Uganda, 2023

Africa, and specifically, East Africa has been on our travel bucket list since we created a travel bucket list. Timing and budgets have been the only thing preventing us from going to East Africa. Fortunately, everything aligned for us this year. We originally planned to spend the majority of 2 weeks in Rwanda. After researching what we wanted to do and assessing cost, those plans changed, as Uganda is significantly less expensive than Rwanda. For example, gorilla tracking is half the cost in Uganda as it is in Rwanda. It’s even less expensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the possibility of not coming back from seeing the gorillas or not even seeing the gorillas at all was too much of a gamble. The DRC is seemingly not a safe travel decision at all. Anyway, we could not have been more thrilled with our trip.

This post highlights some of my favorite photo captures of our trip. In total, I captured 7,000 images. Of those, they were culled down to only the best 731 images. Our East Africa trip is divided into two posts, one for each country we visited.

Photography gear taken on this trip

Canon EOS R7
- with the RF 100-400 f/5.6-8 IS USM lens
Fujifilm X-T3
- with the XF 16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR
- and the XF 35mm f/2 (which I didn’t use once, but brought as a fast prime option)

If I were to go on a safari trip again, and one which includes significant portions in very dense forests, I would rent or purchase a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. The 2.8 would have let in more light and kept my ISO down to more favorable levels. The Fujifilm 16-80 f/4 was almost perfect for dense forest with limited light, however, the X-T3’s autofocus is not close to Canon’s and when you’ve been hiking for over an hour, mostly up hill with uneven terrain, and you finally come across gorillas, but you’re a sweaty mess; Canon’s ability to see better than you can is invaluable. What isn’t so awesome is the EOS R7’s high ISO (12800) noise level. Had I not had foggy glasses (due to hiking, wearing a mask and it being humid) the entire time we were with gorillas, the Fujifilm would have been perfect adequate, as my ISO never went above 6400. So, again, for gorilla tracking, if I were to do it again, I would put a 70-200mm 2.8 on the Canon, but still bring the 100-400mm for birds and for tighter wildlife portraits. Overall, I am very happy with my captures. I have yet to use denoise software, but maybe staring at some of these 12800 ISO images for a while will make me reconsider.

Uganda

While in Uganda, we traveled around a lot. In total, we stayed at 5 different hotels/lodges. We tracked chimpanzees in Kibale National Forest, visited Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives, took several boat rides to view hippos, elephants, water buffalo, and, perhaps the central highlight of the trip: tracked gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Our trip was unforgettable and one we’ll carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Street views and scenery

The following images were either captured while in motion, traveling between locations in our guide’s Land Cruiser, or they were captured while walking around near wherever we were staying.

Woman walking down the street while balancing a water jug on her head, Entebbe, Uganda

Person riding a motorcycle full of bananas, Entebbe, Uganda

Person leading a couple goats along the road, Entebbe, Uganda

People working on a new building, Entebbe, Uganda

People hanging out in front of homes, Entebbe, Uganda

Hillside view with several large ant hills and a building that resembles the sun coming up over the horizon, Entebbe, Uganda

People walking along the road, Entebbe, Uganda

Fruit and vegetable stand, Entebbe, Uganda

A young boy tending to the family cows, Entebbe, Uganda

Fruit and vegetable market, Entebbe, Uganda

Person pushing a bicycle full of bananas, Entebbe, Uganda — Street view of a person pushing a bicycle full of bananas. Entebbe, Uganda

People on a motorcycle next to a wooden box full of watermelon and pineapple, Entebbe, Uganda — Street view of people on a motorcycle next to a wooden box full of watermelon and pineapple, Entebbe, Uganda

Street view wth sign that reads 'Slow down on a rainy day', Entebbe, Uganda — Street view wth sign that reads "Slow down on a rainy day", Entebbe, Uganda

