Located on the shores of Lake Victoria, Lutembe bay which is a famous site for birding safaris in Uganda is considered among the wetlands of International Significance or commonly known as the Ramsar site having received the status in the year 2006.
The shallow sheltered bay is positioned at the northern shore of Victoria Lake in the district of Wakiso is sheltered from the main lake by huge Papyrus Island and its vegetated, sheltered shoreline along with the Islands that are muddy present roofing and nesting sites for counts of birds along with other biodiversity always encountered on Uganda safaris
Lutembe Bay is known to be among the main migration stop overs and stands as one of the remarkable bird watching sites in the Lake Victoria Basin. The site acts as a host of both indigenous and millions of Palearctic migrants especially the enormous flocks of White-winged Terns and Grey-headed Gulls. A range of other Species of interest includes the Hottentot Teal, Caspian Tern, Temminck’s Stint and the Broad-billed Sandpiper and Great Knot that have been recorded of recent.
The Lutembe wetland is part of the greater Murchison bay which is rich in the counts of Plant and animal Species. The bay provides materials for construction and craft products the local communities, energy products, fish, medicine and drinking water. The Lutembe wetland goes ahead to play a significant role as it acts as spawning ground for fish, feeding and roosting grounds for fish, wastewater cleaning, transport, retention of pollutants and sediments and defending floods.
Lutembe Wetland features bird species that are globally threatened bird species, the cichlid fish which is endangered and over 100 Species of butterfly. It acts a rich ground for Lung and Clarius fish breeding and supports over 52% of the counts of White-winged Black Tern always encountered by travelers on safari in Uganda
Lutembe bay is close to Kampala city and the Entebbe International Airport thus making its accessibility easier. It can also be noted that being an Important Bird Area, it has a site support group steered by the local community responsible for the conservation and sustainable utilization of the area’s natural resources and this support Group is known as Lutembe Wetland Users association (LWUA).
Visiting the Lutembe bay is such a wonder that one should endeavor to undertake. Encountering the millions of birds as they fly in patterns at once creating a shadow after blocking the sun and then they land again making the place quiet again presents one of the rewarding bird views one can ever have in Uganda
The migratory birds are noted to be flying from liberia without stopping up to Lutembe in Uganda which is a wonder to hear of. The birds come as far as Scandinavia, Russia and the Main land Europe. The bird thrive for nine (9) months in Uganda and then fly back to Europe to breed whereas some fly without stopping to and from the famous Caspian Sea.
In fact around 2000, the Lutembe Wetland had close to the entire white winged terns populations counting to more than 3.5 million birds. These birds are noted to start arriving in September and October and then depart amid February and March. In their European habitats they are encountered amid May and June and it can be noted that in each year the birds come with their young ones that they hatched in the last season. On their flight to Uganda, the terms make en route stops in Egypt and Sudan along the Nile River while the gulls have the capacity to fly from Caspian Sea to Lutembe without stopping.
This combine to justify your Uganda tour to Lutembe bay.
Monthly Archives: August 2015
lake kivu in Rwanda
Lake Kivu is one of the Prime destinations that are always visited by travelers on safaris in Rwanda. The lakes is considered as part of the Great Lakes of Africa positioned at the boarder of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo lying with in the Albertine rift which is the western branch of the Great East African Rift valley.
The Kivu Lake has the outlet of River Ruzizi which flows to the south emptying into Lake Tanganyika. It can be noted that the first European to encounter the lake was a German National Count Adolf von Götzen in the year 1894 and the lake gained a notoriety position as the main dumping place for the genocide victims
Regarding geography, Lake Kivu stretches over a geographical coverage of 2,700 km2 standing at an elevation of 1,460 m above sea level. The 58% of the lake waters are positioned in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the rest in the boundaries of Rwanda. The bed of Lake Kivu sits on the rift valley floor and it is continuously being pulled apart forming volcanic activity and enhancing its depth to its current maximum depth of 1,575feet about 480m which makes it the 18th world’s deepest lake making it an ideal attraction to be included on what to encounter while planning safaris to Rwanda
Lake Kivu features Idwiji Island which stands as the tenth largest Island in the whole world. The lake also features the impressive tiny Island of Tshegera located within the Virunga National Park in the neighboring Congo. There are series of lake shores settlements including the areas of Kabare, Bukavu, Sake, Kalehe and Goma in the Congo Democratic Republic while in Rwanda the settlements are featured at Cyangungu, Kibuye and Gisenyi.
