Kazinga Channel

Kazinga Channel

Kazinga Channel

Kazinga Channel shores attract a lot of wild life in Queen Elizabeth National Park; it is the nearest and easy to reach water body in the park. Kazinga channel is located in kasese district; with in Queen Elizabeth National Park, it is about 420km away from Kampala City. It has an estimated terrain of about 914m above sea level.

It is wide and long natural channel of 32km (20mi) that links two fresh water Lake George and Lake Edward. Kazinga Channel is the dominant attraction in whole of Queen Elizabeth national park. Kazinga channel has two parts; North Kazinga and the Kasenyi Plains.  Both the parts of Kazinga channel are very cool points for viewing game; the Kasenyi Plains are ideal for lion tracking.

Kazinga channel is lined with a swamp on its northern shore beneath Mweya Peninsular. Kazinga Channel Wetland is registered and protected through Ramsar sites rights of conservation of wet lands in Africa. The wet land is a home for crocodiles, numerous bird species, and the water and land Statunga antelopes, the waterbucks among others.

The old buffaloes when chased from their herds, they find comfort at the shore of Kazinga Channel. During the Mweya Boat Cruise, you will see a number of individual buffaloes bathing in mad. The act of “mad bathing”, is called wallowing. Wild animals like buffaloes wallow in mad to get rid of ticks and other biting insects from their bodies. In the afternoon noon most animals quench their thirst on the kazinga channel and you can view elephants, buffaloes, monitor lizards, you can also view the biggest lizard that can be found in Africa the giant monitor lizard.

Kazinga Channel is also termed as the most popular tourism area in Uganda due to the many activities that visitors can do when they visit Queen Elizabeth national park. It has been famous from way back; in 1948, a remarkable photographer from America, George roger, took a black and white picture of a small group of zebras in Kazinga National Park, currently known as Queen Elizabeth National Park; the picture got viral and it was kept by art space a photography company.

Kazinga channel is bordered with lake George on the eastern side; Lake Gearge is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Uganda with many tributaries from Mountain Rwenzori, it covers over 2000sq km. Lake George is responsible for the drainage of Kazinga Channel and the adjacent lake Edward.

The shores of Kazinga Channel draw large numbers of wild life like Hippos, Crocodiles, Statunga Antelopes, Bird Species, Waterbucks, Buffaloes and elephants among others. It attracts wild life throughout the year with the biggest population of Hippos and numerous Crocodiles in the whole world.

During the boat cruise you will get a chance to see the fishing villages overlooking the stream such as kasenyi plains. On the boat, you are able to see fishermen washing their fishing nets in river. You can also have a chance to see small boys catching fish using a more rudiment method and traditional method; hook fishing. When you look over the stream to the fishing villages you will also see fisher men repairing their boats and women repairing the fishing nets to make them read to be used for fishing.

Kazinga channel is seen well on a boat cruise down the course of the channel. This is the most liked launch trip in Uganda. The boat cruise is operated between 11am in the morning to 1pm in the afternoon local time. It also has the evening cruise that start at 3pm to 5pm local time. You can book for any of the two cruises when you visit queen Elizabeth national park according to your preference; booking is done at Mweya Safari Lodge located on Mweya Peninsular with in the national park.

Accommodation should not worry you because Queen Elizabeth National Park is stained with a lot of lodges, hostels, and camps among others;

How can you get to Kazinga Channel?

Mweya peninsular is where the boat cruise starts from. Mweya Peninsular is 20km west of Kasese- Mbarara Road (Main Road). Normal vehicle itineraries between Mbarara and Kasese go through Katunguru. You can also hire a special taxi at Katunguru Trading Centre at USHs 30, 000 for a one way fare drive to Mweya Safari Lodge where you book a boat cruise down the course of Kazinga Channel.

You will enjoy a classic safari in Africa if you include some activities with in queen Elizabeth national park but, only Kazinga Channel and its associated to do list will bring you back to Africa with a friend or friends.

hippos kazinga channel
hippos kazinga channel
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