Covered in Dust: Weekend Safari Adventure (Day 1)

Monday was a Ugandan national holiday, so we took advantage of the long weekend and took a trip out to Murchison Falls and the game park. In a word? Incredible.

In total, there were 14 people who went. All in one van. That was the beginning of the adventure. The drive was about two hours with surprisingly good roads for Uganda. Day 1 we drove around the park and saw elephants, water buffalo, tons of birds, deer, Pumbas (aka warthogs), and just soaked in the stunning beauty of the African bush. And really, it was stunning. Breathtakingly beautiful. To the west were mountains (on the other side is the Democratic Republic of Congo); the Nile and Lake Albert were visible almost the entire time. Much of the drive was spent in silence, as everyone was just in awe of the beauty of God’s creation.

To be quite honest, I was excited about going, but not ecstatic or anything. In my mind it was going to be a sort of drive-thru zoo. I could not have been more wrong. The animals we saw were majestic, graceful, and WAY bigger than the ones at the zoo. It was an incredible experience to be yards (and even feet) from these wild creatures. Plus, it was just super fun. We sang Lion King songs, Veggie Tales songs, and just enjoyed the fellowship.

At dusk, we took a ferry across the Nile (which it really never gets old to see the NILE River – I think of Moses in a basket every time) to the Red Chili Rest Camp where some planned to rent small huts (I was most definitely in this group), others planned to camp, and still others planned to sleep in the camper-van. While on the ferry, we talked to a man who worked at the Red Chili who informed us there was probably no vacancy. We weren’t convinced, but we prayed for vacancy before getting out of the van.

Turns out he was right. No vacancy. Not even room on the ground for two tents and a place to park the camper-van. To make things worse, they have food based on reservations and could not feed such a large group on such short notice. Keep in mind that it is dark, we are in the middle of the African bush, the nearest town is at least two hours away, and we are in lion country…not exactly ideal conditions.

BUT, as we stood there, a group of 30 called and canceled, opening up room for us to set-up our tents and rent their tents! So, I quickly moved from there’s-no-way-I’m-sleeping-in-a-tent-when-there-are-elephants-and-hippos-outside to this-should-be-interesting. And it was interesting. Actually, it was totally awesome. The tents had real beds and mosquito nets AND I got to spend the night listening to the sounds of Africa (which included a HUGE thunderstorm). In the morning, we discovered hippo footprints within a few yards of our tent. So, so cool!

Everything about the experience was wonderful. If you’re ever in western Uganda, visit Murchison and stay in the Red Chili Rest Camp. Just call ahead.

The DR Congo is right beyond the mountains in the distance. It was a stunning view!

Hippos are huge. They are said to be one of the most dangerous creatures on earth. I know it looks kind of like this is at a zoo, but it's actually at a gas station. He was just hanging out.

Baby warthogs. Not the prettiest creatures once they're full grown, but definitely unique. I enjoyed seeing them just because The Lion King is one of my favorite Disney movies...