SLEEPING LIONS: The Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for its tree-climbing lions
LAURA GRIFFITH-JONES
The wide-open savannah of the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park is broken only by acacias, giant cacti and herds of buffalo, topi and Uganda kob, backed by the mystical Rwenzori Mountains. The scenery transforms as we drive towards Ishasha, in the park’s far-flung south-west; and soon we are passing through dense forest inhabited by elephant, red-tailed and vervet monkeys. Then Lake Edward, known as Mwitanzigye (meaning the ‘killer of locusts’), opens up before us like a mirage; beyond it lies the Congo. Ishasha derives from the word ‘plains’, and soon we are immersed in miles of feathery elephant grass tickled by the wind. It’s May, Uganda’s wettest month, so lilac and white flowers speck the unspoilt, undulating countryside.
Morning has broken. Uganda kob and grey crowned-cranes roam Ishasha’s verdant plains
LAURA GRIFFITH-JONES