Kidepo Valley National Park - Uganda

CNN travel named "8 of the best safari destinations in Africa" on August 9, 2018. Kidepo Valley National Park ("KVNP") was the second one listed, after Serengeti NP in Tanzania, and indicated that KVNP "might be the most beautiful park in Africa." KVNP is in the remote northeastern corner of Uganda wedged in between South Sudan and Kenya. It is considered one of Africa's last wilderness areas because of its rugged, untouched beauty and low tourist numbers. It is 140 miles by road from Moroto, the largest town in the region, and 320 miles by road from Kampala, the capital, and largest city in Uganda (the CNN article noted it is a 12 hour drive from Kampala). KVNP is the only national park in Uganda without paved roads. It is the third largest national park in Uganda covering 557 square miles, behind Murchison Falls NP, covering 1,480 square miles, and Queen Elizabeth NP, which covers 764 square miles. 

It is difficult to find a good map of KVNP. I've inserted four below, each of which is inadequate, but combined offer more, but still inadequate information. KVNP is mostly open tree savannah and has two ecosystems: (1) one covered by the Kidepo Valley which has the Kidepo River, which often is dry, and gets an annual rainfall of 25 inches; and (2) one covered by the Narus Valley which has the Narus River, which always has water, and gets an annual rainfall of 35 inches. The Narus River joins the larger Kidepo River outside KVNP about 8 miles into South Sudan and the combined river later joins the White Nile. The vegetation and animal populations vary between the two valleys. Both valleys appear to be surrounded by mountains, including 9,020 foot Mount Morungole, which appears to be outside KVNP but in the indentation into the park on the southeastern border (CNN notes that Mount Morungole is the "sacred peak of the mysterious Ik people"). 

Mount Morungole, top left, with a sausage tree and Jackson's hartebeests in the foreground.  Mount Morungole is a source for both the Kidepo and Narus Rivers. 

I believe we entered KVNP at the lower southeast corner of the park, labeled "Kampala (via Mbole)" on the Rwanda Tours map. It has a yellow circle indicating it is a gate, but does not identify it. I'm guessing it is the Lotukei Gate. 

The Kidepo Savannah Lodge (the "Savannah Lodge") is where we stayed. It is outside of KVNP, but close to the Kalokudo gate. Neither the Kalokudo gate or Savannah Lodge show up on any of these maps, but I find that Savannah Lodge is at the edge of the park on Kawalokol hill overlooking the Narus Valley 500 meters from Kalokudo gate. The Rwanda Tours map shows a gate (a yellow circle) at the southern end of the park labeled "Katurum" and "Kampala via Kitgum". There is a little white star nearby labeled "Viewpoint" which is inside the park. I'm guessing that the "Viewpoint" is Kawalokol hill where Savannah Lodge is located, or near it, and there is a marvelous view of the Narus Valley from Savannah Lodge. Kalokudo gate is one of the main entrances to KVNP and an area known for abundant wildlife, including lions, buffaloes and elephants. Each time we left or returned to the Savannah Lodge we had to go through the gate where we were checked by a ranger. I did birding at Savannah Lodge with our guide, William, and we saw lots of wildlife between Savannah Lodge and the Apoka headquarters and Apoka airport. 

We visited the KVNP headquarters at Apoka and flew to Kampala at the end of our stay from the Apoka airport. On the last map, labeled, Rwanda Safaris, there is a red airplane in the southern section which is the Apoka airport and above it to the left, a label "Park HQ" is the Apoka headquarters. Both days in KVNP we had an armed ranger with us named Zachary. Each day we had to pick up and return Zachary at the Apoka headquarters and go through the Apoka gate which is not labeled on any of these maps, but is mentioned in the on-line information. Note that on the Rwanda Safaris map we had to cross the Narus River shortly before the Apoka headquarters and Apoka airport. There was a colony of village weaver nests in a large tree right next to the Narus crossing. The day we arrived there had been a huge thunderstorm and the Narus was quite high and we had to approach the crossing quite carefully. It later went down quite a bit. We did driving game safaris northeast, east and southeast of the Narus airport as well as a walking safari with Zachary. 

On our walking safari as we approach a vehicle that was not ours. It gives a flavor of the landscape with the distant mountains. 

The Rwanda Tours map shows a road going north from Apoka Lodge (near the headquarters) toward the South Sudan border. The road eventually leads into the Kidepo Valley after crossing the Kidepo River. One late afternoon my granddaughter and I went with William and Zachary out that road toward the South Sudan border. The rains had made the road very muddy and we encountered a huge truck with Sudanese men riding on the top and really churning up the road. The muddy road would not permit us to go as far as the Kidepo Valley, but we were able to see a broad-billed roller, patas monkeys, black breasted barbets, an eastern paradise whydah, a stone partridge and lots of cape buffalo on that drive. 

Cape buffalo and distant mountains in this more verdant area of the Narus Valley. 

A little later in the evening the sun poking through some clouds.

