Night Game Drive is an interesting safari that sounds unique as one gets to explore the wildlife species in their habitats in the earlier hours of the night. This is the most wonderful and everlasting memorable experience where you can encounter a variety of nocturnal species in the savannah woodlands. Night Game Drive is an activity carried out when the sun sets and the night falls in the wilderness of Lake Mburo National park. It, therefore, needs one to use a strong light torch to see the animals more clearly in the dark. This activity gives you chance to get closer to the mammals since they cast off their human fear in the night whereby they can easily get closer to your vehicle and have a great view of the lions.
The night game drive is one of the most enjoyed activities in Uganda as it is recorded by those who have engaged in it before. It is good to know the best place where you can book your night game drive/viewing and Lake Mburo national park can be your highly recommended destination for this activity. More so, night game drives can also be done in other national parks such as Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park in their savannah grassland and these are the only places where you can book for your night game drive in Uganda.
Lake Mburo national park is one of the few parks where you can go for a night game drive and at night there is a whole variety of animals that you would not see during the day. Night game drive gives you an opportunity of finding leopards, spotted hyenas and other interesting nocturnal animals.
Lake Mburo national park lies in Kiruhura district in the western part of Uganda a few hours away from the East of beautiful the Mbarara town the largest city in the sub-region. It covers 260 square kilometres of lowland and can be easily be accessed by foot. Lake mburo national park is the smallest park among the national parks of Uganda and closest to the capital city ‘Kampala’ which is estimated 240 kilometres by road in the west of the capital city. The park is a home of mammals such as zebra, African buffaloes, hippopotamus, African leopards, jackal, hyenas, topis, oribi, defassa waterbuck, reedbuck, impala, common eland, warthogs and over 350 species of birds such as white-winged swamp warble, Red-faced Barbet, Papyrus yellow warbler, mosques swallow, African finfoot, Bare-faced go-away bird, greater pointed-snipe, saddle-billed stork, African wattled lapwing and many more. The park is under the management of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and is a UNESCO heritage site.
Night game drive at Lake Mburo national park can be undertaken in its savannah the acacia woodland gaining possible views of a wide range of nocturnal animals such as hare, hyenas, porcupine, honey badger, white-tailed mongoose, side tripled jackal, serval cat, bush pig, civet, black galago, thick-tailed galago and you can come across leopards during your night drive. Travellers can be guided by the professional guides who will guide you through fantastic activities within the park.
Vehicles used For Night Game Drive
Night game drive at Lake Mburo national park can be done using any vehicle and could be a self-driven or safari company vehicles from Uganda wildlife Authority which governs all the protected national parks in Uganda. They also own tour vehicles which are 4 wheel drive and are ideal for these activities in terms of being compatible with all lose weather roads. These vehicles have popped up roofs to help you to have great sightseeing such as the leopards and other mammals come closer to the vehicle, the panoramic view is rewarding. Through doing this unique activity you can decide to book an armed game ranger from the Uganda Wildlife Authority offices, who goes for just USD20. The armed game ranger can assist you to spot out the lions patches so easier and can be assured for protection in case of any wild animal attack. To be part of night game drive at Lake Mburo national park you can have an unforgettable memorable experience in this national Park.
Besides, night game drive in Lake Mburo national park, you can also engage in very many interesting activities such as guided nature walk, birding, fishing in lake Mburo which inhabits 6 species of fish most especially tilapia, boat cruise along Lake Mburo, visiting Rubanga forest, visiting the salt lick where you can encounter various species of mammal gathering on saltwater, horseback riding and bicycle tour many more. All these activities can be conducted in here at lake mburo national park.
Essentials to carry to your night game drive at lake mburo national park include Sweater, strong lighting torch, insect repellents, cameras among others.
The best time to do night game drive is all year round most especially in the dry season when the gazetted area is out of water source, that is to say, from the month of June to September and between December to February.
Where to stay
While you’re on a night game drive at Lake Mburo National Park, you can sleep in nice hotel and lodges ranging between mid-range, budget hotels such as Mihingo lodge, leopard Rest camp, Rwakobo Rock lodge, Mburo safari lodge, Kijuura lodge, Arcadia Lodge, among others.
The easiest way to access this national park is from Kampala the capital city which takes 3.5 hours by road. Alternatively, you can decide to use a flight to and from Kajjasi airstrip to Mbarara airstrip within 1.5 hours by Air.