Regarding Chemistry, Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and like Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos, it experiences limnic eruptions. A lot of biological extinctions have been evidenced on the lake shores by the geologists noted to have occurred about 1000 year ago as a result of events of outgassing. Though the trigger of the lake overturn is not known, the volcanic activity is well suspected. It can be noted that the chemical composition of the gases in the lakes that explode vary for every lake and for Lake Kivu, it is carbon dioxide and methane because of the lakes interaction with the volcano. There is 65 cubic kilometers of methane estimated to be in Lake Kivu and if burnt in a year, it can generate a mean power of around 100 gigawatts over the whole period. Lake Kivu is also noted to contain an estimate of 256 cubic Kilometers of the Carbon dioxide gas. The water temperature in Lake Kivu stands at 24 degrees Celsius and features a ph. level of 8.6. The Methane gas is noted to be derived by microbial reduction of the Volcanic CO2 and it can be noted that the overturn of Lake Kivu is extremely catastrophic far beyond that of Cameroon lakes since there are about 2 million thriving in the lake basin of Kivu.
The Scientists believe that the adequate volcanic interaction in the bottom waters of Lake Kivu containing enormous concentration of gas have the capacity to heat water, push the methane out of the water, trigger a close simultaneous carbon dioxide release and this carbon dioxide would suffocate considerable numbers of people on the Lake Kivu basin as a result of the gas rolling on the surface of the lake. It can be noted that is possible for the lake to create tsunamis in the process of the gas exploding out.
The risk posed by Lake Kivu began to gain much attention and understanding following the analysis of Lake Nyos recent events. Initially, the gas in Lake Kivu was considered as just a natural resource that would be exported and put to use for generation of power. However, with the understanding of the complex causes of the lake overturns, the great danger that it poses to the surrounding communities began to be realized.
The efforts of installing the vent pipes to remove the mentioned gas from the bottom layers of the lake like what was done at Lake Nyos might be too expensive considering the size of Kivu Lake. It can be noted that there are about 500 million carbon dioxide tones which is little under 2% of the quantities released by human fossil fuel burning per annum. This makes the process of releasing the gas to be more costly going beyond the system building and operation.
Regarding the methane extraction, the Kivu lake is noted to contain 55 billion cubic meters about 1.9 trillion cubic feet of the dissolved biogas at 300m depth. The Bralirwa brewery operating at Gisenyi has been extracting small quantities of this gas to run its factory and the government of Rwanda has been engaged in various efforts of bringing a range of developers on board to produce the methane from Lake Kivu including the Kivu watt which is backed by Contour Global a United States Energy Company.
Besides gases, Lake Kivu also features minimal quantities of fish Species with 28 Species in number of which four (4) of these have been introduced. The indigenous fish Species in Lake Kivu include; Lake Rukwa minnow (Raiamas moorii), four species of Barbus (B. apleurogramma, B. altianalis, B. pellegrini and B. kerstenii), two Clarias catfish (C. gariepinus and C. liocephalus), an Amphilius catfish, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and fifteen (15) restricted Haplochromis cichlids. The Fish Species that were introduced include; three (3) cichlids, O. leucostictus and redbreast tilapia (Coptodon rendalli), the long fin tilapia (Oreochromis macrochir), and a clupeid and the Lake Tanganyika sardine (Limnothrissa miodon). The Tanganyika Sardine was introduced by a Belgian Engineer A. Collart to Lake Kivu in the year 1959 and it is the only natural lake in the world with these Species which was initially restricted to Tanganyika Lake.
Regarding tourism, Lake Kivu is by no means an ordinary Rwanda safari destination. It is a haven for a range of water activities that tourists can engage in while on safari in Rwanda. Being a Bilharzia free lake with no Hippos and Crocodiles with favorable surface temperatures of 23 – 27 degrees Celsius, Lake Kivu is an ideal swimming point in Rwanda. No need to worry about the gases as they are trapped at 260m away from the shores.
Lake Kivu also offers a rich ground for popular water sports including the wind surfing, jet-ski, catamaran and Kayaking. It’s impressive Islands are ideal for encountering including Napoleon Island which is a habitat to a thousand bats, Amahoro Island, Paladise Malahide and the cultural tours to the Nkomo and Bunagana Islands. Lake Kivu also offers impressive encounters for sports fishing and boat cruises.
The river rwizi
River Rwizi positioned in the south west of Uganda is one of less explored Uganda safari attractions that have got great significance not only to the ecosystem that it flows through but also the human community that live along its course.