Street views on the road with our driver, Simon, Entebbe, Uganda

People on the street in front of stores, Uganda

Food stalls and items for sale, EUganda — Food stalls and items for sale, Uganda

Store front selling milk and juice, Uganda

Child playing with a roller by a store front and fruit stand, Uganda — Child playing with a paint roller by a store front and fruit stand, Uganda

Street views, people hanging out, Uganda

People hanging out in front of homes, Uganda

Person sitting on a curb under a parking sign, Uganda

Person sitting behind an air compressor in front of store fronts, Uganda

Stack of tires in front of store fronts, Uganda

Street views and Airtel mobile kiosk, Uganda

People hanging out in front of stores, Uganda

People on motorcycles on a dirt road, Uganda

Person riding a bicycle on a dirt road, Uganda

Two kids pushing a bicycle filled with bananas, Uganda

Person riding a motorcycle on a dirt road, Uganda

Kids carrying branch bundles on their heads, Uganda

Kids carrying laundry baskets on their heads, Uganda

A family of five on a motorcycle, Uganda

Two people pushing a bicycle filled with bananas, Uganda

Person wearing colorful clothes walking to the side of the road, Uganda

Mother walking with child and carrying a bunch of branches on their head, Uganda

Kyamuhunga town sign, person on a motorcycle and person carrying a bundle on their head, Uganda

Street scenes from inside our vehicle with our driver, Simon, Uganda

Street scenes of people at a market, Uganda

Women walking along the street, one with a bundle on her head, Uganda

People walking along the street, one person is carrying a goat, Uganda

People walking along the street, one person is carrying a table on their head, Uganda

Woman walking along the street with a colorful basket on her head, Uganda

Women walking along the street with colorful baskets on their head, Uganda

Women walking along the street, one carrying a bundle of branches on their head, Uganda

Person walking with a bundle on their head, Uganda

Three kids waving with their hands covered in brick dust, Uganda

Women walking along the street, one carrying a bundle on their head, Uganda

Woman walking along the street carrying a bundle on their head, Uganda

Kid carrying a smaller kid on their back, Uganda

Kid carrying a bucket on their head, Uganda

Person carrying a bucket on their head, Uganda

Landscapes and Scenery

The following images were mostly captured from the lodges in which we stayed. Others were captured while in motion, moving between locations, in our guide’s Land Cruiser.

Landscape view from our grass-topped hut at Chimpanzee Lodge, Uganda

Single tree in front of layered hills, Uganda

People in a boat on the Kazinga Channel, Uganda

Euphorbia candelabrum and Queen Elizabeth National Park landscape, Uganda

Queen Elizabeth National Park landscape, Uganda

Road and rolling hills landscape, Uganda

Tree landscape with person riding a motorcycle, Uganda

Two women in a boat on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

Rolling hills farmland landscape, Uganda

Rolling hills with farmer farming on farmland landscape, Uganda

Rolling, layered hills landscape, Uganda

Duck flying over water with rolling hills landscape, Uganda

Birds and wildlife

We saw so many colorful, interesting, or just plain weird looking birds.

Black-and-white-casqued hornbill, Uganda

Violet-Breasted Sunbird and Brimstone Canary on a tree branch, Uganda

African fish eagles at the top of a tree, Uganda

Red-necked spurfowl on an anthill, Uganda

African wattled lapwing on an anthill, Uganda

Yellow-billed duck on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

Great cormorants on a tree branch on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

Pied kingfisher on a tree branch on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

Crocodiles

Chimpanzee tracking - Kibale National Park

Our chimpanzee tracking experience was wonderful. Unfortunately, on our outing the chimpanzees refused to come down from the trees they were sleeping in, but I was still able to get some decent shots. The hike through the Kibale National Park was fairly easy and mostly over flat terrain.

Chimpanzee in a tree surrounded by branches, Kibale National Park, Uganda

Chimpanzee in a tree, Kibale National Park, Uganda

Baby chimpanzee in a tree surrounded by branches, Kibale National Park, Uganda

Baby chimpanzee with its mama in a tree surrounded by branches, Kibale National Park, Uganda

Hippos

Hippos everywhere! We absolutely couldn’t get enough hippos on this trip. Most of the captures below were taken from a boat while in the Kazinga Channel.

