For our first game drive in Murchison we opt to take a guide since we have neither a map nor an experienced friend to guide us. The rutted dirt and grass trail leading into the great beyond gives us no idea of the length of the trail or the directions it might lead – but we have heard its’ big. We make arrangements with the UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) through a cell phone number David had enterprisingly obtained and by late afternoon we are picking up the uniformed and armed Ugandan who will show us the way around; a far cheaper alternative than the hotel game drives.
The kids big request is to see giraffes – Murchison is the only park in Uganda which hosts them, so we have not yet seen giraffes in the wild. In fact Quinn’s latest “free sentence art” for school reads, “girafes see to iksited am I” (most helpfully read right to left) so we head off with hopeful hearts.
Almost three hours later, with dark upon us we are nearly home feeling sated with the joy of many animals. Most amazingly of all we have spotted a leopard, his fat hanging tail a revelation, resting in the treetops before his evening hunt. As we watch he descends into the camouflage of tall grasses and disappears from view – our first leopard ever. Later on we skid to a stop as we almost fly past a large group of lionesses and their cubs beside the road. In utter awe we watch the adolescent lions wake to yawn and observe us impassively before resettling to sleep – we are within ten feet of 12 of them. I am reassured by the presence of our guard and his gun but most especially his calm attitude. Clearly he is not afraid. Later as we pass elephants, one just feet off the roads spins to confront us as we pass, ears waving in the classic gesture of elephant aggression. This is the only time I see our UWA friend concerned – most deaths in the parks, even tourist deaths, are via elephant charging. We always keep our engine running and foot on the gas while beside elephants and scan other sides of roadway for the unexpected herd member who may find us threatening to his friends.
Murchison is large, very diverse in landscape and impressively well populated with animals. I loved passing from jungles through savanna woodlands then true savannah and back into jungled forests in a single drive. We never saw another vehicle or person on the road; the only sign of civilization was the airstrip we attributed to the military, a few small barracks houses and a single large tank pointed towards nearby Congo (yes, here too we are very near the border).
Giraffes (we ultimately see hundreds in our single evening drive) are enchantingly beautiful. Turning with statuesque grace to assess the danger we may pase, they observe us gracefully through thick fringed lashes. We step out of the car to walk almost beside them, though they frighten easily and abandon us. We are framed in sunset light and become creatures of myth and mysticism like them.