Greatly attached to Mbarara town the biggest commercial center in the region positioned at 295km from the Country’s capital Kampala along the geographical coordinates of 00 36’ 48”S, 0300 39’ 30”E, River Rwizi acts as the main source of water for this town which is also a popular stop center for travelers on safaris in Uganda heading to and from the far destinations of south western Uganda
River Rwizi arises from the hills of Buhweju also gathering other water from various tributaries emanating from various sections of Ankole flows for a considerable distance before emptying its waters in the Lake Victoria Catchment that extends to the wetland network of Lake Mburo, Nakivaale, Kacheera, Kihjanebarola among other lakes that have formed a chain of lake and wetland system impressive to encounter on safaris in Uganda especially when takes a panoramic view from the Kazuma outlook in Lake Mburo National Park.
Along its course, River Rwizi supports myriad of people along with their livestock. Rwizi stands as a beautiful river whose sky blue waters and its significance to the areas where it flows has made it part of the people’s heritage that they would not fail to mention it if asked about the must see in Mbarara region while planning a safari to Uganda.
Apparently, River Rwizi is also threatened by the climate change effects and the water levels at times experience considerable reduction threatening those that depend on it including the ecosystem and the domestic livestock.
Discounted Uganda gorilla permits in November
Uganda – the pearl of Africa is offering a discount to the world travelers who might be interested in undertaking Uganda gorilla safaris in the forthcoming months of November.
With almost a half of the world’s mountain gorilla populations in her two mountain gorilla habitats of Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda has positioned herself to listen to the need of every traveler. In the month of November which also coincides with the rainy season herein Uganda, the gorilla trekking permit which is normally sold at $600 permit for the foreign nonresidents will reduce to $350 this allowing one to save $250 if he /she chooses to undertake a gorilla trekking safari to Uganda unlike other destination with a similar product.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park features a minimum of 400 mountain gorillas and twelve gorilla groups out of this number have been habituated specially for gorilla trekking experience distributed in its four regions. Rushaga in the south of Bwindi features gorilla groups of Mishaya, Bweza, Nshongi, Busingye and Kahungye; Ruhija in the east of Bwindi features gorilla groups of Kyaguliro, Oruzogo and Bitukura; Nkuringo in the south west features one gorilla group of Nkuringo while Buhoma in the north of Bwindi and the most popular features the gorilla groups of Mubare, Rushegura and Habinyanja. To the extreme south west, there lies Mgahinga Gorilla National Park also featuring one habituated gorilla family Nyakagyezi. It can be noted that more two gorilla groups are under habitation in the south of Bwindi and will be added to those that are encountered on gorilla safaris in Uganda.
For other groups other than the nonresident foreigners, their discount has also been given consideration. The Citizens of the partner states in the East African Community will have their 100,000/= Uganda Shillings saved while the resident foreigners in the partner states of the East African Community will have their $200 saved if they do a gorilla safari in Uganda during the month of November.
The kisizi falls; the site of ancient horror
Located in the district of Rukungiri in the south west of Uganda about 22km to the south of Rukungiri district headquarters, Kisizi falls is a remarkable beautiful site that counts on the list of Uganda safari attractions not only because of its beauty but also its history
At 46km north of Kabale which is the largest town in the Sub region standing at the geographical coordinates of 00 59 45S, 29 57 44E, the impressive Kisizi falls is positioned on River Rushoma that flows south west along the extended valley arising from the Muhanga area before falling for 30m below and then continuing to the north east emptying into Lake Edward another unique features always visited by travelers on safaris in Uganda.
The greatness of the Kisizi falls goes beyond the beauty. It can be noted that traditionally, Kisiizi falls was a tragic place in the ancient Kigezi area where the girls that would get pregnant before the marriage would be thrown down the rock just like the waters and succumb to death. This was done because premarital pregnancies among the Bakiga like in most of the traditional African societies were totally prohibited.
It is a rewarding moment to encounter such strong wind ruffling through tall trees as the water bowls hit and then bounce off the rocks producing a hushed monotony while a range of bird Species jump in the fresh air and in their nests making such melodious sweet sounds. The site enjoys humid climate. This makes it a remarkable site that local people would take pride in right from the beginning to have in their land.
However, the traditional girls never enjoyed this beauty. Locally known as Aheibanga or the cliff in English, the paternal relatives would bring a pre-marital pregnant girl to the ravine led by the father and the brother and violently throw her down the cliff. This was the local way of judging the shame, embarrassment and the dishonor that the offender had caused to the family, the tribe and the general community.
