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Night game drive is another new experience for all park tourists
Tourists catch a scenic view of the water in Murchison Falls National Park. Photo by Edgar R. Batte.
What you need to know:
Conventionally, game drives in the national parks are an early morning activity but that is until the last time you visited the parks. The next time you visit you will have chance to do the drives early morning and even in the night game drive.
Launching the new nightlife experience at Murchison Falls National Park, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Dr Andrew Seguya, explained that the night drives are one of the ways in which they plan to enhance visitor experience during park visits.
He added that and this is another way to generate extra revenue through additional engagement in the night to view rare nocturnal wildlife species.
Present at the launch was the King of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Omukama Solomon Iguru Gafabusa who did the symbolic unveiling of the four-wheel open drive vehicle with the capacity to carry maximum eight visitors.
The open-roof land cruisers are covered on top to provide a better chance for good visibility at night when compared to covered vehicles, and are fitted with spotlights.
Stephen Masaba, UWA’s director of tourism and business services said the night game drives have been launched in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National parks but later will extend to Lake Mburo National Park and Kidepo.
He explained, “Other parks will be considered as and when an evaluation and feasibility of their operations is assessed.”
During a press trial into the wild in the night viewers were able to see elephants, wild rats, antelopes, among other animals, proof that a night safari gives an entirely different perspective of the park.
Much as there are a variety of animals to see at the break of dawn, there are many chances to see traditionally nocturnal animals like the leopard, hyena, hippo, porcupine, genets, civets, bush babies, various reptiles, owls and night jars.
Visitors for the sundowner experience will be driven to designated picnic or views points in this area.
“Visitors may be driven back to the lodge at 8pm or do a night game-drive before returning to the lodge later by 10pm,” Masaba said
He added, “Booking for night game drives will be done, just like for other tourism products at the reservations office at UWA at their headquarters and the park offices during office hours.”
According to UWA, each tourist will pay $30 (about Shs75, 000) for the day game-drives and $40 (about Shs100, 000) for night game-drives.
Besides the launch of the evening game-drives the Omukama was able to visit the top of the falls and below the falls at Murchison Falls National Park as well as do a game drive.
