Lions and elephants and...warthogs?

Hello from Queen Elizabeth national park in western Uganda! I'm having a blast here in Uganda. It's a great country and I think the thing I find most surprising is that it is very different in so many ways than Ethiopia was. I think I was expecting it to be similar since they are so close together in Africa, but I suppose that is the same as the differences between European countries.

I started off my journey here with an invitation to an afternoon and dinner at a home of a mzunga (Caucasian) researcher on the edge of Kibale forest. He is there studying chimpanzees and has been in Uganda for many years. We were treated to a fantastic meal of local cuisine, a lesson in local culture and the kids in the neighborhood performing great song and dance for us. It was an incredible into to Uganda.

Next we moved to Queen Elizabeth national park, where I am now. I did a safari game drive this morning that was fantastic. We spotted herds of buffalo, kob and antelope. We were also lucky enough to spot 8 lions which was fantastic. The birds here are amazing also both in quantity and exotic appeal. On our drive back from our mornin safari we accidentally stopped in the middle of a herd of elephants crossing the road. Things got a little hairy when one of the babies approached the car and it's mom started growing a fit. We didn't know if we should reverse or drive forward. There will be a funny video o that when I get home to show!

A lioness relaxing with an old termite mound behind her



A view from the boat launch trip



This afternoon I did a boat trip down the Kazinga channel and saw, again, hundreds of animals. I've decided that hippos are really just as cute in real life, although I know better than to approach. It was amazing to see so many animals in such close proximity to each other with no trouble. We went past a small village where the children were swimming! They were less than 20 feet from a hippo and who knows how many crocodiles, but they didn't seem to care. I don't think I would be in the water. This village was here before the park was declared a national park and the villagers are permitted to stay and continue to fish to make a living. The park gives them 20% of park entry fees to make up for the fact that they cannot hunt anymore.

The funniest animal by far is the warthog. The character of Pumba is perfect! They are a little dense perhaps not the brighter of animals. They are everywhere here. They roam around the hotel grounds and are afraid of their own shadows but will be distracted from running by a nice looking patch of grass!

Locals call the warthog the most religious animal because they pray
for food. With legs too long to graze normally, they need to kneel
to reach the grass.

Tomorrow I am off to start work at Grace Childrens Village in Kabale. The project creator, David, is kindly hosting me at his house. It will be exciting to see how locals live there. Will keep you posted