Whenever they talk about wildlife safaris in East Africa the major destinations that cross people’s minds include the Maasai Mara game reserve, Murchison falls national park, volcanoes national, Bwindi impenetrable and Serengeti. I must admit that these offer unique wildlife experiences however there are those not usually visited wildlife areas and yet they have unique attractions. These destinations are also capable of providing unique and outstanding tourism experiences to the tourists taking wildlife safaris in Africa. Additionally they offer less crowded solitude experiences that some people prefer and enjoy a lot and also enable the tourists to get close and intimate with the untamed wildlife species closely watching them without any distraction.
Following the less trekked paths for wildlife encounters is very suitable for the tourists who like alone and exclusive experiences and those interested in travelling to less familiar places. Some of the wildlife safari destinations that are less visited by tourists but have unique tourism experiences include the following
Kidepo Valley – Uganda
This is located in northeastern Uganda approximately 700 kilometers from Uganda’s capital Kampala. It’s the furthest national park and this partly explains why few tourists take paths to explore its wildlife attractions. Though not much visited, the park is a home to over 77 mammal species some of which include the lions, cape buffaloes, zebras, reedbucks, giraffes, hartebeests, Oribi plus leopards and cheetahs that are occasionally seen.
Kidepo valley is a semi arid area that only has water in the Narus valley oases where most of the wildlife species go especially in severe dry seasons to get water for drinking and fresh pastures for the herbivores like the giraffes, buffalos and zebra.
The karamajongs the local people around the park take the tourists experience to a whole new level. They are among the few groups of people on the planet that have up to today kept their traditional lifestyles despite the developments in the world. They are predominantly nomadic pastoralists who move from place to place looking for fresh pastures for their cows. Some have permanent homes called Manyattas that are built in ancient African ways and a community visit to any Manyattas leaves most tourists surprised about the unique ways of life up there.
The Kidepo area also has hills and mountains that can be hiked by tourists interested in hearing the real sound and have a sound of African true wilderness. They include mount Morungole and the Lomej hills. Tourists to the Kidepo area can enjoy exclusive less crowded game drives, birding, nature walks, community walks and many others.
Kidepo can best be accessed using air transport aboard charter planes from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfields to Lomej airstrip near the park headquarters. The flight takes about 2 hours.
Those interested in using road transport can also do it but the journey may take about 7-8 hours on road with great views of Uganda’s wilderness en route.
The area has well developed and standard quiet accommodation facilities and therefore tourists should not worry about where to sleep. They include Uganda wildlife authority cottages, Apoka rest camp and Apoka safari lodge. Many tourists to the area testify that Kidepo is real true African wilderness.
Selous Game Reserve – Tanzania
Located in the southern circuit of Tanzania, Selous is the largest game reserve and among the less visited wildlife destination with unique wildlife species that include large herds of elephants, hippos, crocodiles, wild dogs, leopards, rhinos, zebras, hyenas, primates like monkeys, baboons and various bird species. These are what any tourist on an African safari would definitely want to see. Viewing those mentioned wildlife species in Selous game reserve is very exclusive and its very less crowded which gives a tourist a chance to get up close to the wildlife species quietly and peacefully.
All those wildlife species can be viewed by tourists on game drives, boat trips on the various lakes and rivers in the park and nature walks. For best tourism experiences, tourists are recommended to visit the area around July to October. While in Selous game reserve, one can sleep at Beho Beho Selous lodge; lake Manze tented camp, Siwandu Selous camp, Rufiji river camp and many others. Tourists interested in visiting this park should via Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania’s southern circuit tourist’s entry point and the park can be best accessed using charter planes.
Kidepo valley national park in Uganda and Selous game reserve in Tanzania are wildlife destinations that enable tourists experience true remote and wild African wilderness. Any one of them can be a great destination for tourists who choose to travel the less trekked paths in east Africa for remarkable tourism experiences.