These tales are supported by the still existing elderly local people who witnessed some of the incidents. The most tragic one occurred when a girl who was to be thrown down the ravine pulled her father and the brother down and they all died together and there are claims that the voices of the deceased trio at times are heard calling one another. It can be noted that Kigezi has other sites of similar stature including the Akampene Island also known as Punishment Island on Lake Bunyonyi where the premarital pregnant girls would be dropped and abandoned to die of starvation, extreme coldness and wild animals.
The fate of Kisizi falls was to change in the 1950s when the thread manufacturing flux factory was constructed in the area. After its collapse, Dr. John Sharpe who had grown uncomfortable of the treatable diseases that had terrorized the community requested the facilities to be used as hospital through the Church of Uganda.
The flux factory had built the power dam and with the hospital opening up in the year 1958, Kisizi could no longer be viewed as a place for hanging the wrongful girls but was seen as a healing center. However, the natural attractiveness of the site and its history has made it popular tourist attraction in the area thus at times included on the list of what to encounter by those planning safaris to Uganda
The Kisizi site also features accommodation establishment to facilitate those that would wish to spend an overnight in the area and the visiting clientele include the nationals and foreigners.
local conservationists to be rewarded at the Rwanda’s kwita izina ceremony
Rwanda standing in the heart of Africa is a famous destination whose popularity has been championed both by the bad and the good. Considering the series of unstable events that characterized its politics right from 1959 culminating into the 1994 Rwandan genocide, it is surprising and energizing to see this country again ranking in the fast growing economies on the African continent.
Rwanda safaris have rejuvenated and apparently tourism stands among the main foreign exchange earners for Rwanda. Organizing one of her annual events called Kwita Izina in special commemoration of her mountain gorillas that are behind the flourishing of gorilla safaris in Rwanda, the Rwanda Development Board has resolved to reward a range of local people that have played a significant role in the conservation of mountain gorillas along with other wild game.
Scheduled to occur on the 5th September of this year at Kinigi in the district of Musaze where a count of twenty four (24) baby gorillas will assume their names, the Kwita Izina ceremony is a big event that is beyond the ordinary. This will be its eleventh edition and the first of it to go regional recognized by the partner states of northern corridor project making it a Rwanda safari product in itself.
Yamina Karitanyi who heads the Tourism at Rwanda Development Board emphasizes the move to acknowledge the efforts of the local people towards conservation during this year’s ceremony. The officer agrees that the government has worked with the guides, rangers, the local communities and conservation groups to undertake proactive measures in restoring the habitats not only for gorillas but also for other wild game which remain pivotal in ensuring the sustainability of safaris to Rwanda.
Running under the theme which reads conserving now and for the future, the Kwita Izina Ceremony unleashes the broader conservation picture that Rwanda has in mind for its bestowed natural beauty and its sustainable use.
Serena hotels secures 20 million us dollars from proparco
The Serena Hotels Group which is a top notch hospitality investment in East Africa an Asia operating in various countries including Uganda where the affluent Uganda safari undertakers spend their nights while in Kampala is in the joyous moods after securing a twenty (20) million United States Dollar loan to redevelop and refurbish its establishments.
The refurbishment and the redevelopment process which is slated to commence next year (2016) will be facilitated by the loan which has been secured from the French Development Agency named Proparco. The fund facility is aimed at funding the capital expenditure that is required by the Portfolio of Kenyan lodges, hotels and Camps as noted by the TPS Eastern Africa managing director Mahmud Janmohamed.
It is noted that the first priority is Nairobi Serena Hotel which will see the new conference center built along with banqueting services, public places and bed rooms. This will be to the addition of the company’s ongoing refurbishment of its facilities including the finished Mara Serena Lodge refurbishment, addition of new twelve (12) tents at Sweet-water Serena Camp, bedroom refurbishment at Mombasa Serena Beach Resort and at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge.
In Uganda, the initiative will add a count of 32 bedrooms, meeting as well as food and beverage facilities to the satisfaction of the up class travelers that undertake safaris in Uganda. The Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel will also be refurbished January 2016.
It can be noted that the Serena Group features twenty four (24) luxury hotels, camps, safari lodges and resorts distributed in the countries of Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania and Rwanda. It also features eleven (11) establishments in the countries of Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan all in Asia.
The Proparco Chief Executive Officer Mr. Claude Periou noted that the agency is honored to extend support to the TPS which has demonstrated the zeal of undertaking sustainable tourism that is culturally sensitive in the undeserved regions of the world.
The loan will extend for eight years and is set to finance capital expenditures lasting for about 24 months commencing 2016.
