Grassrootz Exclusive - 15 days Highlights

The Queen Elizabeth national Park spreads over an area of 1978 square km in the western arm of the Great East African Rift Valley. The park is home to a variety of wildlife including elephant, lion, hippo, leopard, buffalo and Uganda kob. Birds present are all typical of riverine and savannah habitats.

The Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park is the place to search for the tree climbing lions often to be seen in the vicinity of the camp which is situated just off the Northern circuit game viewing track. The lions also favour the large fig trees on the Southern circuit game viewing track and this offers alternative game viewing routes.

On early morning and late afternoon game drives, either in your safari vehicle, or for fly-in guests – in our dedicated camp open safari vehicle, you may explore the area’s game routes in search of the different species. The area is still pristine and untouched with only a handful of game vehicles found around the area at any time. Being the only camp within the park, it offers flexibility of timings for drives allowing guests to maximise their game sightings in this area.

Sundowners can be arranged for the late afternoon at a suitable viewing point either along the ridge area or besides the Ntungwe River to allow guests to savour the vast vistas and atmosphere of this beautiful area of the park.

Bush breakfasts are also available to camp guests when arranged prior to their stay and if the weather allows. Your own personal chef and dining set-up in the wilderness can be combined with an early-morning safari drive.

Agartha’s Taste of Uganda Tour: Situated in a small village on the fringes of the Queen Elizabeth National park, Agartha is a strong member of the local community group and tirelessly works to improve not only her family’s well-being but also her neighbours.

Agartha takes great pride in sharing with you how the women of her tribe, the Bakiga, prepare their favourite food. Not only do you hear how the ingredients are grown and harvested but you can witness how to shift, grind, cook, and most importantly, keep the much-loved food warm for their husbands.

During the tour Agartha weaves in stories of what it’s like to be a Bakiga wife whilst encouraging you to taste what you may have helped prepare together. She then sends you off on your journey with a packed traditional snack and a taste of the local brew if you wish too!

Mountain gorillas are wild animals and, as such, sightings cannot be guaranteed. However viewing success rates are over 90%. Once sighted, visitors are allowed an hour with the gorillas. Overnighting in Bwindi is required the night before tracking due to your early morning start. As tracking can sometimes take a full day, a second nights accommodation is also highly recommended. Ideally 2 to 3 nights are suggested to enjoy this region.

Gorilla tracking timings and conditions vary tremendously as the gorillas move continuously through the rain forest. It is good to be prepared and remember the weather can change with very little warning. The terrain is often steep and through areas where there are no marked paths. It can be VERY strenuous – it may be just a couple of hours but it can also be for a full day of up to 8 hours or more of hiking in hot, high altitude conditions – please be prepared for this by being as fit as possible!

This walk provides guests with an opportunity to support the local community whilst enjoying visiting various interesting places as you follow a walking trail through the village. Highlights include the traditional healer, banana brewery and Mukono Primary school where you may interact with the children.

This can be undertaken with a Uganda Wildlife Authority guide to allow you to hike along the trails and enjoy the forest flora and fauna. A popular choice is the 3-4 hour hike to the waterfall. Get lost in the ancient forests of Bwindi with an experienced guide on hand. These forests also provide great bird watching opportunities.

Horse Safaris in and around Lake Mburo National Park

Mihingo Lodge has been operating horse safaris inside Lake Mburo National Park since 2009. We carefully adjust the rides according to the riding skills of each group; for beginners and inexperienced riders we only walk the horses. In fact, a walk on a horse is the best way to view game. It is peaceful and relaxing, and you get very close to the animals. For advanced riders there are also lovely stretches for trotting and cantering. We have 1 thoroughbreds (16 hands, weight limit 90kg), 2 five-year-old thoroughbred/ warmblood crossbreds (17 hands, weight limit 100kg), 3 thoroughbred/ Ethiopian pony crossbreds (13 hands, weight limit 75kg) and 2 tough Ethiopian ponies (12 hands, weight limit 60kg), in total 8 horses.
Inside Lake Mburo National Park where we ride on some fantastic routes. One of the best rides in the park is a 3- to 4-hours ride into Acacia valley where we often find the Rothschild giraffe. It is a fantastic feeling being close to the giraffe on horseback.

