HIPPOS! HIPPOS! HIPPOS!
If the hippopotamus is your favourite animal, then you cannot go past Queen Elizabeth National Park. They are everywhere. In fact it boasts the greatest concentration of hippos in all of Africa. They are a grazing vagabond of the night. The only remnants of their passing are the fragile foot prints cast in the mud many kilometres from the water’s edge. Allowing the enthusiast a short time to contemplate their existence until the next rain. They are a peculiar lot. Large bodied. Large head. Big teeth and a temperament so cautious that they are ashamed to display their massive bulk in the daylight. Only willing to expose themselves in the safety of the night. But don’t be fooled by their cautious behaviour. They are the Jekyll and Hyde of the African animal kingdom. Able to change personality from the cute water-loving introvert into a crazed mass of aggression.
So, while in the park, sit back and enjoy the company of the hippo from the safety of a boat on one of the lakes of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Watch them frolic in the lake water with the buffalo in close company and the occasional Nile crocodile, laying motionless, blending into its surrounds. Watch Kingfisher birds diving behind the boat and catching small fish disorientated by the slowly passing boat. Enjoy the serenity of the lake and its 600 species of bird, with just the hum of the boat and the guides’ voice in the background. This is a great park. Its highlights are its hippos, but keep an eye out, or an ear. There are elephants, lion, hyena and leopard in the park. Oh, and be careful of the warthogs they like your food!
Written by Denis Grace, one of our trip leaders who recently visited Queen Elizabeth with his group on a November gorilla safari. Photo by Alex Pervanoglu, our new driver.
To find out more on our trips that include Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park please click here.
