A Swamp Walk and Travel to Rwanda

Monday, September 2, 2024

A Swamp Walk and Travel to Rwanda

This morning, we got up at 5:30 AM and left the Amuka Safari Lodge at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for an early swamp walk to look for birds at the Lugogo Wetlands.  We saw yet another shoebill crane, much to the excitement of our guide.  Across our path we came across some remarkable ants, coming and going in a line which ended in what looked like a highway interchange.  We were warned to avoid getting them on us, as they had a truly fiery bite:

We came across some white-faced geese: 

There was some grazing land, and a herd of longhorn cattle was passing us on their way: 

There is a bridge over the swamp which is new.  Until it was built, two years ago, the only way across the swamp was on these “canoes” which we rode in.  They’re poled, not rowed: 

We went back to the lodge for brunch, and then set out for Entebbe.  Along the way we stopped for a break at a town which had a lively market: 

Long distance buses stopped here, and vendors swarmed to the windows, selling food and drink.  These two were selling chicken on a skewer (left) and stretched out chicken necks on a skewer (right). 

We revisited the hotel where we began the journey where we had day rooms and had dinner, and in the late evening we went to the airport where we flew to Kigali, Rwanda.  We will meet up with the other travelers on our Rwanda trip tomorrow.

Comments

  1. Ralph P. LockeSeptember 7, 2024 at 3:16 AM

    More and more astonishing sights and phenomena. I can sense how crucial tourism is to the livelihood of some people in the region. I hope you all adjust well to the food, etc. (I recall that lots of visitors to Israel get diarrhea in the first few days. It happened to me on my third or fourth trip there, which surprised me because it hadn't on the previous ones.)
    --The variety of animal life is most impressive. Great that you're getting appropriate warnings about the ants and help crossing swampy areas.....

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