Excursion to the Serengeti- Arthur Kato

This article is a narrative written by Arthur who recently had an excursion to Serengeti Park with Karibuni Safaris. Enjoy your reading.

Day one
Our trip started at 4 pm. We traveled through the dark shadows of Mabira forest at 6.30 pm and crossed the world’s longest river (the Nile) at Jinja. We crossed the boarder successfully and drove all night having a lot of fun. As we got closer to Kisumu, Kenya everyone was asleep except the driver and I, because I don’t sleep much on tour.
Day two
Time check 5.30 am;we stopped at Nakuru for breakfast in a cafeteria then proceeded to Nairobi city with our cameras ready to capture attractions en route to Nairobi like Lake Nakuru, Mt. Longonot and the scenic East African Rift Valley.
It was a surprisingly long journey, as Mr. Wanyera and I came to observe.
“Ouch!” The area seemed too dry and arid to sustain the legendary Masai cattle and wildlife in the area. It even evoked some strange feelings to see such a desolate area coming from Uganda because we enjoy the lush green in most of Uganda. The Masaai people made it more appealing to us due to their life style and culture. We arrived in Arusha at 5.30 pm. Their main cuisine, roasted ugali and spice were so unfamiliar to me and my travel companions(students like myself). Obviously, Kiswahili is the main language spoken here.

Day three
Early in the morning, we had an excursion to the Mt. Kilimanjaro View Point. It goes without saying that we were all ready to hike up to the peak of Africa’s highest Mountain but because of unfavorable weather, we could not make the hike. Instead, we leisurely traveled back to Arusha Snake Park and visited the Masaai cultural museum. Everyone enjoyed playing with the harmless and docile snakes, camel rides and masaai cultural museum. I personally found it a little creepy!


Day four
We transferred to Karatu for an overnight stay. After driving for a few hours,we were graced to see the Ngorongoro crater and beautiful Lake Manyara scenery. We eventually detoured to the Manyara Serena safari lodge for a short tour and then continued to Karatu hostels where we danced masaai cultural styles as we waited for a delicious dinner.



Day five
At 6:00am we were all in the bus ready for the Ngorongoro experience and after a few hours we were at top of the crater. The breeze is so cold up there, you know! We could not believe that we were there, and all had our camera lenses focused down the crater taking captions of the biodiversity while everyone wondered at this world heritage site. One wonders how wildlife moves up and down that beautiful crater.

We headed for an interesting lecture about the Ngorongoro conservation area at the head offices that were few minutes from the crater. We had been wondered how the famous Olduvai Gorge looked like until we drove there! Surely the place looked like the cradle land of Zenj as proposed by so many historians.

Finally we set off to one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, the Serengeti National Park. To our good fortune, we witnessed the great wildebeest migration , and even saw the "big five". Serengeti is a paradise in all aspects including the beautiful scenery. We are lucky enough to we find a pride of lions with three cubs, giraffes, herds of buffaloes, elephants, huge numbers of wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, spotted hyenas and beautiful birds such as ostriches and vultures. We had an all day long game drive and had a night drive in the Serengeti as well, giving us a balanced picture. This was a bonus!!!

Day Six
We safely crossed the border from Kenya and arrived in Kampala-Uganda early evening braced for the usual city rush hour. All it all, it was a most splendous and educative tour to the Serengeti.


We cannot wait for you to join us. Karibuni will be your guide and companion.

Emotional Motivators in Landing Page Optimization

Emotional Motivators in Landing Page Optimization

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Karibuni Safaris releases a mini company profile.

Karibuni Safaris is a premier tour operator specializes in Adventure, Culture and Eco-Tourism. Conscious of the need to conserve our environment, we balance popular wildlife tours with alternative pursuits like nature, cultural and active adventure tours. We embrace pro-poor tourism and give back to communities we visit.

We offer tour packages for individuals and groups, hosted on River Nile and Mt Elgon. Our experienced team will give you unrivaled service while you have fun. We also operate mobile tent safaris, a fleet of luxury minivans and all terrain vehicles for hire and customize itineraries to suit your budget, time and pace.

