Murchison Falls

Last weekend I took a trip to Murchison Falls, the tallest waterfall on the Nile.  The river plunges through a rocky gap only seven meters wide.  The falls are also known as Kabalega Falls, named after the king of Bunyoro-Kitara.  In 1962 during a flood, a second set of falls formed beside Murchison which are known as Freedom Falls or Uhuru Falls, since that is also the year in which Uganda gained independence, 50 years ago.  Murchison Falls national park was the first to be gazetted in 1952 and is Uganda's largest national park, covering an area of over 5000 square km.

We enjoyed opportunities to view the falls from above, beside and from the water.  African palm swifts swooped through the spray feeding on flying insects; they nest in the Sudanese borassus fan palms that pepper the park, that were brought here by elephant 'movements'.  Bats live in the sandstone caves above the falls.