It鈥檚 6 a.m. at , just outside of Uganda鈥檚, and I can hear singing. Not being a morning person, I鈥檝e declined a wake-up call, but I can just make out the melodic voice of Peace, the lodge鈥檚 personal butler, as she delivers fresh, local coffee to my neighbour.
We鈥檙e up early to head into the north section of the park for a lion safari. We join a researcher who stretches his arm through the roof of a safari vehicle, turning his aerial to find the lions. Some of the park鈥檚 female lions wear radio collars for tracking purposes. Monitoring their movements allows rangers to reduce conflict with local communities by alerting them when lions get close to livestock, while learning more about how the lions breed, feed, and move. Tagging along on a research outing lets us go off-road into the park for a close-up view.
After about 15 minutes, we spot two lionesses and two cubs quietly working their way through a fresh kill. We watch, and listen, hearing the powerful jaws gnawing on tendon and bone.
It鈥檚 a dramatic moment, to be sure, but Uganda has already shown it can deliver on big game promises. The East African country is home to all of the 鈥淏ig Five鈥� animals 鈥斅爈eopard, lion, buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros, although the latter is found only at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. We鈥檝e seen countless elephants and water buffalo over the last few days, along with plenty of warthogs, antelopes, and baboons. We鈥檝e seen giraffes silhouetted against the sunset sky and sailed quietly past hippos eyeing us suspiciously from the muddy banks of the Nile.
Still, the most exhilarating wildlife experience is yet to come. We head out of the park and back to the lodge to outfit ourselves in full trekking gear 鈥斅爄ncluding long pants tucked into our socks to keep out the fire ants 鈥斅燼nd drive to Kalinzu Forest. We only walk for about five minutes before we hear the incredible racket of a community of chimpanzees, echoing through the trees to sound like it鈥檚 coming from all sides. Their cries can carry up to two kilometres, so we鈥檙e not sure how close they really are, but our faces light up and we keep our eyes locked on the upper branches.It鈥檚 about 10 minutes more before we see them, up in the canopy.
And then we鈥檙e entranced, watching as they climb and play. A mother carries her baby through the treetops. A male lounges on a sturdy branch. They seem to be in near constant motion, swinging and shouting and climbing up and down. It鈥檚 a thrill to be in their forest, this madhouse, observing chimp life in the wild.
The chimps couldn鈥檛 be more different from Uganda鈥檚 other big primate draw, the mountain gorillas. We trekked for them too, in where we climbed straight up an impossibly steep hill to find them sitting sedately on the forest floor, munching on leaves. The group鈥檚 head silverback walked by without a sound. A mother sat quietly with her child, and a younger male nursed wounds from a fight over a female he didn鈥檛 have the status to pursue.
If the gorillas were like elderly friars, moving slowly and intentionally with a spiritual air, the chimps are like crazed children bouncing off the walls in a maniacal kindergarten. But they are just a delight to watch, and we hike back out of the forest beaming.
That afternoon, back at the lodge, we walk over to the tree nursery, where , a non-profit associated with the lodge鈥檚 parent company, is working on a reforestation and conservation outreach program. Each member of our group plants an indigenous seedling, which will become part of a forest of 400,000 trees in a three-kilometre buffer zone designed to protect the chimps鈥� natural habitat.
After a much-needed refresh in my outdoor shower overlooking the gorge, I head to the pool for a moment of quiet before our communal dinner. I settle into a chair with a book, and Peace appears out of nowhere, offering cold drinks and snacks. I look up to see two elephants in the distance, walking along the green hills.
After dinner, we sip drinks under the light of a supermoon. We ask each other the same question that鈥檚 started our conversations since the first night of the trip: What鈥檚 your favourite out of all the wildlife we鈥檝e seen? At this point it鈥檚 impossible to answer. The gorillas, of course. The elephants pulling reeds from the banks of the river, when we cut the engine of our boat and sat in silence to listen to them eat. The six baby warthogs that ran in tight formation after their mother. The huge procession of Ugandan kob waiting patiently in line at the watering hole. The lions. The chimpanzees.
In the morning, Peace again appears from nowhere as I open my door, ready to help me with my bag. After a last breakfast featuring honey from a local beekeeping project that helps keep the elephants a safe distance from the lodge, we drive away for a final time, ready to climb into a small propeller plane for the first leg of our long journey home.
Christina Newberry travelled as a guest of the , which did not review or approve this article.
@ckjnewberry
