I have visited a lot of places around the world but I tell you, this boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel is truly an experience like no other. It is without doubt a highlight of any Ugandan Safari in Africa
The Channel is located in Uganda, 40km long, connecting lake Edward and Lake George. It’s a home to a wide variety of wildlife together with a beautiful scenery with lush vegetation and many bird species that inhabit the area. It is naturally attractive to over 612 bird species from all over the world and it among the protected areas for birding in Africa. Some of the famous birds I was able to see included the African skimmers, the pelicans, king fishers, the majestic African fish eagle and the hard to find shoe bill stork one of the worlds endangered bird species among others
The board cruise was a 3-to-4-hour activity that is conducted by experienced professional guides that not only guided us but also gave us all the information and history of the Kazinga channel including all the explanations we wanted to know about the wildlife along the shores. Our boat cruise was during evening time but I also got to know that the boat cruise is done twice a day that is in the morning and in the evening, during the morning hours it starts at 11am and ends at 1pm, in the evening it starts at 2pm and ends at 5pm however sometimes the rounds are increased to make 3 in order to cater for the high demand of the visitors.
Indeed, I had a marvelous experience I sat in a 20-seat vessel along the channel and watched and learnt about the wild life on the shores of the water. I specifically had the chance to learn about the behavior of the hippos; I got to experience and learn that unlike other animals in the park, the hippos stay in water all day long and during night they move far distances to eat grass, and trek their journey back in the water during the morning before the sun comes out. It is said that the hippos behave like this because they have a lot of fat beneath their skin and the sun chocks directly to their skin because they have no far on their bodies, truly amazing to learn.
That picture I took of the baby Hippo was indeed my favorite 😍
During the boat cruise I also got a chance to see crocodiles; it was said by the guide that crocodiles used to stay in this place many years ago but because of the volcanic activity in the area they left, however, after some time, in one way or the other got to know that the eruptions had come to an end and they came back to the Kazinga channel along River Semliki. In addition, I also saw buffaloes, the water bucks, the unique Statunga antelopes and the Bush bucks, elephants among others; I was also lucky enough to see some of these giant mammals enjoy sex on the beach😁
It was truly a wonderful experience that I will never forget and hope to repeat multiple times, God bless.
Thanks for reading.