Boat Trip to Murchison Falls Uganda: 7 Things You Must See before You Die.

I welcome you on this boat. I will be Guide and captain at the same time. We expect to see some of the animals like elephants, crocodiles, birds. And my promise to you, is that we are definitely going to see, hippopotamuses. The Nile at Murchison falls has a large population of hippopotamuses. So if you don't like hippos, then this trip is not for you.

Starting of with the Nile, this is where we shall be sailing.

1. The Nile.

The river Nile flows from lake Victoria going in the northern direction. At lake kyoga, the Nile alters the course and flows in the western direction upto lake Albert. From Lake Albert, the river Nile then changes the course to the North direction once again.

2. The sausage tree.

Ever seen the sausage tree?

Apparently the sausage tree is very important to African culture. It is a medicinal and it is claimed to clear the fallopian tube of a woman who has issues conceiving. The medicine is prepared by cooking the tree buck and the juice is drunk. Within a week, the fallopian tubes will be cleared and now the woman will be able to conceive. Secondly, for those gentlemen who don't perform very well in the bedroom. This plant will solve their problems too. Take a cup of this juice at around 7:00pm and at 9:00pm, you'll be good to go. And because of these uses, they say that this tree can Unite families. You shouldn't eat the raw fruit from this tree as it will kill you.

Elephants sometimes take a bite and this makes them act drunk because it has some alcoholic content. You could call it "elephants' beer".

3. The elephants.

Elephants usually move in groups, and they are led by a dominant male. This means that if you spot one, just know there is a whole herd nearby. Elephants are mammals that have the best memory. It is said that an elephant can remember something from thirty (30) years ago. There is even a story of how an elephant killed a ranger at the Murchison falls because he had provoked it some time back. When this elephant saw this ranger, two weeks later, it was revenged by killing him. Some of the tactics these elephants use to defend themselves are by using their trunks, the ivory tusks or by grinding the threat with their chests. Elephants also have a great sense of smell.

4. The hippopotamuses.

These are creatures that are semi aquatic. They stay in water during the day and on land at night. They have only one activity on land and that is grazing. All the other activities are done in water including sleep.

The male hippopotamus is very alpha, it doesn't not want any male in the group including its own sons. The alpha male is very protective of the females. When a female hippopotamus is about to give birth, it leaves the school, and if it gives birth to a male baby. The mother will look after its child for outside the school because if the father sees the son, he'll try by all means to kill him.

You can tell the dominant male by seeing a large v-shape on the head and they are usually bigger in size compared to the others in the school.

"How do you tell if a human is the dominant? - i would love your answer in the comments"

Hippos can hold their breath for about 5 - 6 minutes under water.

5. The paraa bridge.

This bridge was constructed recently, in late 2017. The paraa bridge was built purposely to ease movement of tourists between the southern and the northern part. Most of the hotels are situated in the southern part and yet the animals are in the northern part, and because of the ferry's hard schedule, movement between the banks was not convenient. So the Government decided to set-up the paraa bridge. Now you can wake up at six (6:00am) and go for a game drive which wasn't possible before.

6. The crocodiles

The Crocodiles we have here are the second most dangerous crocodiles so if you are addicted to swimming and diving, don't do it in the Nile at Murchison falls park. During breeding, female crocodiles protect the eggs. You can't tell the sex of a crocodile just by observing it unless if you can turn it on it's back and place a finger under it's clock. if you feel something, then its a male but if you don't hit anything, it's a female. You can never determine a crocodile's age, judging from the size of its body because the size is determined by the availability of food around the individual. Crocodiles keep their mouths open to regulate their body temperature.

 It is said that the spikes on a crocodile's tail act as a solar panel. They store heat while on land and this heat is then released while the crocodile is under water but we are not sure how true this is. If you know more, please leave us a comment

7. Murchison falls

As you get closer to the falls you start noticing more foam floating on the water.

If you're into fishing, a fishing permit costs about $50 per person. The Murchison falls is about 6 - 7 meters in width and about 43 - 45 meters in height. The river here flows at a rate of 300 cubic meters per second. This makes Murchison falls the most powerful falls in the whole world.

Booking a boat trip.

You can book a boat trip to Murchison falls with wild frontiers Nile river. They have various packages to choose from. I recommend everyone to try out the boat trip. Daily Waterfall Cruises will cost you as little as $32 per person, departing every afternoon by 2.30pm as well as in the mornings at 08.30am and 11.00am.

Yearning for more? You check out the Murchison Falls National Park Uganda Travel Guide