Serena hotels secures 20 million us dollars from proparco
The Serena Hotels Group which is a top notch hospitality investment in East Africa an Asia operating in various countries including Uganda where the affluent Uganda safari undertakers spend their nights while in Kampala is in the joyous moods after securing a twenty (20) million United States Dollar loan to redevelop and refurbish its establishments.
The refurbishment and the redevelopment process which is slated to commence next year (2016) will be facilitated by the loan which has been secured from the French Development Agency named Proparco. The fund facility is aimed at funding the capital expenditure that is required by the Portfolio of Kenyan lodges, hotels and Camps as noted by the TPS Eastern Africa managing director Mahmud Janmohamed.
It is noted that the first priority is Nairobi Serena Hotel which will see the new conference center built along with banqueting services, public places and bed rooms. This will be to the addition of the company’s ongoing refurbishment of its facilities including the finished Mara Serena Lodge refurbishment, addition of new twelve (12) tents at Sweet-water Serena Camp, bedroom refurbishment at Mombasa Serena Beach Resort and at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge.
In Uganda, the initiative will add a count of 32 bedrooms, meeting as well as food and beverage facilities to the satisfaction of the up class travelers that undertake safaris in Uganda. The Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel will also be refurbished January 2016.
It can be noted that the Serena Group features twenty four (24) luxury hotels, camps, safari lodges and resorts distributed in the countries of Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania and Rwanda. It also features eleven (11) establishments in the countries of Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan all in Asia.
The Proparco Chief Executive Officer Mr. Claude Periou noted that the agency is honored to extend support to the TPS which has demonstrated the zeal of undertaking sustainable tourism that is culturally sensitive in the undeserved regions of the world.
The loan will extend for eight years and is set to finance capital expenditures lasting for about 24 months commencing 2016.
President Museveni pledges $180,000 towards Barcelona stars safari in Uganda
Barcelona football club stars are among the increasing world travel specialists that have found a great deal in Uganda Safaris. The country is noted to have hosted so far the two of the club’s superstars namely; Rayco Garcia and Patrick Kluivert who on their safari in Uganda acknowledging the remarkable beauty of the country and offered themselves to make publicity for it among their fellow players and their followers worldwide.
Uganda in a bid to encourage more visitations of the soccer stars, the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni made a pledge of $180,000 (One Hundred and Eighty Thousand United States Dollars) dedicated to facilitating the former and the current Barcelona soccer stars to undertake a safari to Uganda in the coming month of December.
The President who met the two Barcelona stars that were in the country confirmed his support regarding the visit of the intended marker for the benefit of Uganda’s tourism, the investment and the programmers for developing youth. It has been noted that Garcia and Kluivert are intending to start up a youth soccer academy in the country Uganda after identifying the magical talent potential that Uganda is gifted with.
The two visiting stars have been on Uganda with their mission including the activities of the Good Ambassador of UNICEF, identifying Uganda’s soccer talent and identifying the tourism development opportunities along with other investment using the brand of Barcelona football club.
It can be noted that apparently Barcelona comes second in terms of world’s Valuable sports team and is worth $3.2billion becoming the 4th richest in the world regarding revenue with a turnover of 484.6 Euros
The local communities around bwindi impenetrable national park plant tea instead of a barrier wall to stop wildlife encroachment
The Uganda gorilla safari destination of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the south west of Uganda stands with a minimum of 400 mountain gorillas which is close to a half of the world’s entire population of mountain gorillas some of which are habituated and others still in their wild state
These gorillas had the habit of encroaching on gardens of the local people thus affecting their harvests something that actually posed a threat to gorillas as the conflict created would result into the local people poaching the gorillas and threatening their continued existence.
A count of over 30, 000 residents in the areas of Nteko and Rubuguri under their umbrella association of Nkuringo Community Conservation Development Foundation in 2006 pleaded to the government to have a permanent separator wall constructed to separate them from the protected area of Bwindi – the home of gorillas normally encountered on gorilla safari in Uganda and other wildlife including the elephants.
The years passed and by 2009, they had changed their mind and opted for an extensive tea plantation that would cover the entire 17km buffer zone that separates them from the park. With the support from the Kigezi High Tea Company, the local communities realized that tea planting would create returns that would go beyond stopping wildlife alone.
The animals like mountain gorillas and elephants would be deterred from encroaching on the community lands as they do not find tea delicious to feed on. The project would then generate income from tea harvesting. By reducing the crop raiding, the human wildlife conflict would be resolved assuring the continuity of wildlife including mountain gorillas and eventually sustainable gorilla safaris to Uganda
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