Experience the Thrill of a Guided Safari Game Drive and Get Up Close to Uganda’s Magnificent Wildlife.
Embark on a guided safari game drive in Uganda or any other African destination, and you’ll find yourself traversing a savannah park in a four-by-four safari vehicle, accompanied by a knowledgeable local guide who helps you spot wild animals. This classic Africa safari experience takes you deep into the natural wilderness, bringing you up close and personal with both large and small animals from the safety of a 4×4 truck.
While it’s possible to go on a safari drive in Uganda alone, most tourists prefer to have a local expert guide them. This ensures a more relaxed experience in the wilderness, knowing that you’ll be in good hands with someone who knows where to find the animals and how to position you for the perfect view.
In this guide, we’ll give you an overview of what you can expect on these wildlife drives, highlighting the best parks for wildlife viewing drives and offering tips for making the most of your wilderness experience in the back of a safari truck.
What to expect on Uganda safari drives
For the best wildlife viewing experience, embark on a guided game drive during the misty sunrise, late in the cool evenings, or at night, when most animals are more active. Every safari drive is unique, ensuring unexpected and exhilarating wildlife encounters, regardless of the safari destination. While the operating format may differ, different ground operators offer varying experiences.
Game drives in Uganda typically last 3-4 hours, though some may last over six hours, with short breaks allowing travelers to stretch, loosen up, and snack. Guides usually choose scenic spots for these breaks, affording great views of the plains. Some safari camps even offer breakfast settings in the bush for early morning wildlife drives, while afternoon drives are typically arranged to end with a refreshing sundowner.
Your local guide, who will likely also be your driver, is responsible for spotting animals, taking you through unexpected game viewing tracks, and sharing humorous stories about your wildlife encounters. While wildlife densities in Uganda’s safari parks may not match those of eastern destinations, a guided safari game drive in Uganda is much more rewarding. The number of tourist vehicles in the game parks is a mere fraction of those found in more developed destinations, resulting in a more private experience. On a good day, lion, elephant, or leopard sightings are moments to treasure, and you’ll seldom share such moments with swarms of vehicles.
Famous safari drive sightings on Uganda’s savannah plains include the tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha sector, elephants, buffalo, leopards, various antelope species, hippo, and the localized Rothchild’s giraffe.
You should expect to travel in a generally closed 4×4 Land Cruiser customized with large windows for every seat and a roof pop-up for photography. While some camps may use open-sided four-by-four cruisers, it’s improbable in Uganda, where safaris operate in fast cruisers to avoid long, windy drives from the airport to the safari park.
Number of safari drives per day
Typically, Uganda safari trips last for one or two days in a game reserve and include at least two game drives per day – one in the morning and the other in the gentle heat of the evening. Each safari drive usually lasts for about three to five hours, giving you plenty of time to explore and witness the stunning wildlife.
Your very first safari game drive will likely occur on the afternoon of your arrival. On the last day in the park, your local guide may include another safari game drive as you head to your next destination. If you’re trekking gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you may even have the chance to experience tree-climbing while driving through Queen Elizabeth National Park’s southern Ishasha sector.
Staying for around three nights at the safari park or lodge will give you about six short safari drives on your itinerary. If you’re interested in photography safaris, you’ll likely take one safari drive per day, usually lasting 6-10 hours and including a packed picnic lunch. For those who prefer a more relaxed pace, a single drive per day can be arranged, with time in the afternoon for other activities such as nature gazing, walks, chats, swimming, reading, or attending local cultural shows.
On all-inclusive Uganda safari trips, your local driver-guide is usually paid daily to chauffeur, manage, and guide your journey. They will determine how many drives to go out each day. It’s always a good idea to discuss with your guide or tour manager early in the morning or at the end of the day to determine how many drives you’ll have or when the next one will be.
Which destinations in Uganda offer game drives?
