6 day Murchison birding safari
Safari Overview
Arrival and departure: Entebbe
Day 1- Murchison, birding and boat cruise
Day 2- Murchison, birding and trek to top falls
Day 3- Murchison, birding and chimpanzee tracking
Day 4- Zziwa sanctuary to kampala, birding and rhinos
Day 5- mabamba & botanical, birding
Day 6- l. Victoria shores departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1-3
Destination: Murchison falls N.P
On arrival, you will head out to Murchison falls national park a destination with vast grasslands, palms, acacia trees, swamps, savannah and its remarkable wild game with over 450 recorded resident bird species such as; the Abyssinian ground hornbill, Denham’s bustard, long-tailed nightjar, black-headed lapwing, long-toed lapwing, black-billed barbet, Senegal thick-knee, yellow-fronted tinker bird, rock pratincole, speckle-fronted weaver, white-browed sparrow, eastern plantain-eater, African grey woodpecker, red throated bee-eater, grey-headed kingfisher, swamp flycatcher, standard-winged nightjar, giant kingfisher, Silverbird, blue-headed Coucal, black-headed gonelek among other hundreds of species making it one of the best birding destinations in Africa. You will have more glance at the park’s forest species while doing chimpanzee tracking in the forested section of the park.
The park has the strongest water falls in the world and the highest number of rothschild’s giraffes in the world, more than three- quarter of the total world population and numerous elephant and lion families, waterbucks, impalas, kobs, warthogs, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, leopards, hyenas, jackals among other mammals. After lunch you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison falls. While on the boat cruise, you will have more sceneries of various water birds like the shoebills, raptors, geese among others, hippos and a great number of huge nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst like buffaloes, elephants and the scenes are endless. You will also have a boat cruise to the Nile delta as it flows back to the albertine peninsular, an experience that obviously unmatchable as you watch the waters of the river Nile anchor the wild and its species.
Accommodation: Paraa safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 4
Destination: Zziwa rhino sanctuary
You will start off with a walking safaris at Zziwa rhino sanctuary watching out for birds and rhinos towards the swamp areas. The park has over 300 bird species of forest, woodland and swamp residence including the shoebill thus you will be granted another chance to see this spectacular bird. Zziwa rhino sanctuary has more than 40 white southern rhinos, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, leopards, swamps with papyrus endemics like the shoebill, African wild cats, warthogs, reptiles among other species. the sanctuary not having big predators, allows you to easily make nature walks to come to nearby engagement with the park’s wild game. In the late afternoon you will continue with your trip to Kampala.
Accommodation: Imperial resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 5
Destination: Mabamba swamp & botanical gardens
Early in the morning after breakfast, you will set out to the mabamba swamp which is also Ramsar site to see the endangered shoebill. This tour is carried out on boats that move from the Lake Victoria shoes into the narrow water stretches of the swamp; a tour lasting for 3 hours. This will come with an opportunity to watch many other swamp endemics and water birds. After the shoebill tracking, you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. This walking tour at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. The gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both exotic and indigenous. These plants are categorized into indigenous and exotic fruits, medicinal, beverage, spices, ornamentals, timber, oils and important crop wild relatives, several of these threatened in the wild and agro-ecosystems. Later in the evening a nightlife experience in Kampala or around the shores of Lake Victoria will be ready to get you relaxing.
Accommodation: Imperial royale hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 6
Destination: Lake Victoria shores & Departure
Your last day of the trip will find you at the shores of Lake Victoria; Africa’s largest lake for a rest as you chill in the cool lake breeze, scenic endless water horizons and numerous green islands and swampy shores that can also be visited by boat cruises, speed boats or canoes. These harbor numerous bird species with kingfisher being common and almost visible all over, egyptian geese, water ducks, eagles, kites, marabou storks, white egrets and these shores become more interesting in the period between June and September when hundreds of migrant bird species from Europe fly in to settle at the shores of this lake. The length of your tour along these shores will depend on your departure time.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast