It was a cold morning in Kampala, we were told Kidepo (located in the Northern region of Uganda) was going to be different. On we went on our 1 hour flight to Kidepo Valley National park with the excitement of getting my bikini body out in the warm weather. This twitter post would explain to you my state of mind upon landing at Kidepo Airport:

Uganda welcomed me with surprises, short story:

Landing at Entebbe, weather forecast showed (22 degrees cent), I prepared for cold and it was warm upon landing.

On my way to Kidepo, I was told to prepare for a warm weather, guess what weather I was welcomed with? 😩 #POATE2020 pic.twitter.com/VqE0qhAll2— 👑TheFisayo.com (@TheFisayo) January 31, 2020

My body soon adjusted to the weather (oh wait, it did not), I had to purchase a few items to keep myself warm. But do not worry, the warm weather did come out, I guess the weather just had a mind of its own. Nonetheless, you should take note of the weather tips I left on my Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major hack for anyone planning to go up North in #UGANDA soon: 👇🏾 PREPARE for all kinds of weather. Take your summer cloths, your winter cloths and any thing you can carry. Thank me later 🤪😘 I shared my full weather experience on Twitter, you should check it 😅 • 🏨 @chobe_safari_lodge

A post shared by Tourism Development Advocate🇳🇬 (@thefisayo) on Feb 15, 2020 at 12:00pm PST

The Kidepo National park is 1,400 square meters wide which makes it the third largest park in Uganda. Upon landing at Kidepo airport, we were driven to lodge and immediately taken on our first game dive. I was taken in an open 4 by 4 game drive car (special safari vehicle/land cruiser). I chose the open one so I could easily see the animals and possibly take selfies with them, lol (jokes).

After we left the lodge we were immediately with a lot of buffaloes, elephants and Uganda kobs. We searched and searched for lions for 3 days, and we found none. It is said that the lions come out early in the morning and late at night, more likely when the weather is cold.

However, while on our search, we did find some lost cost hostels built for tourists with little housing budget. 

Other fun facts about animals and Kidepo Valley National Park :

-Fire is used to control the feeding of the herbivores animals
-Buffaloes have other names, they are sometimes called one of these: losers, widow makers, black death etc. (very deep)
-The park has two main rivers; Narus river and Kidepo sandy river (this river only flows when it rains in Sudan).
– The bees at the park don’t attack in the morning
– The best times to spot a lion is in the morning because the temperature in the morning is cold, however, when it is warm, they go into the bush to find a cool place to rest. 
– The park has beautiful scenery, very picturesque for Instagram pictures.

Kidepo National Park Entrance Fee and Other Costs:

• Entrance for game drive is $40
• Renting a car is $100 per day
• $30 for extra activities (walking safari, bird watching, hiking with a ranger)

Things to note:

• You can access Kidepo through a 1 hour chartered flight from Entebbe or a 11 hours road trip.
• The chartered flight cost ranges from – $100-150 per person (one way).

Where to lodge at Kidepo Valley National Park

While at Kidepo, we lodged at Adere Safari lodge. It is usually the responsibility of these safari lodges to take you on a safari ride as much as your request for. The resort was recently opened in December 2019 and the properties in the lodge are built to give you the feel of the bush/wild.

One outstanding thing at the safari lodge are the soups they served for lunch and dinner, they make the best soups I have ever tasted in Uganda. THE BEST!!!

Room:

The rooms are spacious enough and they are made of 80% wood and 20% bricks (my analysis). The rooms have no air conditioner, however, the room can be really cold when the weather is cold. And when the weather is hot, the room still maintains a cool temperature.

Mosquito nets were provided in each rooms, and these came really handy, especially when I kept seeing flies (a huge reminder that I was in the wild).

Bathroom:

Everything you expect to be provided in a bathroom was provided, but let just say my bathing experience reminded me that I was in the wild. (For video reference check my Instagram stories @TheFisayo or look out for my upcoming YouTube Videos.

What you should know:

• Prepare for a hot and cold weather at the same time, the weather has mood swings at Kidepo, or it could just be the effects of Global Warming.
• The lodge has a great pool so get read to swim.
• The lodge does not have a gym, so do not get too excited about that. The game drives would be enough to help your burn those calories.
• Get ready to see bats, insects and any kind of animal you can expect to see in the wild.
• The staff at the lodge are friendly and ready to help at anytime, they can even be your alarm if you need an extra wake up call.
• Get yourself prepared to take awesome selfies, because when the sun comes out, and you have a beautiful scenery such as the one in Kidepo, you do not want to waste it.

Click Here to book this experience.