Gary Photographs Murchison

Murchison Falls National Park lies along the banks of the Nile River. It was the last, and best place that we explored on our Uganda adventure. It was also the hottest place we visited. Gary shot the photo above from our campground just outside the park's boundaries.

There were elephants that seemed to hang out all day just across the river from out camp. Later we crossed the river on a ferry and stayed even closer to the elephants. We had some stressful encounters with them in the days to come.

We took two boat tours along the banks of the river to see the abundant wildlife from up close.

We saw these Rock Pratincoles just below the falls. They are an unusual species of bird.

The park proper looks like typical African Savannah habitat. We were amazed by the abundance of wildlife in the grasslands. Like these Uganda Kobs.

Murchison is the only place that we saw the odd, Jackson's Hartebeest.

These incredible beauties were abundant in Murhison. It is the only place where we saw giraffes. They are very photogenic.

Oribis are very abundant and petit. They were also unique to Murchison, at least on our trip.

The males have short, but sharp horns.

Both Gary and I got similar photos of this particular group of Cape Buffalo. I like this angle. We were in a small roadcut, and the buffalo were just above us.

The noble beast.

These impressive, and slightly grotesque ground hornbills were quite common in Murchison.

This Yellow-billed Kite was actually in Semliki Toro, but I forgot to include it there. It was perched about 8 ft off the ground in a tree growing about 3ft off the road. We pulled alongside and shot many photos. The bird never flew. Yellow-billed Kites are a form of the widespread, Black Kite.

We only saw this one Woodchat Shrike on the trip. It breeds in europe.

We also saw only one or two of these wintering shrikes.

Gary's Photos, Bigodi and Beyond

Although I posted a few similar photos as this one, African Grey Parrots are an awsome treat to see in the wild. It's certainly worth a second look.

The same goes for the Great Blue Turaco. We also saw a Black-billed Turaco in the Bigodi Wetlands.

The Bigodi Wetlands was the only place that we saw, Central African Red Colobus Monkeys.

Africa's largest vulture, the Lappet-faced Vulture.

From Bigodi we headed west, then north again. The photo above shows a typical highway in Uganda. Bad roads, full of livestock.

Of course the roads were full of pedestrians as well. There is a great lack of public transportation in Uganda, and most people can't afford even the few pennies that local mini buses charge. They just walk. Even children do their part, hauling water daily.
The scene above illustrates why it took so long to drive, even relatively short ditances. We averaged about 20 kmph. We greeted thousands of people per day as we drove along, and gave many people rides. Some did'nt ask for a ride, they just got in. Everyone was friendly.

We saw many White-browed Coucals on the trip. This individual was in Semliki Toro Wildlife Refuge.

Semliki Toro was also where we went on a Chimpanzee trek. We paid $50.oo for the vehicle entry fee, $30.oo per person, per day, park entry fee, $20.oo a day guide fee, and $30.oo per person Chimpanzee Permit.
That's all on top of car rental, and  fuel, lodging, meals, etc. I'm still paying for that trip. The most expensive vacation I have ever taken. Certainly worth every penny.

This chimp ponders the meaning of life from it's leafy perch in a big tree.

This chimp is content to play with a Tamarind seed before eating it. Gary managed to get much better chimp photos than I did.

Semliki Toro was where we first saw the beautiful Red-throated Bee-eaters.

It is also the only place where we saw the wonderful, Red-headed Weavers. Too bad the light was so bad on that day. We really loved our stay in Semliki Toro.

Gary's Photos in Queen Elizabeth NP

This is one of Gary's favorite photos from the trip. I saw the same geese, and did'nt take a photo because I was hoping to see something more exotic to photograph. Egyptian Geese are extremely common, and there were many other things to see in the immediate vicinity.

One of many Hammerkops on the trip. Almost as numerous as Egyptian Geese.

I also shot a photo of this same group of Pink-backed, and Great White Pelicans, and one Grey Heron.

A great shot of rare Saddle-billed Storks and White-breasted, (Great) Cormorants.

A really nice look at a Yellow-billed Stork.

You can't tell size from the photo, but Giant Forest Hogs are huge. Much bigger than Warthogs.

We were all delighted by this meeting with Banded Mongooses near the Mweya Restaurant. They came right into the open air restaurant, and were scampering all around our feet. What an exhilerating moment. The food was'nt half bad either.

Along with the mongooses, there were several Warthogs lounging around just outside the restaurant. Even better were the many sunbirds in the trees and hedges surrounding the place. Like this Scarlet-chested Sunbird.

The other predominate sunbird of the area is the similar, (both in name and appearance) Red-chested Sunbird.

Moving on, we saw many Fork-tailed Drongos in the park.

Just outside the park's boundaries, Gary photographed this male, Brown-throated Wattle-eye. Only the female has a brown throat.

 Similar in size and appearance, also in the same vicinity as the previous species, this is a cute, Black-headed Batis.

From the same area, beautiful, Black-headed Gonoleks. We saw them just about everywhere we went.

Also near the outskirts of Queen Elizabeth NP, this male Pin-tailed Widow, (Whydah).

More of Gary's Uganda Photos

From Mburo we ascended into the Rwenzori Mountains and entered the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. An  enchanted place that conceals who knows what wonderful beasts.

One delightful inhabitant of the forest, Black and White Colobus Monkeys.

I'm not sure what species of sunbird this is. Probably a Variable Sunbird.

For many years I have wanted to see chameleons it their wild state. This is Gary's photo of the first wild chameleon I have seen. I cannot imagine a more impressive first chameleon than this tri-horned male.
It looks like a Jackson's Chameleon, but they are smaller, and less colorful. I seem to remember reading that Jackson's Chameleons only occur on the slopes of Mt. Kenya.

I never saw a female chameleon as colorful as this one. I'm jealous.

Gary's fine photo of a Mckinnon's Fiscal Shrike.

We saw a number of these beautiful, White-browed Robin Chats. None of the others were as cooperative as this individual.

From Bwindi we headed north, and lower in elevation to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The most famous feature of the park is the wildlife-packed Kazinga Channel. There are hordes of hippos.

I wish I had gotten a photo as nice as this.

The Kazinga Channel was the first place in Uganda where we started seeing elephants.

Only this elephant would face us in it's particular herd. The rest turned away from our boat.

A female Waterbuck.

A fine portrait of the world's largest heron, Goliath Heron.

An even better portrait of an African Fish Eagle.