undeniably Murchison falls national park offers the best of game drive experience and because that it has been ranked as one of the top national parks and tourist destination to go to for an exhilarating and memorable safari. Game drive in the park are mostly done in the northern sector of the park which is dominated by open savannah grassland facilitating uninterrupted view of the wildlife though some are done in the southern sector.
A game drive in the park takes you on a drive of 2-3 hours through well maintained tracks in the savannah grasslands that is Albert, Victoria and buligi were you are able to view a large population of animals grazing in the park such as African bush elephants, Rothschild giraffes, Oribis, Uganda kob, hartebeests, antelopes, herds of African buffalo, spotted hyena, side stripped jackal, defassa waterbuck, lions and many more. Game drive in Murchison falls national park is offered in three sessions that is morning game drive, afternoon game drive and evening game drive
Morning game drive starts as early as 6:00 am in the morning, morning game drive is a loved session as it offers you a chance to view animals as they are waking up from their nests and grazing in the park.
Afternoon game drive usually start from mid-day, though some tourists take part in it chances of viewing a large number of animals are slim as many animals go into hiding due to scotching sunlight.
Evening game drive is the best treat to watch nocturnal animals in the park, this game drive usually starts at 6-7 pm and with a help of a spot light you get to spot night predators like lion, leopard and nocturnal animals like Pottos, bush babies and many more.
Whatever time you embark on a game drive in Murchison falls national park be sure you are to enjoy the game drive as you are able to spot countless animals in the park.
Areas for game drive in Murchison falls national park
Though animals can be seen anywhere in Murchison falls national park, there is main areas where you can see a high concentration of animals and these include
Albert Nile delta
Albert- Nile delta of Murchison falls national park is a stretch around a point where Victoria Nile flows into lake albert, the delta is a good spot for watching animals as they come to it to drink water most especially in the afternoon. In the delta lions, elephants, antelopes and many more are easily seen drinking water.
Buligi peninsula
Buligi peninsula is a prime game viewing spot in Murchison falls national park, the peninsula is a triangular shaped grassland drained by Victoria Nile as it enters Lake Albert. Buligi peninsula consist of buligi game track network which converges at the delta point, in this point (delta point) the Nile river flows out of Lake Albert and while in area you get to see a lot of animals such as elephant, buffaloes, hippopotamus, giraffe, antelopes, crocodiles and many more. In buligi peninsula you also get to see many bird species such as Goliath Heron, Grey-crowned Crane, Saddle-billed Stork and long-toed Plover whilst African Skimmer and African Fish Eagle patrol, Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, Nightjars and many more. Game tracks in buligi peninsula run through savannah grassland, acacia and riverine vegetation running through a distance of 120- 170 kilometers.
Heart of Murchison
Heart of Murchison is situated in the southern region of Murchison falls National Park, though this area is dominated by bush, forests and tracks of savannah vegetation running down the river in the centre of the park from rabongo forest. Heart of Murchison is a prime spot for watching lions, herds of antelopes and many animals which are seen while on a drive on vehicle tracks which have been recently opened in the area, this area is situated 20 kilometers east of Masindi – paraa route. One of the prominent tracks in the Heart of Murchison is the honey moon track where you get to spot giraffes.
As you are going for a game drive in Murchison falls national park whether on self-drive or in your tour company van, make sure you use a 4X4 wheel car which can help you navigate through the tracks in the park which are sometimes muddy, and slippery.
Best time for game drive in Murchison falls national park
As a tourist you can go for game drive anytime of the year but the best experience can be got in the dry season, Murchison falls national park receives dry season from December to February. In dry season the Park receives little rainfall and forces animals to gather at around water springs to drink water thus easy spotting them, dry season in the park also results in to short savannah grassland which make spotting of the animals easy. In dry season game drive tracks are less muddy and slippery.
