Viewing wildlife game from the water on a houseboat or boat launch safari is a unique experience providing a different perspective on wildlife behavior. Uganda offers incredible opportunities to enjoy watching wildlife from a boat.
Although classic African safaris are mostly done in a traditional game drive vehicle or on foot, Uganda offers a more breathtaking experience of viewing wildlife on the banks of water bodies found in savannah parks from a boat. Three of the top destinations in Uganda have water bodies that attract large numbers of wildlife that come on sip on the life-giving waters. From the boat’s vantage point, tourists can view live wildlife drama on the banks of the water without the struggle of beating the bush.
Unlike most African safaris, from the water is also one of the best vantage points for spotting wildlife. It’s also a more tranquil experience compared to the bumpy ride in a safari truck. You’ll have a cool breeze coming off the water instead of kicked-up dust in your eyes, and you can rely on the onboard bathroom instead of scrambling to find a discrete spot in the bush.
Because of the all-year-round water, many species of animals make the waterfront their home. So it is one of the only places in the world where you can experience intense game viewing from your boat on the river, lake, or channel.
During a 2-3-hour boat safari cruise with Nkuringo Safaris, you can sip on your favorite drink as the covered pontoon silently glides across the shimmering waters, with just a handful of other boats visible in the distance. Being free from any big crowds makes for some extraordinary animal sightings.
The boat gets so close to a motionless crocodile that you can discern the individual scales on its shiny, mottled skin; meanwhile, an unperturbed hippo stands just a few feet away, munching busily on tall blades of yellowed grass. It’s a breathtaking scene.
Let’s say you booked a gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and would like to see the savannah game too, but you don’t want the go through the bureaucracy of crossing borders to the prominent game safari destinations. It would make perfect sense to book a front row boat safari in Uganda.