Game drives in Uganda
Game drives in Uganda are one of the main tourist activities in the country. They offer thrilling and epic scenes of wildlife on the Ugandan savannah grasslands. A game drive involves watching the wildlife animals roaming the savannah grasslands while in the comfort of your vehicle.
Game viewing is the perfect activity to spot the big five animals of the African savannah and also the other animals. The big five animals include lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinos. These animals are considered the big five because they were killed by trophy hunters.
Several years ago hunting was a sport and people would compete to kill a variety of wild animals. Lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and rhinos were hard to kill therefore the hunters named them the Big Five.
Other animals to view while on a game drive during a Uganda safari include impalas, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, Jackson’s hartebeest, zebras, giraffes, and many others.
Uganda has a lot of savannah grassland national parks and these present the best platform for game drives. The savannah grasslands are a natural haven for a ton of wildlife and it also provides a cover that acts as a shelter for the animals.
The savannah grasslands provide food to these animals especially the grazers and also a hunting ground for the predators. While on a Uganda safari, the following places boost as the best for having a game drive in Uganda.
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest national park in Uganda and one of the best places in Uganda to do a game drive. Murchison Falls National Park is the oldest national park in Uganda established in 1952.
Game drives in Murchison Falls National Park can be done in two sessions one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Game drives offer a first front-row seat to visitors to spot the finest scenes of wildlife on the savannah grasslands of the Murchison Falls National Park.
Including a game drive on your Uganda safari in Murchison Falls National Park, you will be amazed by the thrilling views of the big four of the five animals which are lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes.
The rhino is the only animal among the big five animals missing in Murchison Falls National Park. However, on your journey to Murchison Falls National Park, you can pass by Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. This is a rhino sanctuary and the only place to spot endangered white rhinos. Murchison Falls National Park once housed white rhinos but because of insecurity in the area around the park, the last rhino was killed by poachers in 1983.
Rothschild’s giraffe, impalas, topis, warthogs, hartebeest, and Uganda kob among others are some of the other animals to spot while on a game drive in Murchison Falls National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Located in western Uganda, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular park in Uganda where game drives are done daily. Queen Elizabeth National Park has two major sectors for doing game drives. These sectors include Kasenyi and Ishasha and they feed your eyes with the most epic views of the wild animals.
Queen Elizabeth National Park was the second oldest national park in Uganda gazette in 1952. It also comes in second place regarding size after Murchison Falls National Park. The park is largely dominated by savannah grassland vegetation with scattered woodland trees.
This type of vegetation is the best habitat for most of the game in the park. The vegetation zone in the park favors the growth of large green plant cover which is a perfect meal for the grazers and a hunting ground for the hunters.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has plain terrain and this has also done a lot to favor the growth and multiplication of wildlife. This is because most of the animals in the park are runners and the terrain favors them. It also has some of the unique animals on the African savannah plain grasslands such as the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha. These lions are the only ones of their kind in Uganda and they are rare also in the world.
While on a game drive in the Ishasha region, you will be able to view these tree-climbing lions hanging on branches of trees. These lions normally rest in fig trees and cactus trees. The art of tree-climbing remains one of the most unexplained mysteries but many theories have come up.
One of them suggests that the lions learned the idea of tree climbing as a way to escape the bites from the small ground insects and over the years this habit has been passed to the young ones by imitating the older lions. Some of the animals to spot while on a game drive in Queen Elizabeth include the following lions, antelopes, buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, hyenas, foxes, and waterbucks to mention but a few.
Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park is located in the northeastern region of Uganda. It is also one of the best places in Uganda to do a game drive. Kidepo Valley National Park is located in a semi-arid climatic Karamoja sub-region. The park was gazetted in 1962 as a national park from a game reserve.
Kidepo Valley National Park just like Murchison Falls National Park is home to the big four of five animals that are lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes. Other than the big four animals, Kidepo Valley National Park has a lot of other wildlife including hyenas, antelopes, and giraffes to mention but a few.
Narus Valley provides the best artistic scenes of these animals because of its fresh pasture and abundant water that attracts animals to the valley. Taking on a game drive in Kidepo Valley National Park while on a Uganda safari will leave you with beautiful memories of the game.
Lake Mburo National Park
Taking on a game drive in Lake Mburo National Park will give you epic scenes of the wildlife. Lake Mburo National Park is the smallest national Park in Uganda located in the western region of Uganda in Kiruhura district. This park is dominated by a savannah grassland type of vegetation zone with scattered acacia trees.
Lake Mburo National Park has a variety of wildlife species including zebras, buffaloes, hyenas, leopards, impalas, waterbucks, and warthogs to mention but a few. Game drives in Lake Mburo National Park are done in two sessions, in the morning and evening. When starting a game drive, you will be allocated a game range guide who helps you to find the animals and also teaches you a thing or two about these animals. Commence on a game drive experience while on a Uganda safari and you will marvel in awe of the greatness that Uganda has to offer.
Uganda is a country gifted by nature and blessed by God with diverse wildlife to view at any time of the year. The country has activities other than game drives such as boat cruises, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, golden monkey trekking, white water rafting, hiking, bird watching, and many others. Brace yourself for thrilling and one-of-a-kind tourist activities and attractions when embarking on a Uganda safari tour.