Uganda is home to ten national parks, but the most rewarding African safari game drives occur in just four of them. While some wildlife reserves offer limited viewing experiences, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake Mburo National Park in southwestern Uganda are popular with tourists who want to explore the primate-rich rainforests of Bwindi and Kibale.
For those seeking an adventure in the northwest, Murchison Falls National Park along the Victoria Nile offers stunning views, while the remote wilderness of Kidepo National Park in the extreme northeastern corner of Uganda is perfect for those looking for a more extended safari experience lasting more than a week or two.
A safari adventure in Queen Elizabeth National Park will get you up close with lions, elephants, and hippos, or a journey through the lush landscapes of Lake Mburo National Park, where you can spot zebras, elands, and impalas. The mighty waterfalls of Murchison Falls National Park are a must-see, while Kidepo National Park offers breathtaking views and the chance to spot cheetahs, ostriches, and other rare wildlife.
Each game reserve offers a unique and unforgettable experience, and our expert guides can help you choose the perfect safari package to suit your interests and budget.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
If you’re planning a safari holiday in Uganda and want to see lions, then you must include safari game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park in your itinerary. The park is home to the highest number of lions in the country. However, spotting lions on an Africa safari drive is always a challenge. It requires a knowledgeable local guide, some luck, and perseverance. It’s more complicated than what you see on nature television channels.
A good safari guide can locate the big cats within the grassy Kasenyi Plains in the northern and southern Ishasha sectors. In addition to the typical lion spotting, the park is famous for its tree-climbing lions, often relaxing in the giant fig trees that grow in the southern Isashasha region.
While driving through the Queen Elizabeth savannah plains, tourists often come across large herds of elephants and buffalo. You’ll also be able to spot many fascinating antelope species, such as Uganda kob, topi, and bushbuck. The giant forest hog is also relatively easy to spot. If you’re looking for the elusive leopard, try searching the Kasenyi tracks. However, night game drives are ideal for finding these elusive creatures.
A typical Uganda safari usually includes a few safari drives and a boat safari, with two nights in Queen Elizabeth National Park before or after the gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Nkuringo Safaris offers two nights in Bwindi, two nights in Queen Elizabeth, and ending the journey with two nights in the Kibale chimpanzee jungle.
Tailored Uganda Safaris
Our Uganda safaris trips that include viewing wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park are entirely customizable to suit your travel preferences and style with the help of a local expert who guides the planning and manages the entire trip on your behalf.
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Lake Mburo National Park
If you’re not enthusiastic about big game viewing, then Africa drives in Lake Mburo National Park will meet your safari goals. A safari drive will spot substantial concentrations of impala, zebra, waterbuck, topi, and buffalo.
Mburo is usually a resting point for long drives to the southwestern Uganda safari circuit, where tourists expect to find more wildlife action drama. So, tourists typically prefer the park’s active safari activities, like game viewing on foot or horseback and the laid-back sunsets.
A typical Lake Mburo safari will include a night or two in the park and then head deeper into the western safari circuit to track gorillas in Bwindi or explore the Rwenzori Mountains shadowed savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
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Murchison Falls National Park
Up the Nile at the edge of the Albertine Rift is Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest savannah park. Murchison is one of the three large safari parks that provide excellent guided safari drives in Uganda.
A good safari drive on Murchison’s game tracks will lead you to four of Africa’s Big Five; only rhinos are absent. Buffalo and elephants are particularly a common sight on game drives. The park has a rich population of lions that prey on the abundant Uganda kob. You’ll also catch sight of various antelope species like the oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest, Defassa waterbuck, grey duiker, and bushbuck.
You won’t miss sighting the large herds of the localized Rothschild’s giraffes on any safari game drive in the park. The introverted leopards, though far from numerous, are most likely to be spotted around Pakuba. Look out for troops of the rare Pata’s monkey on the grassy plains.
Murchison Falls National Park is a bit isolated from the popular western circuit at least 200 kilometers from Kibale National Park, the nearest park. So it’s usually the first or last stop on the best of Uganda gorilla tours. Nonetheless, the Murchison Falls route via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only one that will assure you an encounter with Africa’s BIG FIVE game.