For a new experience, look no further we have the perfect solution. We will take you “off the beaten track”, and give you the adventure of a life time. Our activities include: - Kayaking, rafting, Bungee Jumping, Horse riding, Biking, Abseiling, Rock Climbing, Fishing, Bouldering, Canoeing, mountaineering and Hiking.

Karibuni Safaris is a member of The Association of Uganda Tour Operators.

CONTACT US NOW!!

Room 21, 2^nd Floor, Susie House, Plot 1001 Ggaba Road (Next to American Embassy).

P.O. Box 10897, GPO, Kampala,Uganda.Telephone +256312110627, Mobile- +256772504597,

E-mail- contacts@karibusafari.co.ug Website- http: www.karibusafari.co.ug,

Blog - karibunisafaris.blogspot.com , Follow us - On Twitter and Facebook

“For that once in a lifetime adventure”

Paraa trip with Karibuni Safaris.

Karibuni Safaris was recently part of an excursion to the Paraa Region in Western Uganda. The last couple of weeks have been busy for this company between signing up for different member associations and making our mark know, it is no wonder we are moving up faster with each passing day.

Below are some of the pictures taken during the Paraa excursion. Enjoy your selves and do not for get to visit Karibuni Safaris on you tube by clicking this link.

Also look at more pictures at this link

Stay connected and remember... whenever you need a freindly, cost efficient guide in the Pearl of Africa, look no further than Karibuni Safaris Limited. Contact us at the email below for all your travel questions, complaints and needs.

Have a splendid weekend!

My Trip to Mbale with Karibuni Safaris. Day 2

SIPI FALLS


We left the Westend Inn at about 11am this morning. In the rush to leave after mum and dad returned from Mbale town, we could not get ice-cubes to freeze daddy's medicine.

In any case, we got to moving and are on the way to Sipi Falls now. It is amazing to see the raw beauty of eastern Uganda. Definitely something worth seeing in your life time: the hills and Mountain Elgon ranges across the horizon coupled with waterfalls, cows goats and even some donkeys.

below: look into the horizon: hidden treasures of Sironko District in Uganda

donkeys in the court yards

one of the "sister" falls in Sipi Falls area

To put it as dad said.. " the good thing about the trip to Sipi is that the journey begins even before you get there!"

I totally agree. And I have pictures to back me up! :)

Our first stop was at the Crow's Nest Camp site. It is a small site with work and maintenance done completely by the local community. The housing is well organized and amicable for the traveler looking to relax and enjoy the view of the  Sipi Falls. We were lucky to meet some tourists; all from different countries. Some where from Australia and others from Great Britain. The ambience at Crow's Nest is amicable. All the accommodation resembled little bird nests facing the Sipi Falls.

below: one of the cabins at Crow's Nest.

a bed at Crow's Nest lavished with a mosquito net and lots of room for two .

below: another cabin at Crow's nest


After our short visit to Crow's Nest, we left and headed for the Mount Elgon Forest Research Center. We were shocked to discover that  the ten minute drive we were trying to take. . .was actually to be 30 minutes. Daddy was not particularly amused by this and suggested to stop and walk at some point.. Mum suggested that we leave her by the road and go to the camp alone then pick her up when we got back. Walking was not in her agenda!, thank heavens we met a local tour guide take us to the camp…

The Forest Research centre was really amazing. There are a multiple of forest trails and cabins for different type people. The Research Center boasts four cabins, and four tented camps.

below: a kibanda at Mt. Elgon Forest Rsearch Center
 It also has campsites for tourists with their own tents. On arrival at the centre we met a group of tourists on their way to hike. Our tour guide enlightened us that the tourists would be travelling and setting camp at  the "tum tum" camp site. Pronounced "toom toom "

"Tum, tum." Mum repeated the words after the tour guide mentioned them, and she had a silent laugh.. 

"What is tum tum? ", daddy asked.
"You know, long ago, the people used to dance there. The word "tum" means dance.. And "tum tum" means dance dance. The name comes from the dances at that place.." he said.

