Value+ Midrange Murchison Falls Park 4 Day Big 5 Wildlife Safari
A Value+ Moderately Priced Big 5 Wildlife Safari-Murchison Falls Park done Hakuna Matata Style-No-Worries.
This Value+ Midrange 4 Day-Big 5 Wildlife Safari-Murchison Falls Park is the best option for a Big-5 African Wildlife Safari plus Chimpanzees, the River Nile, and the most powerful waterfall in the world all in 4 days.
You stay at the moderately priced Pakuba Safari Lodge, which undoubtedly is the best location for game drives in the park. The safari tour package includes everything but tips and drinks at the lodge. Everything else, Activity Fees, and Permits for Chimpanzees are all included in the Value+ price of the Safari.
This Value+ Moderately Priced 4 Day-Big 5 Wildlife Safari-Murchison Falls Park is a private Safari limited to your and your participants. It is one of our Hakuna Matata – No-Worries Safaris where we’ve got you covered with Ranger Escort on all Game Drives and hikes or treks, a customer service Driver/Guide.
What is a Value+ Midrange Safari?
Our Value+ Safaris are private, full-service Safari using quality, midrange lodges with ensuite rooms or cottages. Our Value+ Hakuna Matata Safaris come with a full-board meal plan and a private safari vehicle with your experienced driver guide, who will introduce you to Uganda, its primate, wildlife, and Ugandan culture.
Value+ Midrange 4-Day-Big 5 Wildlife Safari-Murchison Falls Park Highlights:
- Three Game Drives: Where you see Elephants, Giraffes, Buffaloes, Antelopes, Lions, Leopards, Warthogs, and more.
- Wildlife Boat Cruise on the Nile: This is undoubtedly the best Wildlife Boat Cruise in East Africa.
- Top of the Falls Hike: This is a 45-minute hike up to the top.
- Rhino Tracking on Foot: Track Rhinos guided by Rangers. Enjoy your stay at Amuka Lodge.
- Stay at the best Wildlife Location Lodge: You will spend two nights at Pakuba lodge- AC – A swimming pool is available.
- Private Safari Vehicle: The 4×4 safari vehicle is just for you. Bottled water is available in the car.
- Experienced – Professional Driver-Guide: It is best to go on a Safari with a local.
Value+ Midrange 4-Day-Big 5 Wildlife Safari-Murchison Falls Park in Detail:
Day 1 – Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary:
Depart Kampala or Entebbe at 7:00 am for Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The drive time is about three hours through Luwero heading north. We check into Amuka Lodge, which is inside Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
Amuka Lodge:
Amuka Lodge is a friendly, welcoming, and hospitable lodge. Your room is a permanent tented cottage with an ensuite bath, a large room, and a private verandah. The club has a swimming pool to enjoy during your free time.
Delightful Meals are served, reflecting the South African management. Often lunch and dinner will come from the BBQ. Special dietary needs such as vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free dishes can be prepared for you.
You can have morning coffee served on your verandah, or enjoy a traditional safari sundowner on your deck or at the main lodge.
WiFi and charging stations are found in the main lodge. We can provide a MiFi Router to have WiFi in your tented cottage. Read more about Amuka Lodge.
Rhino Tracking on Foot:
Rhino Trekking on foot is a one-of-a-kind experience. You are guided by armed Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers who take you up close to the Rhinos. You come within ten meters of the massive animals and have great opportunities to take pictures. The trek is about two hours long.
This is a Rhino conservation project. Rhinos were wiped out during Uganda’s turbulent times. A sizeable portion of the Rhinos will soon be released into the wild, and Rhinos will once again be in Uganda’s parks or wildlife reserves.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a vast reserve heavily guarded against potential poachers. It is home to Rhinos, an abundance of wildlife, and a great birding destination. Read more about Rhino Trekking here.
Lugogo Swamp Boat Ride:
During the late afternoon, it is off to Lugogo Swamp, which is part of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. This is a guided boat ride searching for the most sought-after bird in Africa, the elusive Shoebill.
Lugogo Swamp is one of the best places in Uganda to see the ancient Shoebill.
The Shoebill was a bird that the Arab Traders referred to s the flying shoe because of the hefty bill. The bird used to be classified as a stork but is closely related to pelicans.
You will often see the Shoebill standing there for a long time, looking to strike a lungfish in the water or mud below.
There are other waters and swamp birds here and mammals such as sitatunga antelopes and bush pigs. Read more about the Shoebill here.
Meal Plan: Lunch – Dinner:
Day 2 – Murchison Falls Park:
This morning we head for Murchison Falls Park. This is a three-hour-plus drive to Pakuba Lodge, which will be your safari home for the next two nights.
Pakuba Lodge:
Pakuba Lodge is your best mid-range lodge option. The location is the reason it is located on the Wildlife Side of the River Nile, near the ferry crossing and the boat launch rides up and down the River Nile.
The lodge has a lot of wildlife that passes through it, there is a swimming pool for you to enjoy, and Air-Conditioning is an option at an extra cost.
The lodge has 30 rooms, provides sumptuous meals, and the rooms are comfortable, and a family option is also offered. The club has the unique distinction that it was the northern State House for Idi Amin in its distant past.
Afternoon Game Drive:
When it comes to the Big 5, you have seen the Rhinos; now, we are searching for Lions, Leopards, Elephants, and Buffaloes. You will easily spot the Elephants and Buffaloes, but we will have to search for the Lions and Leopards while on a game drive in Murchison Falls Park.
On each game drive, a Ugandan Wildlife Authority Ranger accompanies us, and the Ranger provides safety and security, and guidance.
Your driver-guide and the Ranger will give you valuable input about the wildlife found on the game drive.
The game drive is about three hours long, and there is a surprise around each turn as you discover different animals.
