How to Find an Affordable Self Drive in Uganda
Uganda is hosting over ten national parks like Queen Elizabeth, Murchison falls, Mountain Rwenzori, kidepo valley, Mountain Elgon, Semliki, Kibale, Mgahinga, Bwindi impenetrable and lake Mburo national park where you can encounter wildlife safaris and also take wildlife photographs comprising of its several primates and species, geographical background and outlook, topography, physical features like Lakes, Rivers, mountains, hot springs, forests, dams. You can enjoy this experience on an escorted tour or based on self-drive option with Uganda Car Rental services offering all 4WD vehicles both automatic and manual and all customized for safaris in Uganda.
Among the mountains we have mountain Elgon and Mountain Rwenzori and others and this makes Uganda to be the pearl of Africa as it is stated. After booking your wildlife safari your first day will be for arriving at Entebbe international airport and you will be welcomed by our tour guide and company representative and greet each other after there you will be headed up to your hotel of residence and you will have your dinner and overnight there.
Then the following day you will be for your journey from Kampala to Queen Elizabeth National Park for your wildlife safari and you will have an exciting journey through story telling by our guides and brief explanations. Queen Elizabeth national park is located in the south western part of Uganda and the journey will be from Kampala to queen Elizabeth via Masaka –Mbarara highway and you will have en-route stops over at the equator for adventure, snacks and photographs and thereafter you will continue with the journey with en-route lunch and you will have direct dinner at your hotel of residence.
Very early in the morning after your breakfast you will go game drives around the park in the tracks through Kasenyi, north Kazinga, Ishasha sector and this is a better opportunity for you to sight a variety of different bird species since this park hosts over 600 bird species and on top of that you will also be able to sight other primates like buffaloes, antelopes, elephants, warthogs and baboons .This will make you to finish the drive with a wide photo gallery.
After breakfast go for nature walks and this is the most active way of exploring the landscapes and wildlife of Queen Elizabeth National Park and an opportunity to come closer to the hippos on foot. Then also you will go for launch trips along the Kazinga channel and you will be able to spot many other species at large.
Here you can too experience the cultural tours where you will visit the local people in their communities and share with them through their entertainment with their traditional dances, singing, storytelling and knowing more about their life styles and more. You will also go for wildlife research tour and this allows you to actively participate in monitoring some of the exotic birds and mammals that fill the park.
After being filled with all these experiences embark the safari jeep back to Kampala via Masaka-Mbarara highway for your return journey back home after your amazing and memorable wildlife safari and this makes you go back home with a great experience acquired and for us as a company we will wish you a safe journey back home but ready to host you again as you wish to make a return journey back for more adventure and experience.
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Nsenene (Grass Hoppers) – A Local Delicacy in Uganda
In our coverage of Bizzare Foods that people enjoy around the world, today lets look Nsenene, the long horned grasshoppers. Known as Nsenene in the local Kiganda Language, one of the local dialects the most spoken in Uganda, these grasshoppers are a great delicacy enjoyed mostly within the central and south western region of Uganda. The Nsenene has been a delicacy for centuries and among the Baganda Tribe, it is one of the 52 clans.
These grasshoppers are common in the wet seasons – April to May and November to December. This is the time when they are known to swarm. Within these months, you will find people employed to catch and collect these flying insects. During these months, the buzz around Kampala about their capture, sale, distribution, preparation and culinary enjoyment.
Nsenene are flying insects and do like lights. The local people trap these insects using large metal pans and lighting systems and then collected for sale in local markets. Today it is a business for many people in the central region to trap these insects and sell them.
Most of the sales are within Kampala, the capital city of Uganda and Masaka Town. Grasshoppers are also imported from areas as far as Burundi by the Ugandan traders and a great source of income.
How they are Prepared
Nsenene can be prepared in various ways. Most preparations involve boiling or frying these insects. To give a great taste grasshoppers can be fried with onions and salt while others enjoying adding raw onions or garlic cut into small pieces to the already boiled or fried nsenene. Before they are boiled or fried, the legs and wings are plucked off.
For long the local Baganda used to eat these insects and the neighboring tribes could laugh at them! However these days, with the mix-up of tribes in Uganda, you will find that almost all locals including the non Baganda enjoy these grasshoppers. Even the Bazungu Tourists who are free-minded have tasted these grasshoppers. I was surprised to learn from a Mzungu who enjoyed these insects and said there were “crunchy and delicious”.
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