"Haha, tum tum.. " Daddy and mummy said again.. Laughing as we drove away to the next location on our to-do list.

I managed to talk my dad into letting me have a walk down to the foot of the Sipi Falls. The tour guide is going to take me down there so I can take some pictures in the cave. He says that the walk down will take 30 minutes, but I am skeptical. You know how it is with these guides.. Ten minutes becomes 20 and 30 become one hour!.. Oh well, I'll walk and speak!

… one hour later …

Wow is all I HAVE to say as far as  the trip to the foot of the Sipi Falls goes. I did not think I would be able to make it to the bottom of that hill . . . but I did. I have never seen hills so steep and sun so bright. 

Honestly, the walk down to the bottom was pretty smooth. May be it was because I was looking forward to getting to the bottom of the falls and my dad wanted me to see it from within the cave! I have to say, when I started to hear the falls in the back ground, I could not wait to get to them. Their beauty and sheer grandeur were enough to make me cry, but I contained myself none-the-less. My tour guide was telling me of how strong I have been. 

We managed to walk through some tough terrain in less than 30 minutes. It was something amazing..  And I promised him that I would bring a friend over the next time I came to the falls. Infact, the next time I bring a friend over, I will make sure we go to the top of Mount Elgon too.

Now the trip back to the top of the mountain / hill was not easy at all. I had so conveniently forgotten my water bottle in the car and I realized how badly I needed the water when we were climbing these hills inclined at 90 degrees...literally. I must have made about six stops and by the time I got to the top,my heart was pumping so fast that I thought I would die. Haha, but as you can tell.. I am alive and WELL! :).. The one thing that kept me going was the thought of a cold bottle of fanta running down my throat when I got back to flat land.

I have to say, the journey to the top had an interesting climax..  I found  a plate of deep fried irish potatoes, fish fillet and some salad… and lastly but not least … a cold bottle of FANTA... I LOVED THAT FANTA! ;)

We are on our way to Mbale town and it is about 4:50pm here . We are gonna stop by market to get some food for Bukhaweka( the real village).. Then we are gonna go  to the village for the night. Its been more than a year since I was last there.. And I am waiting anxiously to get there. :)

Alright buddies, that is enough for now.. I will be back later.. With more from the Eastern Uganda excursion. :)

for more information on these and more trips, send emails to contacts@karibusafari.co.ug or visit the website at www.karibusafari.co.ug

My Trip to Mbale, With Karibuni Safaris!

I am on my way to Mbale right now with the parents. This trip has been organized by Karibuni Safaris and so far  it has been good, but I guess only time will tell. We left Kampala at about midday today and have been on a non-stop trip to Mbale for about 3 hours. Dad is a little aggitated because there are some business people we are supposed to be meeting in Mbale to strike some deals with. I hope all goes with the trip.

tracks on the road side to Mbale
…half an hour later..
We  stopped at Najjembe to get some chicken and gonja and  the car tire we fixed  yesterday  after spending a cool 35000 shillings was flat again. I am pretty sure we lost thirty minutes of our journey there. We were able to get a mechanic to help us fix our car and are now back on our trip to Mbale.

muchomo plaza

roasted gonja
                                                                   
I have my own quarrels dealing with the police now and what not. How can we driving at 50kph on the highway! When are we supposed to get to our destination- especially when we have deadlines to beat! Anyway, I am  hopeful that we will find some of these business people in their offices when we 

get to Mbale.

green bananas
Otherwise, for now… I am enjoying the beats from Putumayo's South African music  and letting daddy drive us to Mbale. 

 ... one hour later...
"Clara I have got a fart… and behind it there's a tool! " daddy said as we headed into Iganga. He was guarding that tool jealously to save the passengers least it became a calamity! 
Poor passengers!

