Boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park takes place on Kazinga channel a water body situated in Queen Elizabeth National Park located in the southwestern region of Uganda about 420 kilometers from Kampala city.
This 40-kilometer long stream of water links two freshwater bodies namely Lake George and Lake Edward. This water channel is lined with a swamp on its northern shore beneath the Mweya peninsular and bordered by Lake George on its eastern side.
This swamp is registered as a Ramsar site since it protects a variety of wildlife species for example water birds, sitatunga antelopes, crocodiles, and waterbucks to mention but a few.
Kazinga Water Channel is one of the major attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park since it draws large numbers of wildlife as well as the variety of tourist activities it holds that are always done by tourists on their visits to the Park.
Wildlife that is drawn along the shores of this water channel include the world’s largest concentration of hippopotamuses and countless Nile crocodiles, large herds of elephants and buffaloes that often report to wallow, waterbucks, warthogs, Uganda kobs, monitor lizards as well as giant forest hogs, leopards and lions that are occasional visitors to the channel.
This water channel is also a home to unique species of aquatic birds making it one of the best birdwatching destinations and Africa. It is therefore categorized by the International Birding Organization as an Important Birding Area due to the vast bird species that flock this water channel and these include the giant Kingfisher, swamp flycatcher, swifts, scarlet-chested sunbird, black-headed Gonolek, lesser masked weaver, slender-billed weaver, pin-tailed whydah, yellow-backed weaver, swallows, blue-napped mouse bird, grey-headed kingfisher, pygmy kingfisher, swamp nightjar, African morning dove, harmerkop, squire-tailed nightjar, black-tailed godwit, yellow-billed stork, African skimmer, African fish eagle to mention but a few. Therefore, the best way to explore and capture the vast wildlife within the Kazinga water channel is by embarking on a boat cruise.
The Kazinga channel boat cruise is termed as the highlight of any Uganda safari due to its magnificent wildlife experience it offers to visitors. This boat cruise along the Kazinga water channel offers a very unique experience from all what visitors must have had in Africa.
The boat cruise is a 2 to 3 hours’ activity that is run and conducted by professional captains and UWA guides that are always willing to give out all the information about the history of Kazinga water channel, this activity and the entire information about the wildlife that is seen along the shores of the water channel.
The guides always answer visitors’ queries about the surrounding vegetation, animals and bird species, depth and color of the water, surrounding communities and fishing villages and many more. This boat cruise is operated twice a day that is to say in the morning as well as in the evening.
The morning boat cruise starts at 10:00m and ends 1:00pm whereas the evening boat cruise starts at 2:00pm and ends at 5:00pm. Both the morning and evening boat cruise offer a completely unique natural experience for example the spectacular sunset views that are captured during the evening boat cruise. However the above boat schedule can be adjusted according to the visitors’ demands and numbers.
During the Kazinga boat cruise, one is guaranteed of having a spectacular African wildlife experience as you sail amidst large schools of hippopotamuses, flocks of aquatic birds and many more.
This is the perfect time to capture Nile crocodiles, large concentrations of buffaloes, elephants, antelope types like sitatungas, waterbucks Uganda kobs and many more. This is the best way to enjoy a peaceful magical wildlife experience as one learns about behaviors and lifestyle of African wildlife.
While on the Kazinga boat cruise, one is assured of safety since a safety briefing is conducted before setting off for the cruise for example on how to use safety gears like life jackets, airhorn and whistle, fire extinguishers and flares, throwable lifering and many more. To enjoy this boat cruise without limitations, it is advisable to carry some items with you for example drinking water, sunglasses, a sun hut, binoculars, a camera with extra batteries to mention but a few.
Best time to go for the Kazinga channel boat cruise
A boat cruise along the Kazinga water channel can be done all year round though the best time is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August and September as well as in the months of December, January and February which the year’s short dry season.
This period of the year is known to be the country’s peak season implying that one shouldn’t be surprised by hiked prices for facilities such as accommodation and many more. During this period of the year, there is less or no rainfall implying that large concentrations of animals congregate along the water channel shores to quench their thirst as well as cool their temperatures. This fosters easy and the best sightings of the abundant wildlife which offers the best wildlife experience to visitors.
