anybody like safaris?

So fun fact. Safari is a Swahili word that means journey, and lucky for us, we were able to go to Mburo National Park to go on a Safari!

Friday morning we woke up very early in the morning and drove to Mbarara. We had breakfast at a hotel (the chipati wasn't nearly as good as Isaac, our chef, made it) and we finished our drive to Mburo National Park.

It was raining pretty hard when we got to the park, so that was a little unfortunate, but we drove around a bit and were able to see lots of different animals. We ate lunch at this place that was literally crawling with monkeys, and then we went on a boat ride. On the boat ride, we were able to see hippos, crocodiles, snakes, and so many different types of birds! It was neat! And there were some Belgian Tour Guides on the boat ride with us, so it was really fun to be able to talk to them as well. They had gone gorilla trekking and had raved about the experience. One of the ladies showed me a video of a gorilla that came within 2 meters of her! And it was just sitting there, chomping on its food!

After we got off the boat ride, we ran into some of the mischievous monkeys. They were taking food out of the trash can and eating it. The best part is that they eat with their little hands! The monkey almost attacked a couple of people from our group, and then we went and drove around a bit to get to the hotel. Well it wasn't exactly a hotel, but it was the best glamping experience I've ever had. We had to drive up this super steep hill (at one point I thought the care was not going to make it actually), and we got to stay in tents that had beds!

In the morning, we went for a game drive. We got to see more hippos, zebras, giraffes, impalas, topi, warthogs, baboons, monkey, water buck, and buffalos. The animals were so majestic, and it was beautiful to see them in their natural habitat. It was also interesting to hear that the Park takes the safety of their animals very seriously. If anyone is caught poaching the animals in the park, there is a ridiculous fine, and I think a 15-year jail sentence.

It was very special to see all these animals in another setting besides a zoo. These animals are native to Uganda, and they just live their lives. And we just get to watch. It's magic.