Game Drive Through Queen Elizabeth
Game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the most remarkable tourism activities that one can take part in. The activity is popular in the kasenyi planes because the region hosts a large number of wildlife, apart from kasenyi drive circuit other circuits include; Ishasha drive circuit, channel drive circuit, crater drive circuit.
These drives create a memorable experience by granting on the chance to see and witness these animals closer than you can imagine.
Game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park
Game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park offers an outstanding wildlife attractions, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a fascinating cultural history. There are many opportunities for visitors to meet the local communities and enjoy storytelling, dance, music and more.
The gazetting of the park has ensured the conservation of its ecosystems, which in turn benefits the surrounding communities. Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is truly a Medley of Wonders!
If you’re after a classic African safari experience, the trails through Kasenyi, the North Kazinga Plains and the Ishasha Sector offer virtually guaranteed buffalo, antelope and elephant sightings, along with warthogs and baboons. Taking an experienced guide is the most successful way to track down a pride of lions, and maybe even the odd leopard.
This park offers the most satisfying wildlife viewing experiences. Besides the spectacular rift valley and volcanic scenery, highlights include the rare tree climbing lions found in Ishasha sector south of the park as well as lions that don’t climb trees, dense population of African elephants, buffalos, leopards, spotted hyenas, zebras, eland, Topi, Uganda Kob among several antelopes. All of these can be seen during day except for leopard is best spotted during night game drives.
A unique experience is exploring the Kazinga channel with a boat trip; see the hippo Nile crocodiles enjoy sunsets as well as you see animals by the banks. A boat trip along the Kazinga channel between Lake George and Edward is a rewarding method of game viewing.
New boat trips have come up, starting at Katunguru Bridge, where locals showcase their high jump swimming skills and magic.
Things to Know when planning game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park
When planning game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park, early morning and dusk are the best time for viewing animals, as they spend the daytime escaping from the heat under shady trees or in the park’s lakes and channels.Guides are available from 6:30 am onwards; morning game drives should be booked the night before.
Why Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most scenic and diverse park. This world known biosphere reserve is a wonderful location on the floor of the Albertine Rift Valley, 914 meters above sea level, at the foot of the 5,100-meter Rwenzori Mountains.
Explore the varied habitats such as lakes, rivers, open savanna, acacia woodland, tropical forest and vast wetlands. The park supports an impressive 95 mammal species and over 600 species of bird.
It’s a remarkable total for a park covering less than 2,000 square km – one that is surpassed in Africa only by the neighboring and larger Virunga National Park in Congo.
Experience Queen Elizabeth National Park like never before. This world biosphere reserve is a vast and rich national park, filled with an abundance wildlife including the tree climbing lions. Book an unforgettable tour of Queen Elizabeth National Park and the nearby parks including Bwindi for gorilla trekking, Kibale National Park for chimpanzee tracking, Semuliki National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains with the expert guides from Experience Africa Safaris!
Wildlife you can view during a game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park
During a game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park,be prepared to spot the outstanding wildlife attractions and this is the magnet that pulls tourists to Uganda. The park is home to 95 mammal species while the bird list is 612 species long. This diversity is the result of an impressive range of habitats.
57 vegetation types have been identified though these can be summarized as just 5: forest; grassland; bushy grassland; Acacia woodland and swamp vegetation.
Residents of the park’s grasslands include elephant, Cape buffalo, Uganda Kob, waterbuck, warthog, giant forest hog, lion, leopard and hyena. Topi are found in Ishasha, while forest primates are found in Kyambura Gorge and Maramagambo Forest and you can be able to spot them during game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park.
In African protected areas, the park’s impressive bird list is exceeded only by the neighboring Virunga National Park.
To name but a few key species: martial eagle, black-rumped buttonquail, African skimmer, Chapin’s flycatcher, pink-backed pelicans, white-winged warbler, papyrus gonolek, papyrus canary, corncrake, lesser and greater flamingo, and shoebill stork.
Big Game
During a game drive through Queen Elizabeth National, spot to about 5000 hippos, 2500 elephants and over 10,000 buffalo thriving in its grasslands and shorelines, Queen Elizabeth National Park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species.
The hippos spend their days escaping the burning equatorial sunshine in the cool waters of the park’s lakes and channels, before setting off across the savannah at dusk to munch their way through up to 50kg of vegetation before sunrise.
Elephants, too, congregate around the waterways, but these huge, hungry creatures, standing up to 3.5 meters tall and weighing up to 6000 kg need to wander far and wide in search of vegetation to sustain them.
Families of 10-15 individuals, and in some cases many more, wade across swamps and trample through forests, and their loud calls can be heard resonating across the crater filled valleys.Other common herbivores include warthogs, waterbuck, Uganda Kob and Topi, as well as the shy sitatunga antelope which you will be in position to view during a game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Birds
Spot different bird species even during the game drive through Queen Elizabeth National. The Park is classified as an Important Birding Area (IBA) by Birding International, Queen Elizabeth National Park’s great variety of habitats mean it is home to over 600 species. This is the greatest of any of Uganda’s national parks, and a phenomenal number for such a small area.
The parks confluence of savanna and forest, linking to the expansive forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) allow visitors to spot East as well as Central African species, some of which are only otherwise seen in the DRC.
Present in the park are numerous water birds, woodland and forest dwellers in the Maramagambo Forest, 54 raptors and various migratory species. Key species include the Martial Eagle, Black-rumped Buttonquail, African Skimmer, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Pink backed Pelican, African Broadbill, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed Lark, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Corncrake, Lesser and Greater Flamingo, Shoebill and Bar-tailed Godwit.
All including vast flora of over Fifty-seven vegetation types have been identified in the park. These types can be summarized as just five: forest; grassland; bushy grassland; Acacia woodland and swamp vegetation which combined create an enchanting jungle-like exploration for both allocentric and pshycocentric travelers creating a memorable experience.
