Queen Elizabeth National Park, Ishasha, Uganda (Da

  Ishasha, Uganda
Thursday, June 12, 2008

Queen Elizabeth National Park, Ishasha, Uganda (Day 2)

Thursday June 12th, 2008. Queen Elizabeth National Park, Ishasha, Uganda
After passing out after dinner at about 9pm the night before we both wake fresh and ready for more action. Rina was a little bummed she missed so much action the night before but was glad we didn't go looking for the lions up trees without her. We were up and out by about 8:30am but well rested so ready for a long day on the prowl. We also had a good chat with David and Rochelle and got David's email address so I could send him the link to this blog so if he is reading this then it means I am a man of my word...if not then I will have to get to that ASAP.
First stop was a quick check of some paw prints in the sandy road.
Game Drive Tip: Cat tracks leave no claw marks, dogs leave claw marks (dogs can't retract their claws). Also, leopards print have the pads close together while lions are spread out. So with these two tips you can spot a lion, leopard and hyena paw print.
First out of the blocks was - you guessed it - antelope, and then more antelope. So much prey but so few predators! Next we spotted a few vervet monkeys and the big buffalo herd. We drove around for quite some time then looking for the lions up their favourite fig and acacia trees. Of course where you have an area that lions like (ie: their favourite trees) the other animals tend not to hang around. So while you are looking for lions in spots that the lions like to hang out, expect to see NOTHING else. The place was almost completely devoid of other animal life. Every now and then you would see a kob (yawn) or monkey but that meant there were no lions so the hunt would have to be moved to another part of the park. 
We kept this up for a few hours with a slight detour to the four lions in the banda and of course they were still there.
So we decided to head down to the river camp again and take Rina on the river walk to see the hippos. This time Betty was our guide and she was a super smiley not-so-local girl that had great English but still seemed to smile at you no matter what you were asking. We walked a different route to my walk the day before and within a few minutes were were halted by a rumbling noise in the bushed around us. Remember we are on foot in the Ugandan jungle so this was not a good time for a mystery noise. Betty may have had an AK-47 by her side but I was pretty sure she was next to useless with it. We all turned to see what the noise was and out of the bushes popped the biggest bastard of a pig you have ever seen. I don't know how much this thing weighed but what ever you think is a big pig, this thing was at least 20% bigger than any pig you have ever seen. It was a giant forest hog and I believe it is the biggest pig breed in the world. Behind the dad came the  baby and this thing was bigger than a big male warthog - and it was only a toddler! Apparently they are quite elusive and a little rare too so it was a good spot we were told. Either way the heart rate was well up there again. (sorry no photos, it all happened too quickly and the camera was not the first thing on my mind)
This was the first time for Rina with the hippos and it was in exactly the same spot with all the same players that I had seen the day before, but it was still cool to watch them again. They make plenty of noise and as soon as they realise you are there they move around quite a bit.
Next we stumbled on a black lined green snake. Venomous but not too deadly by all accounts...but almost invisible until you almost step on them. As we walked through the riverine forest with Betty she showed us the tracks and pointed out some vervet monkey, black and white collobus monkey and hippos dung (nice one!) and next thing you know another hour has gone. So Martin came to pick us up and we were off back to camp for lunch (at 3pm). It was a very long morning and we were heading back out at 4pm so no time for rest on day two of Ishasha.
The second drive for the day was just a fruitful (or fruitless) as the first one. We were still looking for the lions up trees but they were nowhere to be seen. We knew where to find some lions but they were not up trees. We spotted some vervet monkeys and watched them for a while. Then some antelope were having fun with some fights and some mating. We found a few different types of vultures. Then we took Rina to see the elephants on their path to the farms.
We found the bulls that were scouting out in front of the herd and ended up seeing two young bulls fighting. I caught some of it on video but one of them got a major push to the ground and his tusk got severely damaged in the tussle. It looked to me like it was about to fall out, like a tooth hanging by that last annoying thread of skin and gum. Once they spotted us in their way to the feeding grounds outside the park they literally started a controlled pincer movement on us with 3 elephants walking one way and three walking the other so we had bulls to the left and bulls to the right. Then one bull on the left would show himself and make some noise and slide back behind a tree. Then a bull from the right would do the same. And on and on until they were close enough to work us out and realise we weren't a threat. Then they just got on their way and the tens of elephants behind them started to move in. It was getting dark and we were getting tired so we decided to call it a day. It kept surprising me with the drive back but it was about 40mins drive back to camp so by the time we got in it was dark and time for dinner.