Safari journal

Everything here is written by the people who run the trips. Guides, drivers and planners who were in the park last week. We publish when there is something worth saying, which means fewer articles than a content calendar would produce and none of them written to fill a slot.

Most of it answers what guests actually ask us. When gorilla permits go on sale. What the Mara looks like in April. Whether a six year old will cope with a long day in a vehicle.

The Victoria Nile leaving Lake Victoria at Jinja

25 July 20268 minute read

Jinja and the source of the Nile: what is worth doing

Jinja's headline activity is white-water rafting on the Victoria Nile, with kayaking, bungee, biking, boat cruises and Mabira Forest around it. The Source of the Nile monument is a short, quiet stop rather than a spectacle.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

20 July 20267 minute read

Tracking rhino on foot at Ziwa

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where you can track southern white rhino on foot. A ranger finds the animals, you walk in, and you stand on the ground near them. It takes an hour or two and sits roughly halfway between Kampala and Murchison Falls.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

Zebra in the acacia country of Lake Mburo

18 July 20267 minute read

Lake Mburo on foot: how a walking safari works

A walking safari at Lake Mburo is arranged with the park before you travel and goes out on foot with a ranger rather than from a vehicle. You pay Uganda Wildlife Authority's park entrance fee — USD 40 per adult per 24 hours — and the walk is charged on top of it.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

16 July 20267 minute read

Is Kidepo Valley worth the journey?

Yes, if you can give it three nights or more and you value emptiness over convenience. Kidepo sits in Uganda's far northeast and is the hardest of the country's parks to reach. On a short gorilla-focused first trip, it is the wrong place to spend your days.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

14 July 20268 minute read

The best time to visit Tanzania

June to October is the dry season across northern Tanzania and the Serengeti–Mara, and the strongest all-round window. January to March is calving season on the southern Serengeti plains, with February the peak. March to May brings the long rains — quieter, cheaper, wetter.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

The Virunga volcanoes rising above farmland

11 July 20268 minute read

The best time to visit Rwanda

June to August and December to February are the driest months and the easiest time to trek gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda is open year-round, and November to May carries RDB's 30% low-season gorilla permit discount if you add Nyungwe or Akagera.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

9 July 20268 minute read

What to pack for an East African safari

Pack for cold mornings, hot middays and wet forests. Two or three sets of neutral quick-dry clothing, a fleece, a waterproof shell, broken-in boots, a hat, sunscreen and binoculars. Keep passport, permits and yellow fever certificate in hand luggage.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

A safari vehicle on a Ugandan park track

5 July 20268 minute read

How many days do you need for a Uganda safari?

Most Uganda safaris need seven to ten days. Three days is the practical minimum and buys one gorilla trek and little else; five or six adds chimpanzees; twelve to fourteen covers a full circuit including Kidepo Valley.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

3 July 20267 minute read

The best time to visit Kenya on safari

Late June to October is the strongest window: it is the Serengeti-Mara dry season, and the herds depend on the Mara River from August to October. January and February run a close second, cost half as much in Mara entry fees and sit outside high season. April and May fall in the long rains.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

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Articles tagged Planning

Jinja and the source of the Nile: what is worth doing

Tracking rhino on foot at Ziwa

Lake Mburo on foot: how a walking safari works

Is Kidepo Valley worth the journey?

The best time to visit Tanzania

The best time to visit Rwanda

What to pack for an East African safari

How many days do you need for a Uganda safari?

The best time to visit Kenya on safari

Reading this because you are actually going