We recommend you spend at least two or more nights in Murchison and extend your love for the African savannah to the vast wilderness of Kidepo Valley in the extreme northeast for another two nights.
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Kidepo Valley National Park
If you’re planning to stay longer in a single savannah park destination in Uganda, Kidepo National Park is your best choice. The park is a predator haven, protecting many predators found nowhere else in Uganda’s parks, like the cheetah and black-backed jackal.
Common sightings on a safari game drive in Kidepo include the hunting dog, bat-eared fox, cheetah, striped hyena, caracal, aardwolf, Beisa Oryx, Lesser Kudu plus Grant’s gazelle, elephant, Orbis, Burchell’s zebras, Jackson’s hartebeests, bush pigs, cape buffaloes, bohor reedbuck, warthog, defassa waterbuck, Rothschild giraffes, bush duskier and elands, bushbucks and zebra.
In addition to lions, leopards, and several small cats, a good local safari guide will spot out the side-striped jackal, Kongoni, black-backed jackal, and spotted hyena.
We recommend about three or four nights in Kidepo National Park at Apoka Safari Camp, Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp, or Kidepo Safari Lodge to get a Mara-like experience with the ultimate privacy exceptionally few safari parks can provide.
Tailored Kidepo Safaris
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How to get the best out of your safari game drive in Uganda
Realistic expectations
Uganda safari game reserves are expansive, with wild animals spread over vast savannah plains, which means you’ll be driving over distant game tracks to find a concentration of animals. Irrespective of how much you’ve paid for your safari, sightings are not guaranteed, especially for the big elusive animals.
It’s best you curate your expectations with your expert local guide on which kinds of animals you may encounter. An Africa safari drive is more challenging than what wildlife television shows depict to be. Gather more information about the park you’ll be visiting, what kind of animals are there, and the quality of game drives in that park before you book your trip.
Generally, it’s best to have as few realistic expectations as possible and be rewarded with surprising wildlife drama.
Carry a bag of patience
The best game viewing moment on the Savannah plains is often a waiting game. Whether you’re sitting by a waterhole or slowly trundling through the bush with your eyes peeled, having patience during a safari game drive is crucial to creating lasting wilderness moments.
So, carry a load of patience with your local safari guide because they must ensure that your sightings are as memorable as possible. Instead of driving from animal to animal, it pays to stay with a potentially good sighting. Spending time will offer an opportunity to see some interesting animal behavior.
Less camera time, more viewing
Taking photographs on safari should be fun. Unless you’re a professional photographer, there is no reason to let your camera dominate every animal sighting. It is enriching to ditch the camera, slow down and take in the views, the smells, and the sounds of the African bush.
A safari drive in Uganda offers excellent wildlife photography opportunities, but hopefully, you’ll have some rewarding interactions with your local guide. You’ll probably make a close bond with your guide, and at the end of the day, it’s the human conversations that will continuously stay with you. So, put the camera down, and you’ll find that great shot.
Information gathering
Your safari guide’s primary goal is to make the most of your African safari. Most guides are good at spotting animals, and they can also offer exciting information relevant to the sightings. They’ll undoubtedly have plenty of amazing stories to tell. Engage with them to get a brighter picture of your adventure, the best position, spot rare animals, ask questions and collect stories to tell back home. Also, make sure they’ve turned off the at-sightings; sometimes, they get caught up in the moments and forget that you may not be hearing them.
Ultimately, It’s easy to get too focused on the Big 5 and other large mammals on guided safari game drives, partly because the Big Five is heavily marketed. Searching for them seems to be the main aim in any safari drive. However, viewing small animals and birds can be highly rewarding as well. A photograph of a dung beetle or a colorful bird is more evocative than spending 30 minutes watching a sleeping lion. An excellent way to focus on the small stuff is to drive very slowly on the game tracks.
