The Lion King in 3D

What an incredible day!  We were amazingly fortunate today to see several lions in real live 3D in their natural African habitat at Murchison Falls National Park. We have so many spectacular photos from today's adventures that we'll share when we get home. But meanwhile, here's a sampling:

After a 5-hour drive from Kampala, our first stop at about 10 a.m. was at the top of the Murchison Falls, where the turbulent Nile River surges through the rocks and creates a breathtaking waterfall with perpetual sprays shooting high into the air. Where the sun hits the spray, a gorgeous rainbow arches over the falls, seeming to reach down into the waterfall.

From there we drove onward to our destination, the Paraa Safari Lodge. When the hotel staff greeted us in the lobby with ice-cold washcloths and glasses of fresh-squeezed passion fruit juice, we knew we would love it here! We feel like we have landed in the lap of luxury here compared to the chaotic, noisy streets of Kampala. The lodge is overlooking a more calm part of the Nile River, with scenic views from the restaurant of the riverbanks and beautiful native landscapes.

After lunch and settling in, we joyfully immersed ourselves in the swimming pool here - the first time we have felt completely cooled off since we arrived in Uganda. Garth, Jill, Celeste, Renee and Cindy are staying in the Queen's Cottage, which is an apartment-type building set apart from the main lodge. It was added when Queen Elizabeth first came to stay here, and it has the distinction of including air conditioning (something we have not experienced yet in Uganda). It also has a large veranda that provides a great view of the Nile River and is surrounded by various creatures such as warthogs, crocodiles and hippos. The rest of the team is divided among several nice rooms at the Lodge and has no complaints.

At 4:00 pm, we headed out in the bus with our wonderful driver Moses (Kibirango Moses, director of Marantha Tours and Travel www.maranthatoursug.net) and Sarah, a professional game guide who works at the park - who boarded the bus with her AK47 rifle in hand, to scrare off any aggressive animals that might not want us to be intruding on their turf. (Fortunately, she had no cause to use it today.)

The first wildlife we spotted in the partk were herds of antelopes. There are 5 varieties here, and we saw hundreds of each kind except the Bushback. We learned that the small and graceful Oribi mate for life, the large Waterbuck have meat that is too "stinky" for lions to eat, and the beautiful Ugandan Kob are the offical animal of Uganda. The males have uniquely shaped horns, while the females do not have any. Below is the Jackson Hardebeest antelope, which has a longer, flat face. In this species, both males and females have horns as a way of defending themselves.
 

The highlight of the day, though, was definitely seeing the lions. Our host Paul and the guide Sarah said it's rare to see lions at this time of day - and some groups who go on safari spend several hours and don't see any animals. But God blessed us immensely by showing us 3 of these magnificent "Kings of the Jungle".
 

We got incredibly close and personal to this lion (the same one pictured above). He was lying in the sun sleeping when we first spotted him, then he woke up when we approached. Thankfully, he wasn't cranky that we awakened him. Sarah  (our guide) explained that he lost one of his hind legs five years ago apparently from being hit by a Cape Buffalo, but he has continued to survive in the Park thanks to the female lions that do the hunting and bring meat back to the males.

 Later we came across this pair of lions who were more awake and basking in the sun, but still were mellow enough to allow us to come very near and watch their antics.

 

We got a big kick out of watching them as the female got up and stretched, and they started moving around more. Fortunately, they were not yet in the mood to hunt for their next meal, so they were not the least bit interested in us.

Our next treat was watching a herd of 10 giraffes casually saunter by alongside the road, and paralleling the Nile River (visible in the background). Moses did a fantastic job of keeping pace with them so we could snap some great photos. We were even close enough to see their beautiful long eyelashes, which Sarah had told us about. We saw other giraffes throughout the park, but these were definitely the closest to the road.

Before heading back for dinner at the Lodge, we drove past the "hippo pond" where more than a dozen hippos were relaxing in a pool off of the Nile River. Two of the hippos were playing with each other, and this one delighted us by showing off his big mouth - what's known as a "hippo yawn".

Tomorrow morning we head out again at 6 a.m. for another game drive at the Park, and later in the day we have a boat safari on the Nile, where we will get to see the Murchison Falls from below for a different perspective. It's hard to imagine that we'll see anything that tops our splendid safari today, but we know we'll enjoy it no matter what.  About the only thing we didn't get to see up close today were elephants. There was a group of about 6-8 elephants on a hill that we viewed through binoculars, but they were too far away to get good photos. Maybe God will bless us again tomorrow with an up-close elephant experience!

We already feel very blessed to be here, relaxing from a physically and emotionally time in Kampala and soaking in the beauty of Africa's natural habitat.  We spend lots of time laughing, enjoying each other's company, taking photos, and savoring the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables available here.

Sometimes it's hard to believe we're actually here experiencing all of this - in a part of the world none of us has visited before, and most had never thought we'd ever see. We are so appreciative of this opportunity and very grateful to all of you who have and continue to support us in this mission trip. We are all missing our families at this point and eager to see them soon - but we are savoring these last few days here and making the most of our remaining time.

Blessings,

The SS Nazarene Watoto Team