Queen Elizabeth: Tree-Climbing Lions & the Kazinga Channel

Most lions, in most parks, lie in the grass. The lions of the Ishasha sector lie in the trees. They drape themselves along the high horizontal branches of the giant fig trees, paws hanging into space, tails twitching, dozing through the heat of the day. No one is entirely sure why they do it — the leading theories are tsetse flies, a better view of the kob herds, or simple tradition passed from one generation to the next. Whatever the reason, Ishasha is one of only two places on earth where lion behaviour reliably bends this way.

You’ll spend a slow morning under those fig trees, scanning. When you find the pride, the cubs will usually be on the ground while the females rest above. The vehicle stays at distance. The light is best early. By eleven the heat builds and the lions sink deeper into the branches and you head north toward the Mweya Peninsula for lunch.

The afternoon is the Kazinga Channel boat cruise. The Kazinga is the thirty-two-kilometre stretch of water that connects Lake Edward to Lake George, and its banks hold the densest population of hippos anywhere on the African continent — well over two thousand of them. Two hours on a flat-bottomed boat puts you ten metres from buffalo herds, elephant family groups coming down to drink, and a wall of birdlife: African fish eagles, pied kingfishers, yellow-billed storks, the occasional saddle-bill.

The next day’s options depend on what you most want. Game drives on the Kasenyi plains often produce big cats and the strange, beautiful Uganda kob in their lekking grounds. The Katwe explosion craters offer a scenic drive and a clear view of the Rwenzori Mountains on a clean day. If you have the legs and the budget, a half-day chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge — the “valley of apes” — sits inside the park and adds a different primate to the trip.

Queen Elizabeth has the highest bird count of any East African park. Bring binoculars even if you don’t think of yourself as a birder.