Best Time To Go
The best wildlife viewing on a safari game drive in Uganda’s western savannah parks is during the dry seasons from June to August and December to February. The best time for game drives in Kidepo Valley National Park is immediately after the rainy season in September, October, and November and through the long dry season from December to April.
However, the beginning of the wet season is always a great time to drive on the safari tracks and check out the greening landscapes.
What to take
If it’s your first time on safari, you’ll be looking around for what you should carry or wear on a safari game drive in Uganda. Well, know your plight, and to your rescue, here’s a quick look at what you should take.
What to wear
When starting your game, drive early morning, and for the better half of the day, wear comfortable layers of safari clothing. That way, you can adjust to the wide range of temperatures you’ll experience on a typical day. While the morning can be freezing in western Uganda, it gets hot by midday, so layers of safari outfitters will save you the trouble.
Even If you’re on safari during the rainy season, convertible pants and a light jacket are great options since you’ll spend most of your time in the back of a closed safari vehicle. At least carry a scarf and gloves for the chilly morning game drives.
Sun protection is a considerable concern on safari. So carry a hat, scent-free sunblock, and a pair of polarized sunglasses to reduce the glare. It doesn’t matter what kind of hat, but as long as it can protect you from UV sun rays and fits your style, take it. Avoid bright colors, though.
Although you may spend most of your time on a safari game drive inside the vehicle, a few times, you may jump out for a stretch, relaxation break, sundowner, or to get a closer view of a fascinating small animal or plant that your local guide may point out. In that case, wear a comfortable pair of shoes. They don’t have to be hiking boots necessarily, but a pair of canvas shoes will do.
A small spray bottle of hand sanitizer, a facemask, and insect repellent are essential to carry in your handbag during these times. Insect repellent is particularly important during evening and night drives when mosquitos are at their most active.
Gadgets & Tools
If you’re into nature and wildlife photography, you’ll need to carry appropriate equipment for wildlife photography, especially the right lens to zoom in on the animals that your safari vehicle may not reach. It’ll be helpful to carry extra batteries, memory cards, and a waterproof or dustproof bag to keep the photography equipment protected.
Carry a pair of binoculars of at least 8×30 magnification to see far-off animals. You will be sighting most of the animals on the safari game drive far off your path, and the binoculars will come in handy in those moments. Our safari vehicles usually carry a couple of binoculars to save our guests trouble.
If you’re interested in getting a good education about the African wilderness, carry an animal guidebook on safari. Your guide may be using a reference book, but it would be very adventurous to have your own animal guidebook.
Drink and Snacks
Take a refillable water bottle to avoid spoiling the environment with disposable water bottles. You can refill your bottle at your camp and stay hydrated during the hot safari drives.
Nuts, energy bars, and dried fruit make for great game drive snacks. The wilderness excitement and fresh air can conjure up some appetite, so it’s good to have some nibbles to hand.
To prepare for unforeseen eventualities on remote, long-day game drives, carry a light first aid kit with you. The kit can include essential items like aspirin, plasters, bandages, stomachache relievers, anti-septic, and anti-histamine cream.
Safari with us.
We understand that the essence of any private Africa safari is the game drives, so we endeavor to provide our guests with pleasant experiences with specialty four-by-four safari vehicles and expert local guides.
Start your early morning with the roar of an engine and the promise of adventure. Our well-serviced safari vehicles, specifically customized for the rugged safari terrain, gently churn up the dust on the plains tracks, keeping you on track in your quest to explore the African wilderness. The large windows, high seats, and pop-up roof intend that you don’t miss a thing across the vast savanna plains. Our safari vehicles are equipped with a fridge, a picnic bag, and on-request binoculars to guarantee a comfortable game experience.
Generally, our local expert consultants will recommend and tailor your experience on your game safari in Uganda. Have long conversations, ask many questions, and communicate your expectations to ease the planning process. Send us an email at info@nkuringosafaris.com to start the conversation.
Happy game viewing!
