African Queen

Off at 8am with our driver, Richard, we followed the Nile River for 7 hours north to reach Murchison Falls. The falls were lovely, but the history was even better. Hemingway's plane crashed in 1954 while viewing the falls, Churchill and several royals visited and the African Queen was set here. We checked into the Nile Safari Lodge in Murchison Falls Park in time for happy hour while watching the sunset on the Nile.

We are now learning the lingo--"eco" lodge means limited electricity and hot water. As Kathleen and I tried to trap a man sized lizard in our room, I determined that I was mistaken to think I was "outdoorsy." The bucket shower concept didn't help.  This was by far the loudest night of my camping life.  The hippos were very active as was everything in the surrounding jungle and in our cabin.

Up at the crack and off on our first game drive.  Ranger Douglas joined us when we crossed the Nile ferry.  Nothing can compare to standing in the safari pop-up top viewing elephants, giraffe, buffalo, Ugandan Kob, Hippos, Baboons... Brilliant. I AM outdoorsy!

We took an afternoon cruise on the Nile (channeling Hepburn and Bogart) and saw all the wildlife and birds unobstructed. We even came upon a large crocodile waiting for his close-up. This was a totally different experience than my Nile cruise in Egypt (over 4,000 miles away).  Then I was struck by how the mighty river gave life to the surrounding communities. Now I see how the world's longest river provides life to a continent.