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After the Rwenzori trekking experience or the Rwenzori foothills exploration, you definitely need to relax as you take the wildlife safari in the neighboring Queen Elizabeth national park. If it is true that you’re planning on traveling this direction, this information will be very useful for you.
The route to Queen Elizabeth national park from Rwenzori is past Kasese town. Kasese town is located bellow the Rwenzori mountains on Fort portal-Mpondwe road. To transfer from Rwenzori to Queen Elizabeth national park, you have three optional modes of transport to choose from at different stages of the journey. these include public shared taxi/ bus, special hire, private self-drive or bodaboda. A bodaboda is a local name meaning a motorcycle customized as a taxi for public use. The mode of transport may be dictated by the entrance gate of Rwenzori mountains national park you trekked through and or you will be travelling from. The four gates include; Kilembe southern gate, Ibanda central circuit gate, Kichwamba-Bukurungu gate or Kinyampanika northern gate. Travelling from any of the three gates connects to Fort portal-Kasese road or to Kasese town. The following are the distances involved from each gate.
Kilembe southern gate: connects to kasese town. It is located 11km from Kasese town, the road is mainly tarmac
Ibanda central circuit gate: Connects to Fort portal-Kasese road. It is located 17km to fort portal – Kasese road or 26km to Kasese town. The 17km from Kasese fortportal road to the gate are marrum while the rest is tarmac
Kichwamba gate: Connects to Fort portal-Kasese road. It is located 10km to fort portal Kasese road or 45km to Kasese town. The 10km to fort port Kasese road are marrum while the rest is tarmac
Kinyampanika northern gate: Connects to Fort portal-Kasese road. It is located 13km to Fort Portal-Kasese road or 73km to Kasese town. The 13km to Kasese fort portal road are marrum while the rest is tarmac
All connections to fort portal-Kasese road don’t have public shared transport; taxis or buses. You will therefore have to use either a private hired car or bodaboda to connect to fort portal-Kasese road / Kasese town to be able to get shared public taxis or bus that goes towards Queen Elizabeth national park. For extra comfort and proper time management, you can arrange your transfer from the gate to bring you up to Queen Elizabethan national park. If your transfer from the gate will only bring you to Fort-portal Kasese road or to Kasese town, you will then have to take a shared taxi, to take you up to your chosen destination in Queen Elizabeth national park. In everything you do to arrange your travel, always remember to ask your service provider, as one reliable source to guide you on how to get the transport means of your choice. Someone will be willing to go through the process for you or even call the driver to pick you up.
The choice of taxi/ stage to take the transport from will depend on the gate you come from and the lodge /location of Queen Elizabeth national park you’re destined to. If your lodge is anywhere up to Kikorongo junction, you can travel by a taxi going from Kasese taxi park to Bwera or Kisinga and it will drop you to the named lodge. If you’re destined for any point beyond Kikorongo junction on Mbarara road or to Lake Katwe, then you will take the taxi going to Mbarara or Lake Katwe. Queen Elizabeth national park is wide. Be sure you have boarded the right car from Kasese town by telling the conductor, which hotel or stage you want to stop at before you board.
If you haven’t chosen a hotel to stay in during your visit, you can try the elephant home. It is located 22km from Kasese on Kasese Mbarara road, next to Queen Elizabeth national park. It is 1km before Kikorongo junction that goes to Mpondwe Congo border. From Kasese town you will take a taxi or bus and they will drop you in front of the lodge after a 15-20 minutes’ drive. For those travelling by bus from Kampala or fort portal, you can as well tell the bus to drop you at Kikorongo for the same price, instead of stopping in Kasese where you will then be required to take another transport means. Please view our location on the following Google maps link.
Do you need help on arranging your transport? We are just a call away, in case you want someone to handle the travel for you. Tell us the dates and your travel plans then leave us to do the rest as you focus on enjoying your holiday. Fortunately, no consultation fees will be charged to you!
It has been made easier for visitors to book and participate in the boat cruise experience on Kazinga channel. Whether you want to do it as part of your main wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park or you want to do it another time outside the common schedule, it will be all tailored to your interest.
The simple procedure to book is; to send us an email telling us the numbers of people and what time you want to do this boat cruise, then leave the rest to us. Though we recommend that the booking should be made at least one day in advance you can also try your luck and make last-minute bookings on the same day. At the longest, one day from the time of booking, everything will be set to take you on this memorable safari.
What is special about Kazinga channel boat cruise experience?
Kazinga channel boat cruise is truly the best way to see wildlife in Queen Elizabeth national park. Kazinga channel ecosystem is a complete wilderness full of life, due to its all-year-round green status. The channel extends 40km between two famous lakes; Lake Gorge and Lake Edward in this park. The connection to these two water bodies feed this channel into a broader ecosystem stretching from Kibale forest to the great Virunga in Congo through the cross-boarder Lake Edward. This two hours boat cruise, therefore, gives the visitors an opportunity to take a snapshot of the greater queen Elizabeth national park ecosystem.
The boat cruise is also an opportunity for families to reunite as they unwind in a unique natural setting. During the channel, you will realize that your souls as family or friends will get closer together as you enjoy the scenery of this great landscape and wildlife, allowing you to rebuild your bond with your people and nature at the same time.
During the boat cruise, you will witness that Kazinga channel is a true demonstration of coexistence in the Queen Elizabeth national park ecosystem. You will see a full mix of wildlife at one time. You will be exposed to herds of Buffalo, Hippo and other animals near the edge of the channel as they cool off. Depending on the season European migrant birds like the terns and gulls congregate here in large flocks. With a keen eye, you may also spot some crocodiles as they bask by the edge of the channel.
You can choose to climb to the rooftop (protected by side rails) and take a sky view of the ecosystem from the top of the boat. From here you will take exclusive views of the fishing eagles and zoom the big five as much as you have always wished. At some points, the boat will bypass fishing canoes on the shores or cruise past the fishermen on canoe doing their routine fishing trades. As you cruise, the scenarios of canoes on or off the water with the background of the fishing villages will give you wonderful picture moments.
Other important information to note:
The two options of the boat cruise are the Park boat cruise and the community boat cruise.
The park boat cruise is scheduled for two times a day; one at 11:00 am and the other at 3:00 pm. This boat safari offers an opportunity to explore wildlife at close range in this evergreen paradise of Queen Elizabeth national park that lies along the edges of the Kazinga channel. The boat cruise starts at Mweya peninsular. It is also important to note that you need to book space in advance (especially during peak season) since the boat has a limited number of seats.
For those seeking to explore on budget or are limited by one factor or another, there is also another boat option on the Kazinga channel being operated by the community. Though it is operated on the same channel in Queen Elizabeth national park, this community boat cruise costs cheaper, and needs a minimum of 2-3 people in case there is no one else to join. This community boat cruise starts at Katunguru and its timing is flexible depending on the availability of clients, able to operate any time between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.
Each boat cruise tour is a return journey that takes a total of two hours. Guests are expected to arrive at the boat starting point at least 30 minutes before to allow for payments in the reservations office or visitor information center and boarding down by the dock. The boat cruise package comes with a ranger guide (onboard) to interpret the tour for the whole group on board.
Please contact us to organize your boat experience of choice at no additional charges. We can also arrange your stay with us at the Elephant home before and after the boat cruise experience.