"Ishasha" Ishasha by janiebaxter

Ishasha is an unspoilt and remote area in the very the Southern tip of Queen Elisabeth National Park and borders the Democration Republic of Congo. The Ishasha river runs through the area and is full of hippos, and there are large herds of Buffalo. Kobs and Topi are common here, as well as other species of antelope.
However, the main attraction here is the tree climbing lions, which you can see lying along the branches with their legs dangling down either side. It’s quite scary to sit in an open top Land Rover underneath a tree where the lions are directly above looking down at you!

Camp in Ishasha

Ishasha Wildernes Tented Camp opened in 2005, and is midway between Mweya and Bwindi impenetrable forest by the Ntungwe River.

As my trip here was in 1992, when there was little tourism in Uganda, I stayed in the campsite on the banks of the Ishasha River. There was nobody else there - no tourists and we didn't see any local people either. Just the lions, the hippos which were very noisy and the surrounding bush.
We had a mobile camp on this trip - a camp manager, cook, driver and 4 staff who drove the tents and all our gear to our camping place, while we went by Land Rover or light aircraft with our guide. The food was excellent and we were well supplied with everything we could want - including beer and fine wine and hot water for showers.

Stuck in the mud on the Mweya to Goma Road

This road is the main road that runs between Mweya in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo. At the time of my trip it wasn't tarmaced and I believe it still isn't. When it rains the road is an incredible mud bath with vehicles stuck all the way along a stretch of it. I got out of our vehicle and sank knee deep in the mud. Being the main road to and from Goma there are many trucks using the road and they all get stuck too. The truck drivers are all well prepared and have tarpaulins which they spread under the trucks (as nothing is moving) where they set up their small stoves to cook their Matoki, smoke cigarettes and wait until somebody further down the line gets themselves out of the mud. It is great fun.
Eventually we were towed out by a truck.

• Pros:Tree climbing lions, remote.
• Cons:You need to be travelling African time for the road
• In a nutshell:Look out - Lions above!!