Queen Elizabeth Slept Here

After a pre-dawn breakfast and packing up camp we pile onto our trusty overland truck for the short drive to QEII National Park. En route we cross the Equator before arriving at the park.

Our crew at the equator in Ugna (somebody stole the "A" and "D")
(We are the old ones on the left bracket)

Our first sighting of the African Elephant

The park is quintessential Africa. Broad plains lush with grass are punctuated here and there with acacia trees. We see an occasional waterbuck and other assorted smaller gazelles as well as a few warthogs that have a face only a mother could love. John, our eagle-eyed Irishman, suddenly crys out, "Elephants on the left". We yell for the driver to stop and the next several minutes pass to the sound of camera shutters clicking. The herd contains several elephants, including one bull with at least three foot long tusks. We also notice a fairly small calf hiding amongst the four pillars of its mother's legs. Pesh, our group leader, suggests we move on to get camp set up. As we drive towards our camp we soon spy a large lake which Pesh identifies as Lake George . As we near the lake, it is apparent that it is teeming with hippos. We arrive in camp and quickly set up.

After a quick lunch, we drive over to the boat dock to take a boat ride through the famed Kazinga Channel (you have all heard of it. Right?). We troop onto the boat which is not too unlike the jungle boat ride at Disneyland. Although the trip lacks the spear bearing natives in the brush at Disneyland, it does not disappoint. We soon see scores of hippos lounging in the water. The lack of an internal cooling system requires that they stay in water during daylight hours to keep from overheating.

The shores of the channel are literally teeming with wildlife which includes water buffalo, water buck, the largest variety of birds I have seen anywhere and one more sinister denizen; crocodiles. As we cruise further, see a herd of elephants bathing in the channel. They are not happy about our presence and retreat from the water but not before one bull turns and faces us and trumpets his displeasure. The boat ride is over all too soon and we head back to camp.

Yellow billed stork and friends

This flock reminded Deb of our trip to Antarctica

Waterbuck

Water buffalo

Never smile at a crocodile

Hippos chillin'

After dinner with night falling we retire to our soggy tent. Our sleep is interrupted throughout the night by the curious mewing and grunting of hippos that come up on shore to feed. After another pre-dawn start we pile on the truck for another game drive through the park. We spy several more herds of elephants and, as we leave by the east gate, a troop of baboons bids us farewell.

"It ain't a bus, it's a truck"