Kiira Dam in the back ground.. Me in the foreground
So, as it turns out.. The road to Mbale between Jinja and Bugiri has been fixed! All tarmacked and smooth as ever, I am enjoying this trip today. Plus, I HAVE been able to open the sun roof of the car and take some well deserved pictures of Uganda.
So far we have been stopped by two policemen. The first one took 10,000 shillings from daddy. The second one simply asked us to:
1.  Put  on the indicators.
2. Put on the wipers.
3. Show the driving permit and what not.
Wow quite the epic adventure. I am glad that I was not the one driving the car today: because it would be a complete disaster!
We just left Iganga town  a few minutes ago and we are now on Tirini road! It is our straight shot to Mbale Town. Did I forget to mention that it is a 99km stretch?! Haha, well, there is nothing to enjoy on this road aside from the maize plantations, the mud huts covered with grass thatched roofs, the cassava plantations here and there,, and ofcourse, the lovely sounds of Erykah Badu and simple conversations from mum and dad. 

cows grazing on Tirini Road
Its 3:35pm now. :)… so much for the three our drive to Mbale. :P
3:56pm.. It s just started pouring  rain! We are still on Tirini road and its refreshing to see some rain after being home for a couple of weeks and not seeing anything. :)… Mum's legs were swelling a while back.. But managed to get that under control. :D.. So, they are good now basically. From the look in the sky, Mbale  town seems to have been visited by some rain.. And we are driving right into it.
K.. I'll be back a little later when I have something nice to add to my travel to Mbale. :D
4:46pm, we finally arrive into Mbale.

A street in Mbale Town

10 Day Great Bird Watching Expedition.

  Uganda is located right on the Equator, at the crossroads of the East African plains.Karibuni Safaris has organized a 10 day premier bird watching experience that you, your family and your friends can enjoy in the heart of East Africa. The 10 day bird watching expedition will include visits to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the Queen Elizabeth National park. 

Among other species of birds you will see are the Yellow Eyed Flycatcher, the Kivu Ground-thrush and the Red-faced woodland warbler seen respectively in the pictures following.

Queen Elizabeth National Park along had over 550 avian species of birds and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has 350 species of birds. Working together with the these parks, Karibuni Safaris stands on its promise of customer satisfaction, with great accommodation and an unparalleled fun and nature-interaction experience.

What are you waiting for? Pick up your travelling shoes and book a trip with us at our website. Need more information on the itinerary, follow this link.

Any of your travel questions can be sent to us at contacts@karibusafari.co.ug or info@karibusafari.co.ug.

More contact information can be found on this site.

We look forward to hearing from you. :)

Change of contacts

There has been a change in the contacts for Karibuni Safaris.

You can now contact Karibuni at

contacts@karibusafari.co.ug and info@karibusafari.co.ug rather than the resently said

contacts@karibusafaris.co.ug and info@karibusafaris.co.ug.

We apologize for the confusion.

A HOME...OR HELL RUN?

This story is a follow up from David K's Excursion to Kibaale National park. It describes the misfortunes of he and his travel companions. We hope that you will read and enjoy this sad.. yet funny story and hope that you will pick a few lessons as regards being fully prepared for your next trip into the Wild! Enjoy!!

We started our 6-hour journey for Kampala city at 2 PM expecting to get there at about 10 pm. After barely driving 25 KMs, our rear tire got a puncture in a prime tree climbing lion territory. We had no car-jack and the spare tire was deflated! Fortunately a truck not too far from us had tire problems too. We used the truck driver’s hydraulic system to inflate our tire and borrowed his car-jack to replace the spare tire. That was when we discovered the car couldn’t start as its battery was empty! The truck driver simply started his truck and drove away shaking his head at our sheer bad luck.

Not too long after, we started flagging down vehicles. To our dismay, they are few, far in-between and those who dared stop asked us whether we had jump wires used to restart the engine. You guessed right we didn’t have any! We were eventually rescued by a well prepared motorist and got back on the road; time check 4.30 pm. We had already lost 2 hours of our day and still had to take a detoured at the Simba Safari camp to pick a journalist Edwin who had asked for a lift. He would later regret this decision.

