For my first Safari, this trip was awesome! After a 8 hr wild ride, we caught the 2 pm ferry to cross the Nile river and arrived at Paraa Resort. By 4 pm we were in the van looking for animals. We spotted the Jackson Heartabeast first, a weak minded animal. Then came the Oribi, who hops around the other animals. The Warthog ambled along with its family. Water buffalos were lazing around in the mud, the bigger the mud holes the better.

Sam, our guide, assured us that we would see griaffes and that we did! There are 1500 giraffes in the park and I’m sure we saw most of them. They are such a graceful animal reaching heights of 17 feet. When they lay down, they keep their head and neck up. The darker they are the older they are. We were so lucky to see them walking in groups, down the road.

The African Elephant was my favourite and we saw many. They have ears like the map of Africa and have a life span of 60 to 70 years. Their gestation period is 22 months. A magnificent animal!

We had a glimspse of a leopard, sneaking through the bushes. We watched a pride of lions bask in the sunset. We saw a heard of Ugandan Kob antelopes, crossing the road. Monkeys, sausage trees, Red Bishop birds, the Crested Crane, and the African griffin rounded out the trip!

The river boat ride up the Nile showed us the animals form another angle. Elephants washing at the river, Hippos staying cool in the water, crocodiles slithering in the water. Many different varieties of birds flying out of the trees. It ended at the Murchison Falls.. This morning we hiked to the top of the falls… the roar of the water tumbling over the rocks was incredible! What an amazing trip!