Horse safaris are an exciting way to see the wildlife around Mihingo Lodge. Without any engine sound and fumes you feel part of nature and often get the chance to see the more timid animals. It is an exhilarating experience not to be missed. We sometimes see Rothschild’s giraffe, eland, and buffalo and nearly always warthog, topi, impala, bushbuck, waterbuck, and zebra on our horse safaris, although this depends very much on the time of year and the rain fall in the area. Experiencing game from horseback is very special; zebra come towards you to check out the strange relative without

stripes. Even the normally very shy elands curiously look at the horses without running away, just keeping their distance. Mini Trappe who is one of the leading horse safari operators in Tanzania was amazed how beautiful the rids in Lake Mburo are.

Short Rides (1 to 2 hours):
One-hour rides are always done outside the park as it is not possible to reach good game viewing areas inside the park in such a short time. Even most 2 hours rides are mostly done outside the park as you will see more game outside the park on a short ride. If you are a very good rider and we canter a lot, we can reach some of the good areas in the Park in 2 hours but it is advisable to have more time.

Long Rides (3 to 4 hours):
If guests want to see giraffes and they are experienced riders, they will have a good chance if they book a 3- or 4-hours ride. For not experienced riders they need to book at least a 4-hours ride to make it into the areas where we find giraffes and back as they will mostly just be walking and maybe testing a bit of trotting. My favorite ride is a 4-hours ride on to Warukiri Ridge in the middle of the Park with lovely views into different valleys in the park and long canters in Research valley. From Warukiri Ridge you can see 8 of the lakes surrounding Lake Mburo National Park and in the rainy season the waterhole at the end of the ridge attracts buffalo and eland and sometimes you can even find a hippo in this waterhole on top of a hill.

Our maximum weight limit for guests is 100 kg, but most of our horses cannot carry more than 80 kg or less. We provide fully adjustable helmets in all sizes and chaps, and ride with English style saddles. We recommend that you wear long trousers and strong shoes, if possible, with heels. We are not taking more than six guests out at a time, but this depends on the weight of the riders and the availability of the horses. All our rides are accompanied by at least one experienced horse guide, but in most cases, there are two guides accompanying each ride.

Nearly all our guests absolutely loved the horse safaris no matter if experienced or first-time riders! For further information please contact our managers and reservations team on reservations@mihingolodge.com, call them on +256 752 410 509 or have a look at our website www.mihingolodge.com.

Please note that guests staying at Mihingo Lodge always have priority when it comes to rides, and we can’t book rides for guests staying in other lodges in advance and can only confirm a booking for guests not staying with us the evening before a morning ride and at midday on the same day of an afternoon ride if we have availability.

If you don’t feel like spending any more time in a car and you’re are not too comfortable on a horse then hire one of our good quality mountain bikes to explore the bush.

If you’re adventurous and like to keep fit, grab a bike and explore the sandy tracks outside the Park. You can hire one of our Mihingo guides to join you on your ride and make sure you don’t get lost! Tracks are suitable for a gentle family ride out taking in the wildlife all around but there is plenty for the more extreme riders to explore. Drive off the larger roads on to narrow animal paths and clamber over termite mounds while you put our bikes through their paces!

As we only have 2 bikes for kids please book early to avoid disappointment. Most of the year there is just as much wildlife beyond the borders of the Park as there is inside. You’re very likely to see zebra, impala, warthogs as well as a variety of other antelope.

Mountain Bike Safaris inside the Park can also be arranged.

Walking Safaris are a magical way to experience the bush. They allow you to notice smaller details often overlooked when in a car or riding a horse.

Within the Park:
All walks in the park must be accompanied with an armed UWA guide. You can technically walk anywhere in the park once a guide is in attendance. The most popular walks are inside the park, walking with giraffes, which is an incredible experience walking along with the totally habituated giraffe. You can get as close as 10 meters to these gentle giants. Longer walks onto Warukir Ridge are also possible with fantastic views and lots of wildlife.