On the way back our vehicle got stuck in the mud and we had to have assistance from another safari vehicle to get out and got back to the Savannah Lodge well after dark. 

Map of KVNP from Rwanda Tours. 

Map of KVNP from Uganda Wildlife. 

Map of KVNP from AG africa Geographic.

Map of KVNP from Rwanda Safaris. 

Following are photos of the wildlife we saw on our game drives:

An Abyssinian ground horn bill, a female (blue) and male (red). 

An Abyssinian roller, a bird I really wanted to see and get a good photograph of. William found one for me early on, but it flew before I could photograph it. Fortunately, I got a photo of one toward the end of our stay. 

The African gray hornbill, a favorite. We had a number of them up at the Savannah Lodge. Judy and I had seen one previously in Etosha NP in Namibia.

The African striped skink. This was on the porch of our tented cottage at Savannah Lodge. 

A bateleur in flight, a beautiful eagle. Judy and I saw one previously, nesting in Buffalo Springs NR in Kenya. 

A black coucal. 

A black cuckooshrike. It is a horrible photo and I have severe doubts about the validity of this identification by me. William, if you read this and I have identified it wrong, please let me know. 

Black-breasted barbets we saw on the road toward the Kidepo Valley. Zachary told me to take lots of photos because people would see them and want to come to KVNP. They are mostly found in South Sudan. 

Poor photos of a black-headed oriole in a tree near the restaurant at the Savannah Lodge. 

A female black-winged bishop.

A beautiful black-winged kite. 

A bohor reedbuck. We'd previously seen two of them, one in Masai Mara NR in Kenya and one in the Okavanga Delta of Botswana, but both were well hidden in the reeds and we could hardly see them. We saw lots of them in KVNP and got better photos of them. The second photo was taken on our walking safari with Zachary. It is quite thrilling to encounter this wildlife while walking on the ground near them.

A broad-billed roller, seen on our drive toward the Kidepo Valley.

A bush hyrax seen in an area of rocks near the Apoka airport. We saw lots of rock hyrax near it, but only one bush hyrax. One of the distinguishing characteristics between it and the rock hyrax is the white eyebrows. 

These cape buffalo followed us, but kept a distance, on our walking safari. KVNP has the largest population of cape buffalo in Africa. I believe I've read that there are something like 13,000 of them. 

Clapperton's spurfowl.

A common bulbul seen near our tented cottage at Savannah Lodge.

We had seen one common eland, in Nairobi NP, previously. In KVNP we saw huge herds of them, albeit from a distance. 

We saw two common ostriches at a great distance. KVNP is the only place to find them in Uganda. However, I believe most of them are in Kidepo Valle. 

A crested francolin.

A croaking cisticola, with the same disclaimer I've made before. I find the different species of cisticola very hard to identify.

A cuckoo finch, also known as a parasitic weaver. Zachary told me to pay special attention to this bird, for a reason I don't recall or not given. It was very near the Apoka airport.

A dark chanting goshawk. First a male, then a female.  

A defasa waterbuck.

I saw at least two and possibly three eastern paradise whydahs. They may be the most bizarre bird I've ever seen. The first was on our drive toward the Kidepo Valley. It was in a tree and then flew to the ground. The second was while I was sitting on the patio of our tented cottage at Savannah Lodge. It landed and started feeding on the ground just below where I was sitting. Little did I know then that the non-descript bird right next to it was a female and what the male normally looked like when not in breeding plumage. Talk about Clark Kent turning into Superman! The third view was either the second one a second time or a new one. I was walking with William on the grounds of Savannah Lodge when we saw one in a tree that then flew to the ground. 

Eastern plantain eater.

Finch's agama, a beautiful lizard found in the big rocks near Apoka airport. 

A fork-tailed drongo, a bird I first saw late last year in India.

A gray-backed fiscal. 

Greater blue-eared starling, seen in front of our vehicle while approaching the gate below the Savannah Lodge. I believe there were also lesser blue-eared starlings with them on the road, but further back, and I was not able to get any even half-decent photos of them. 

A hamerkop which previously I'd seen once in the wild at Buffalo Springs NR in Kenya and once at the Kansas City Zoo. We saw quite a few of them in Uganda, including several in KVNP. I'm very fond of them. 

What I believe is a Holub's golden-weaver, but what was disagreed to by one reviewer on iNaturalist without naming an alternative, other than some sort of weaver. A very tiny bird I could barely see on the road. William, if you see this, please weigh-in. 

A Jackson's hornbill we saw on the road from the Savannah Lodge leading to the gate (red bill - male and black bill - female). I later saw several hanging around our tent cottage at Savannah Lodge. 

A lark that I identified on iNaturalist as two different kinds of lark and then was educated to it being a Kidepo Lark, on iNaturalist, just recently elevated to being its own species, and only in this area. 

A lappet-faced vulture which we saw quite a few times, including near a scrum of vultures feeding on a kob. 

The sentinel of the plains, the Jackson's or lelwel hartebeest. 