At 6 pm, we got to Kasese, fueled up, fixed the spare tire (this would turn out to be a crucial decision), and set off for Kampala at 6.30 PM. On the way we stopped to buy fruits in a township 20Kms from Fort Portal and as fate would have it, our driver switched off the car engine. After buying the fruits the car couldn’t start! We were ONCE AGAIN, asked for jump wires. You already know our answer to that. A few moments of discussion ended with us buying the jump wires; however, motorists refused to stop and help us start the car; their excuse, “Sorry, we are in a hurry!” We eventually got a good Samaritan who helped us start the car, but no sooner had he driven away, our car started to stall again. Lucky enough, we had saved his cell phone number and asked for his assistance once again: he obliged to help for a fee, so much for Good Samaritan....; time check 10.25 pm.

We finally set off for Fort Portal at 10.35pm after losing 2 more hours and vowed not to turn the car engine off again. A quick stop over in Fort Portal to freshen up and buy snacks would have us leave for Kampala at 12 am. We got to Kampala at 3.30 am; prime time for traffic police to hassle truck drivers with faults. The police stopped us because our right head lamp was kaput and it took us the better part of the hour to negotiate our freedom.

If you think the worst was over, do you remember the tire we repaired in Kasese. Well when the traffic police finally let us go that tire gave way as if to punish us for the failed mission of frustrating our journey back home. Fortunately there was a gas station nearby from which we borrowed a car-jack from a truck driver and replaced the flat tire. At this point in time, the tire was completely damaged beyond repair.

I finally got home at 4.30 am, almost 14 hours later. It is with this that I warn you to know and take it upon yourself to check the car-road- worthiness on your next trip to the wild. See you around.

ISHASHA NTUNGWE RIVER CAMP

Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp is located in the Southern end of Queen Elizabeth National Park which is famous for the rear tree climbing lions. To reach this gem of a camp you enter the southern gate and drive 75 KMs on a motorable dirt road. The camp was designed by the proprietor Allan with eco-friendly materials and  uses solar energy for cooking, lighting and boiling bath water.

  

We left Kibale National Park at 4 PM and arrived in Queen Elizabeth National Park at 6 PM. We then detoured to Simba Safari Camp to get journalists who were covering our trip and finally arrived at Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp at 10 PM. Enroute we encountered assorted mammals like Elephants, Wildebeest, Warthogs and Uganda Knobs, to mention but  a few, and were careful to avoid knocking a viper crossing the road. We approached the camp through a dirt road with dumb surroundings that lowered our hope for a successful lion-hunt.

  Fortunately, when we got to the camp gate, our hope was immediate lifted. The camp was a site to see with well lit pristine gardens.  The Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp manager showed us our tents (which had modern facilities) and were later invited for a sumptuous four -course dinner. After supper we set out to the camp fire and the manager narrated stories of wild animals and the local community amidst sounds from the forest and the flowing Ishasha River half a kilometer from the camp. We retired to bed at 12 PM since we had an early start in order to see the tree climbing lions.

 

Our day of mishaps began with all of arriving late for breakfast. We had an 8:30am departure to see the lions; unfortunately, we were an hour behind schedule and to top it off, the vehicle ran out of diesel! The driver ran to buy the fuel and returned with petrol. As he poured it in the tank, I asked, “why that diesel was pink?”- mishap number four! He immediately stopped pouring and we then sent someone else to get the diesel while we emptied the fuel tank; not exactly an easy task, might I add! When we finally left, we had lost two hours.

  On arrival into the park, the lions had probably gone to rest. Our two-hour search only yielded Elephants, Wildebeest, and Water Bucks, Wart hogs and other antelopes but no tree lions. We turned back to the camp in low spirits. The chef cheered our spirits by doing some magic and came with a three course lunch complete with organic vegetables grown at the camp. The meals at the camp were superb and thanks to the creative chef, who conjured something out of nothing.

 

Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary

Bigodi wetlands sanctuary is managed by Kibaale Association for Rural and Environmental Development (KAFRED) on behalf of the community. This sanctuary is one of the most successful community based project initiated and managed by Ugandans. The wetland is 8 kilometers long and is an important wildlife corridor for Kibale Forest. The local community benefits through schools, clinic, roads and other community services given free to its members. The community now appreciates conservation of biodiversity and the benefits of ecotourism.