Outside the Park:
You may take a walk with a Mihingo guide outside the park where you will often see just as many animals as inside. A 2 hour walk down the hill and into the valleys around the lodge is a great way to explore the area.

There are many beautiful drives to explore in the Park either heading out yourself with a map, with a guide or hiring the lodge open sided Land Rover or our stretch Land Cruiser. Research Track is one of our favourite drives where you are likely to see buffalo wallowing in the mud, zebra, impala, topi, bush buck and warthog.

For spectacular views, park at the bottom of Kazuma look-out and walk up to the top; from here the view is stunning and you can see 5 lakes including Lake Mburo. For some 4 x 4 driving during the rainy season Eland track is the most challenging.

Feel like doing nothing and relaxing to the maximum? Full body massages are available, taking approximately 1 hour. It is possible for two people to enjoy massages at the same time in our dedicated massage rondavel which is situated in the forest with birds and butterflies fluttering past.

Mihingo lodge has a hide about 40 metres to the south of the waterhole and saltlick visible from the dining room. One can easily spend several hours watching wildlife come and go and capture great pictures if you are quiet.

The 15 minute trail is signposted from below the dining room as ‘hide’.

If you travel a few further metres beyond the hide, you will find a second secret shelter known as the den. If you are feeling adventurous then quietly sneak along the path and crawl on your knees to reach inside this exciting new cavern, located even nearer to the watering hole.

If you are feeling extra energetic our Mihingo guides would love to take you out on a run roaming across the community lands (outside the park).

From 5km – 15km we will tailor the experience to meet your needs.

Mihingo Lodge has a hard surface tennis court a short walk from the main area. We have tennis rackets and balls for any of the guests who would like to play.

Lake Mburo is one of the few parks where you can go on a night game drive! At night there is a whole variety of animals that you would not see in the day including bush pigs, genet cat and white tailed mongoose to mention but a few. Night drives also give you the best chance of finding leopards, spotted hyena. It is an interesting experience out at night with a spotlight, an unusual twist on your regular game drives.

Please inform us in time, so we can organize your night drive as it is mandatory to have a UWA guide for all night drives. Also, there are only a limited number of spotlights so get in touch as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Night drives can be done in your own vehicle or in the Mihingo safari vehicle.

Hire a bike or take a short drive to one of the schools we support and see for yourself the work this school is doing for many of the children in the community. The parents in the community also contribute to the running of the school and often fees are waivered for orphans. Spend an hour interacting with the children, talking to the teachers or even running some of the games and activities you used to do at school. There is no charge for the school visit, but any donation or kind hearted gesture is appreciated, be it a few pens & books to sponsoring a student’s schooling.

A boat trip on Lake Mburo is the best way to see the lake and its inhabitants. It is particularly good for water birds (especially Finfoot, White-backed Heron and Fish Eagles) but you will also come across hippos, crocodiles and other animals coming down for a drink.

The boat trip takes approximately 1½ hours. Lifejackets are available at the landing site also in children’s sizes. The boat is small, holding a maximum of fourteen and has a covered roof.

Boat trips leave at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm and 5.30pm

To get children interacting more with the environment and leave them enthused about the bush and its animals, Mihingo Lodge offers a bush experience for kids. On a two hours excursion, we can get them out interacting and learning about the bush and its animals. If you are interested in this for your children (or just want a few hours’ peace & quiet!) please speak to us to organise a bush experience.

We can combine a walking safari, a mountain bike safari or a horse ride starting at Mihingo Lodge with a bush breakfast.

Mihingo Lodge is one of the few places in Africa where you can watch thick-tailed Gallagos in their natural environment. These are a nocturnal primate species that have become very used to our guests and come to the platform below the bar most evenings.

We are very strict and only give them 2 small pieces of banana to ensure that they still have to forage for their own food which includes fruit, lizards, moths and other insects.

We never allow anyone to touch the Gallagos or take photos with a flash as this can easily damage their eyes. You will be able to see the thick-tailed Gallagos interacting with each other.

Bush babies hide during the day in order to avoid contact with predators such as eagles and large snakes and to avoid competing with Vervet monkeys for resources. Since they are easily captured on the ground they mostly stay in trees and rely on their extraordinary jumping abilities.