A moustached grass-warbler.

William and Zachary found these huge white mushrooms growing in the dirt. Zachary took them home and cooked them for a meal. They apparently grow on termite mounds. 

Northern gray-headed sparrow. This particular one was found in the grass at the Apoka headquarters while we were waiting for Zachary.

The beautiful northern red bishop.

Northern red hornbill, one seen near the Savannah Lodge and another on our drive out toward Kidepo Valley. We saw a couple previously in Buffalo Springs NR in Kenya. 

An olive baboon near our cottage in Savannah Lodge. It is the common baboon we saw a lot of in Kenya and Tanzania.

A paperbark tree with a Jackson's hartebeest below it.

Patas monkeys. Our granddaughter saw some on a game drive near the Apoka airport, but we got a much better view on our drive toward Kidepo Valley.

I've grown fond of the piapiac, a bird I'd never heard of before this trip. 

The maneless zebra is a subspecies of the plains zebra. KVNP has the last remaining substantial population of this subspecies. 

The red-billed quelea was a new bird to me. 

I fell in love with the red-cheeked cordonbleu, a very tiny bird packed with color. While sitting on the patio of our cottage I had one fly onto the balcony rail just a foot or two from me (the fourth photo).

The rock hyrax in the rocky area near Apoka airport.

We traveled toward Kidepo Valley with William and Zachary intent on showing me a rock partridge. After lots of time using calls and scanning a large mountain of boulders, the photo below is the best I got (the backend of the partridge is on the right side of the boulder). 

The Rothschild's giraffe, another favorite. The first photo is one we saw on our walking safari that actually walked toward us to check us out. The second photo is the same giraffe. The third photo is an iconic African scene including the giraffe, a cape buffalo and a kob. 

We had a National Geographic moment when we encountered a group of vultures feasting on a Ugandan kob. The most dominant vulture was the Rupell's griffon and perhaps more in number was the white-backed vulture. The Ruppell's griffon is the vulture standing on the kob in the first photo, with a white bill. A lappet-faced vulture, a minority of one, stood on a mound nearby and did not get its bill bloodied. 

Ruppell's starling.

Sausage tree.

We had a scarlet-chested sunbird on our deck patio in the Savannah Lodge and one also visited the deck of the restaurant later that evening when we went for dinner. The male is colorful and the female is more drab.

Side-striped jackal

Striped ground squirrel.

Superb starling.

I thought we'd seen a tantalus monkey, but a person on iNaturalst said that the vervet, which looks much like a tantalus, is in KVNP.  I'd read that if the tip of the tail is white it is a tantalus and if the tip is black it is a vervet.

The village indigobird was on the ground near our cottage at Savannah Lodge. 

A colony of village weavers was nesting in a tree on the bank of the Narus River near the Apoka airport.

A vinaceous dove.

A warthog.

A west African crocodile found in a swamp next to the road which was also astoundingly loaded with croaking toads. This is a smaller crocodile than the Nile crocodile.

A western black-head batis male and female (with a chestnut strip) seen on the grounds of Savannah Lodge with William. 

The white-backed vulture was the most prominent vulture at the vulture scrum over the kob, our National Geographic moment. The Ruppell's griffon was more aggressive but the white-backed vulture outnumbered them. It is Critically Endangered and was a privilege to see so many. It has the black bill, the easiest way to distinguish it from the white-billed Ruppell's griffon. To me, the number of vultures was the single biggest indication that KVNP is remote and wild. I've not seen anything approaching those numbers anywhere else we've been.

White-bellied go-away bird.

White-browed coucal.

The white-headed vulture is also Critically Endangered and I saw two of them. The guides saw one near the vulture scrum, but I didn't see it.  One was on the road just inside the gate below the Savannah Lodge and flew into a tree. The other was outside the KVNP on the way to a local village tour. 

White-rumped shrike.

Yellow-billed oxpecker. We found that the piapiac is much more prevalent on the backs of large animals in Uganda than the oxpecker, but at least we saw a few oxpeckers.

Yellow-billed shrike.

I thought the wattled lapwing was a yellow-wattled lapwing until I got home and compared the two. The yellow wattled lapwing does not have the red on the back of the bill and the white forehead. I kept asking William if it was a yellow-wattled and he probably thought I was crazy. 

William was an amazing guide with an encyclopedic knowledge of birds and a patience for my ineptness. 

We flew from the Apoka airport in a little four passenger airplane for two hours to Kampala to avoid the 10 to 12 hour drive. 

I loved KVNP for all the reasons indicated at the top. It is remote, it is wild, it is sparsely touristed, it is full of animals, it is full of vultures, for heaven's sake, the canary in the coal mine. I wish the rains had not made our journey into the Kidepo Valley impossible. I would truly love to go back some day. I tell my kids when I'm losing it to take me out into the desert (near my home in Southern California) and allow me to walk until I drop and be eaten by coyotes. I think KVNP may be a better idea and let the jackals fight with the vultures over me. What a way to go!