Rhinos & Kampala

Rhinos & Kampala

Day 10: 7th December 2018

Today's travel

The original plan for today was to go to the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary and then onto Jinja which would have worked out to be a 13+ hour day driving. Given the main reason we were heading to Jinja was to do some Whitewater rafting and I now had a bung knee we decided to just head for Kampala, Ronald was happy to oblige us with the change so off we went.

Today was another early start 5am, because we had to get to the Park entry gate by 6am in order to make the first ferry (7am) across the Nile. It basically meant that we drove straight through the park at a reasonable pace so wildlife spotting was not on this mornings agenda. However, we did get to see a cranky elephant pretty close to the park entrance.

Once we had made the ferry crossing it was basically a drive on the dirt road out of the park, then onto the nice sealed road.

Ronald had arranged for us to visit the Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary which turned out to be one of my personal highlights and something Lisa and I will not forget for a really long time. Having said that going to wildlife sanctuary’s is a really hit and miss affair, you just don’t know what your going to get.

We drove in and were assigned Daniel who gave us the run down on how they got started and the history of the rhinos they have. Then we jumped back in the van with Ronald drove less than 1Klm, got out and walked for about 20m and there they were. Two mothers and two calves, one was tiny (was born in July) and super playful the other calf was a couple of years old.

Wow just wow, one of the most amazing things I've ever done.

The cousins playing around

 Group shot

 Little guy started to chase the birds

 Mud in between the horns

 The little guy wasn't done playing but his cousin was

I can’t really describe what it’s like to see a rhino whilst your out walking, but what I will say is they are incredible animals. The mother’s shoulders were at about 184cm (6ftish) and they could weight up to 3000kg, but when the rhino’s walked they were almost silent until they began chewing. They also blend into the background remarkably easily for an animal that big.

Daniel also told us it was unusual for two female rhinos to hang out together with their calves, but here they were. Daniel also told us about the two different coloured mud baths that they had clearly been hanging out in.

Unfortunately our time with them was all to short, but we really liked what they are doing in terms of conservation so we bought stuff and jumped in the van and headed off to Kampala.

Tonight we stayed at the Lake Victoria view lodge, and lets just say the food was nice but we didn’t have a 4 course meal. They also tend to confuse your order so you just never know what you are going to get, ohh well.