 

We set off for Bigodi at 12.30pm. En route, we found moulds of elephant dung which provided the only evidence of the presence of the rear Forest Elephant. We arrived at the booking office at 1 pm and after paying a fee of 10,000 shillings (5 US Dollars), we met Ivan our guide. We were then provided with a pair of boots and binoculars. Ivan was very knowledgeable about birds, plant species and primates. The trail in Bigodi takes about 3 hours we opted to do half trail as our Itinerary was very tight.

  On the way to the trail we passed by a group of children who had gone to fetch water from the swamp. We then came across a tree hosting a very large colony of the Great Blue Turaco; Ivan told us this sanctuary holds the largest colony of the Turaco in the world. It is aptly named “The Home of The Blue Turaco”.

 

As we started the trail the temperatures dropped significantly and visibility decreased to a few meters. After walking for 15 minutes our guide told us to stop and pointed to some trees, showing us monkeys which we failed to see; all we see were moving branches. Further into the wetland we saw different species of monkeys like Grey cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboons, Black and White Collobus, Red tailed, Vervet and Blue tailed monkeys. We were told that there are other mammals like bushbucks, sittings and otters.

The binoculars came in very handy for birding. We saw and identified 10 species during our one - hour excursion. We saw the black winged grey bishop, Emerald Cuckoo, King Fisher, Grey winged Robin Chat, Blue Shrouded Robin Chat, Yellow vented bulbul, Long Crested Eagle. The swamp in the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary was dump but it could also flood and get soggy in the dry season. To overcome some difficult areas places, board walks ways were made. There also tree houses that are used as pavilions for avid bird watch towers

 

On return from Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary we had lunch at Kibaale Primate Lodge set off for Queen Elizabeth National Park, on our way we met a large community of Baboons and Chimpanzees playing along the road, we passed by Ndali Crater lake and finally got to Simba Camp at 5.30 pm.

 

Excursion to Kibaale National Park

There's more to Kibaale, than a wild variety of primate species! David K(not real name), was part of a group excursion to the Kibaale National Park with Karibuni Safaris. When asked about his trip, this is what he had to say...

What did you learn on your trip about Kibaale and what stood out to you on arrival at the park?

Kibaale is small national park established in 1993 and home to 13 species of primates, 335 species of birds, 350 species of butterflies and 351 identified species of trees. On

 21st March, I was invited by Allan the proprietor of Ishasha Itungwe River Camp to visit his camp and make a stopover at Kibaale National Park. We set off at 4 PM and arrived at Primate Lodge 5 hours later, we were welcomed with a banana milkshake. We later had a delicious dinner and set off to camp fire, finally resting at 12 pm.

What did this excursion entail?

Kibaale Primate Lodge is at the center of this forest with eco-buildings designed to blend with forest. To reach your tent camp you move through the forest and cannot see your neighbor’s tent or banda making you a part of the forest.

 In the morning 8am we were briefed by the game rangers and set off the trail for over 3 hours trekking in this pristine and serene environment. We were greeted by a Red Capped Robin chart bird, which imitated our guides whistle. We saw the Emerald Culcoo, Great Blue Toracco and many other birds.

Somewhere in the trail we heard a chimpanzee thumping a tree stamp, our guide told us this is a group of habituated chimpanzees and he was calling his mates to see us. All of a sudden we were surrounded by a community of over 50 chimpanzees of all ages. We saw a chimpanzee grooming its mate and instead of throwing the tick she ate it. (Sure and natural method of disposal). We saw other primates like Blue tailed, Red Tailed, L, Hoesti, Grey-Cheeked Mangabey, Vervet, Black and White Colobus monkeys and Olive baboons.

black and white colobus monkeys

olive baboon

grey-cheeked mangabey

... Having completed this exciting trail and seeing many primates and birds, the next item on our itinerary was a visit to Bigodi Wetland sanctuary. I will tell you more about the amazing Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary in my next blog.