Elephants

Elephants are the best. I will never get tired of watching elephants. Many of the captures below were taken while in a boat on the Kazinga Channel or while in a vehicle at Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Elephant drinking water at the water's edge, Uganda

Elephants drinking water at the water's edge, Uganda — Elephant drinking water at the water's edge, Uganda

Elephants walking along the water's edge, Uganda

Baby elephant trying to climb over a hill, Uganda

Elephants in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Elephant in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Uganda Kob

Lions

We saw a couple lions while in Queen Elizabeth National Park. We were fortunate enough to see one in a Euphorbia candelabrum, however, unfortunately, it was quite far from our vehicle and at the end of my lens’ focal range (600mm). I’m happy to have captured some photos, but do wish the lion was a bit clearer/less noisy.

Lion laying in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Water Buffalo

We learned about “loser” buffalos. A loser buffalo is an older buffalo who is too slow to keep living with the herd. Loser buffalo are kicked out of the herd and must live their remaining days alone or with other losers. It’s sad, but I suppose it’s a necessary part of the life of water buffalo.

Herd of Water Buffalo in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Water Buffalo in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Gorilla Tracking - Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Our gorilla tracking experience was intense. Our group hiked mostly uphill through the mountains for an hour and a half before finding the gorilla family we were tracking. Once we were with the gorillas we had to put on our face masks (to protect the gorillas from any possible diseases we may have and to protect us from any possible disease any gorilla may have). We were able to hang out with them for an hour before hiking back to where we started. The whole experience lasted around 4 hours. The most difficult aspect of capturing images of the gorillas, and one which I did not prepare for, was the fact that I’d be a sweaty mess, with foggy glasses, and unable to effectively see the gorillas through my camera’s viewfinder. Thankfully, my Canon’s autofocus could see better than I could and it captured some great images. I mentioned this at the top of the post, but I have to mention it here, too, that the noise levels in some of these images is less than ideal. I was shooting an ISO of 12800 due to lighting conditions in the dense jungle, coupled with not using a fast lens – one with an aperture lower than f5.6. If I were to go gorilla tracking today, I would rent a 70-200mm 2.8 lens and call it a day. So if you’re going gorilla tracking, please, learn from me and rent or purchase a 70-200mm 2.8 equivalent lens. I adore Fujifilm, but their autofocus can not match the Canon EOS R7. If I could have seen the gorillas well through my Fujifilm viewfinder, I think the 16-80 f4 would have been almost perfect. Having a bit more length would have been perfect, which is, again, why a 70-200mm 2.8 would have been perfect. Okay, end rant.

One other challenge to effectively capturing photographs of the gorillas is that where we had to stand/sit while with the gorillas was precarious at best – full of thick vegetation and tree roots.

Toward the end of our time with the gorillas, one of the trackers was clearing debris/vegetation between the male silverback shown below and the rest of the family who we couldn’t see from our vantage point. The tracker got a bit too close and the silverback wasn’t happy about it and charged the tracker. No one was hurt, thankfully, just scared. We left with a story to tell.

Female gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Female gorilla details: hands, in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Female gorilla making faces in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Male Silverback gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Baby gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Male Silverback and female gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda — Male Silverback and baby gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

Final thoughts

Uganda is an incredible place to visit. While driving across the country, one can observe so much activity. Every town is packed with activity and things to see. If I had to pick my two favorite parts of visiting Uganda, they would be: visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park and the entire experience gorilla tracking. If you were to ask me to name what our favorite lodge/sleeping accommodation was, I would tell you all about the fantastic Chimpanzee Forest Lodge, its good food, friendly staff, and its beautiful scenery.

At the end of my forthcoming post on Rwanda, I will post some thoughts about the differences we observed between Uganda and Rwanda.