After the game drive, we return to Pakuba Lodge, where you8 can have dinner and relax.
Meal Plan: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Day 3 – Murchison Falls Park:
Morning Game Drive:
Sunrise Game drive this morning. Game drives will take place on different tracks most of the time. We will do our best to make sure that you spot the Big 5 animals.
Option – Sunrise Nile Breakfast Cruise:
Instead of the morning Game Drive, you can choose a Sunrise Breakfast cruise where your meal is prepared on board by a chef. This has become a prevalent notion for many.
Nile Wildlife Boat Cruise:
After lunch, it is one of the highlights of your Murchison Falls National Park Safari, the boat launch trip up the Nile River. You are slowly moving along the riverbank, viewing crocodiles, an abundance of hippos, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, and many birds, including the fish eagle, storks, and so much more. The boat moves gently up the river and stays on the left-hand side so that you see most of the animals who come to the river. Herds of Elephants cooling off, Hippopotamus frolicking, crocodiles just dozing in the African sun.
Then there are the Murchison Falls, which are a remarkable display of the power of nature. The river is 50 meters above the falls, moves down through a 6-meter gorge, and falls 43 meters, the sound is loud, and the sight makes one realize how dynamic nature can be. The water at the bottom of the falls is churning. Any vegetation is mulched by the force of the water resulting in large sheets of foam, not from pollution but from the river’s power.
There is a bank on the river filled with Nile crocodiles basking in the afternoon sun. Just down from there, you can see a group of hippos frolicking in the water of the Nile. There are thousands of hippopotami to be found here, birds in abundance.
The journey down the river slowly begins and more opportunities for viewing animals before you return to your lodging for dinner and an evening of rest, don’t miss spotting some storks, eagles, egrets, and many other birds. There are also a variety of primates to be found on the shores. Enjoy the Nile.
Top of the Falls Hike:
Option: Disembark at the bottom of the falls and hike up the sides with UWA and hike the trail Winston Churchill took on his 1907 journey through Uganda. This is the most powerful waterfall in the world, and you can sense that as you feel the ground tremble beneath you. The trail takes about 45 minutes, and your driver/guide meets you at the top of the falls, from where you return to Pakuba Safari Lodge.
Please Note: The Top of the Falls Hike may not be available due to high-water conditions.
Meal Plan: Breakfast -Lunch – Dinner
Day 4 – Chimpanzee Trekking in Budongo Forest:
After morning and breakfast, we get ready to move to Budongo Forest, which is in the greater Murchison Falls Park conservation area. Drive-Time to the Forest is 1 1/2 hours. Check-in at the Budongo Eco-Lodge, the only lodge inside the Forest.
Chimpanzee Trekking: After Lunch, it is your time with a Chimpanzee Troop in the Forest. Budongo Forest is a Jane Goodall Chimpanzee research area in partnership with the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Chimpanzee Trekking Gear:
Successful Chimpanzee Trekking means having the right Gear. What you will need today are the following:
Daypack, one liter of water, some energy snacks, a hat to protect your head from the sun, hiking boots worn in, thick socks, tuck your long trousers into the socks, a long-sleeved shirt, a light rain jacket in the day daypack—a heavy dose of an edible insect repellent such as RID.
The chimpanzee Trek is three to four hours long, and you are with a Chimpanzee Troop for one hour. Budongo Forest is one of the best areas for Chimpanzee trekking in Uganda.
Lunch after Chimpanzee Trek:
Enjoy lunch at the Budongo Eco-Lodge after the chimpanzee trek.
Return to Kampala or Entebbe:
Return to Kampala early evening hours and your lodging; if you need advice on a hotel in Kampala – ask us… as the Big 5 Wildlife Safari-Murchison Falls Park comes to an end after having seen the most powerful waterfall on earth, the River Nile, the abundant wildlife, and tracked Chimpanzees in Budongo Forest and Rhinos in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and hopefully got a look at the Big 5 on this safari with the added plus of chimpanzee trekking all on a Value+ Midrange Safari.
Meal Plan: Breakfast -Lunch
What is included in your 4-Day – Big 5 Wildlife Safari Murchison Falls Park?
- Full-Board stays at safe, secure quality Lodges: We choose welcoming, friendly, and hospitable quality lodges for your Safari. You have your private ensuite bathroom. Many Lodges in Savannah Parks have swimming pools, including midrange lodges.
- Vegetarian and Vegan Meals: We can accommodate vegetarians and vegans on a safari. Additionally, there are kid-friendly meals for families with children. Kosher Friendly meals can also be provided, while strict kosher requirements cannot be met.
- Chimpanzee Permits: Permits are included in the Safari.
- Private 4×4 Safari Vehicle equipped with Pop-Up Roof: You have an experienced driver-guide that will guide you on a Safari through the Pearl of Africa. The vehicle has a refrigerated unit, and bottled water and fruit snacks are available on longer drives.
- WiFi Router: We can make arrangements for a MiFi Router for you, which would give you access to the internet even in your cottage since, at most lodges, WiFi is available only in the leading club. You would incur a small charge for the use and data of a MiFi Router.
- AMREF-Flying Doctors Medivac Insurance: Your Well-being is foremost on our mind, and we automatically include emergency air-evac insurance.
I have not included: Visas, Travel Insurance, Laundry, Tips, drinks at lodges such as Alcoholic drinks and sodas, and optional listed activities.
For over a Decade since 2008, we have offered Hakuna Matata – No-Worries Safaris:
Our private Hakuna Matata – No Worries Safaris are full-service Value+ Midrange and Luxury Safaris that come with all needed for a successful Safari in Uganda. You have your own Safari Vehicle with an experienced driver. You stay at a quality midrange or luxury Lodge, and all the activities listed are included. The outcome of your safari is more important to us than income.
