Nature places in Africa
It is difficult to describe the incredible feeling of getting up close and personal with gorillas. Their intelligence is undeniable, and their close relation to humans (second only to chimpanzees and bonobos) apparent at every moment. Mgahinga National Park is one of only two parks in Uganda home to the highly endangered mountain gorillas, but unlike Bwindi, Mgahinga has only a single habituated family - and sometimes not even that, as they regularly cross into Rwanda. But when they're around, the Nyakagezi family is a great one to visit. While currently consisting of only ten members, five of these are silverbacks, so if you want an adrenaline-filled gorilla encounter this might be the family for you. Furthermore, this park is much more off the beaten track than Bwindi, so chances are you'll have the gorillas all to yourself. Trekking here is also (usually) less strenuous than at Bwindi, where the steep hills can be quite daunting.
The lakes of southwestern Uganda are famously beautiful, and Lake Bunyonyi is by far the best known - and easily one of the prettiest. It's fairly easy to get to from nearby Kabale, and the drive over has a few stunning viewpoints. This is the most touristy of the region's lakes, meaning that there are plenty of places to stay and organise canoe trips. Most resorts and restaurants are at the lake's eastern side - the rest of it doesn't really see many visitors, although there are plenty of small local communities living there. Bunyonyi is fairly free from hazards such as bilharzia, hippos and crocodiles - making swimming about as safe as it can get - and it has a lot of interesting places to visit. Punishment Island, for example, where pregnant, unmarried women were left to die. But more than that, it's a great place to just chill, particularly if for those on long, grueling overland trips.
Rhinos have been extinct in Uganda since 1982. In an effort to reintroduce the animal, a 70 km² piece of land was commissioned in the early 2000s and started receiving white rhinos a few years later. By 2006, six adults had been relocated to the sanctuary, some of them coming from as far as USA's Disneyland. The new tenants have proliferated quite well for they had doubled their numbers by 2012 (one of the offspring, of an American mother and a Kenyan father, has been cleverly named 'Obama'). The plan to release some in national parks still has a long way to go, however, for the population has to reach a much higher number. In the meantime, the rhinos are treated like rock stars since they are followed everywhere they go by two armed guards, day and night, to deter poachers. Going to see rhinos at Ziwa is not a true safari experience because even if you take your own vehicle with a guide and walk in the wilderness for a while, you are guaranteed a rhino sighting, and you will likely be able to get very close. But it's a cool experience and your only chance at seeing rhinos in Uganda.
Despite its proximity to its far more famous cousin to the south, North Luangwa is an entirely different experience. Very remote – access for visitors is by chartered plane only – this is a place to visit if you wish to spend time in a true wilderness, and to do so without seeing more than a handful of people while you do so. The bush here is often fairly dense, making it less suitable for traditional safaris than South Luangwa, but most people come up here to experience the wild on foot, not by vehicle. If you wish to tick off the Big Five in a day, this probably isn’t the place for you (although lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and rhinos can all be found in the park). If you wish to experience a real wilderness and get away from the crowds, however, North Luangwa is perhaps the best place in Africa to do so.
South Luangwa National Park is not just the best in Zambia, but considered one of the best in the whole of Africa in terms of variety and density of animals. There are literally animals everywhere: Impalas, pukus, buffaloes, waterbucks, hippos, crocs, elephants, zebras and giraffes, where some are of species that are endemic. Furthermore, there are good chances to come across hyenas, leopards and lions on the game drives. Birds are equally plentyful and come in all colours and sizes so even ornithology-ignorants get drawn by them. Snake eagle and different storks are common - and even the African fish eagle, which is on the Zambian flag, is easily spotted. Lodges in all budget categories can be found near the small dusty village of Mfuwe, the gateway to the park. Here, the wildlife come to you at nighttime, so be careful not to tumble upon a munching hippo or elephant when moving around the lodge grounds (walking outside the lodges is suicidal).
Fancy the chance to get close to elephants and wild dogs on foot – without a guide? Mana Pools is a very, very cool place. It’s absolutely gorgeous, located on the Zambezi River, but it’s the activities on offer that are the park’s real drawcard. Canoeing will allow you to get very close to elephants in particular, but with some luck also other animals as they come down to drink. Most people come here to get close to wildlife on foot, however. While this is always safer with a guide, it’s quite exhilarating to do on your own. A few of the elephants allow people to come very close indeed, something that’s bound to get your adrenalin rushing. And those photos you might have seen of bull elephants up on their hind legs? That’s also likely to be from here.