Wild Things!

The other interns and I have been feeling antsy to get out of Masaka and see more of Uganda, so this past weekend we packed into a car with three of my Ugandan friends from church and headed to two wildlife parks west of here- one at Lake Mburo near Lyantonde, and the other called Queen Elizabeth park, along the border near DR Congo in the west (separated from DRC by mountains, so no worries there!)

You basically pay an exorbitant (by local standards) entrance fee, and then drive around the trails of the huge park. Ours was the only 'normal-sized' car amidst a sea of jeeps and SUVs, and it sure took a beating! Here are a few pics from this amazing trip! Besides those featured here, we also saw monkeys, baboons, antelopey things, things that looked like fuzzy llamas, and lots of cool birds.

***Hippos! We were lucky to catch a bit of them at the lake- their heads and cute ears, and more of some fighting each other off in the distance. Apparently there are hundreds submerged just below the surface, and apparently they are also very mean. Anyone want to go for a swim?














***Zebras! There were so many at Lake Mburo, and I guess their stripes are as unique as our fingerprints!














***Elephant Crossing! We were so lucky to happen to make a wrong turn (one of many!) and come across these guys.













***Pumbas! Along the way, we also surprised a couple of the warthogs as they were taking mud baths!

















***The Group - overlooking Lake Mburo: me, Hagar, Fred 1 (who drove), Fred 2(mentioned in my previous post), and Nicholas, Fred 2's little brother. Brock is taking the pic.
















***Overlooking Queen Elizabeth - lots of variety in the landscape there!













***Changing the flat tire - we it got on the way back in a huge pothole (it was totally trashed!) That journey home was a trip unto itself. Thank goodness the flat tire happened there and not in lion country! (We didn't unfortunately didn't manage to spot any of those :(