Friendly staff make Pakuba memorable

Tourists ride through Murchison Falls National Park. Photos BY EDGAR R. BATTE 

By Edgar R. Batte
Posted 


Sunday, December 13  

2015 at 

02:00

In Summary

WARM. Pakuba Safari Lodge is located in North West of Uganda on the Eastern Bank of the Albert Nile. It is not just about the tastefully furnished rooms but the staff to feel serene, writes Edgar R. Batte.

There are places you will go to and enjoy facilities for their beauty. That is a given. The addition at Pakuba Safari Lodge is friendly staff. After hours on the road, their welcoming smiles as they reach out with fresh juice to cool you off from a laborious journey are refreshing.

Smartly clad in orange uniforms which resonate with the facility’s colours. They ask to carry your luggage to the rooms which are a creative fusion of wood, stone and concrete.

Well, these are small pleasantries you will get at many facilities but Pakuba’s staff make it more natural than mechanical. Pakuba is one of the facilities located in Murchison Falls National Park, on the Eastern Bank of the Albert Nile where you get a chance to sleep in the wild.

Ambience
You partly enjoy a variety of Murchison’s offerings- flora and fauna, in vastness. From your veranda or in the vast compound your eyes open to a beautiful and revitalizing view. You might consider flipping a few pages as you pour yourself some wine or chai (tea).

There are demarcated walkways made of stone and concrete. The grass on the sides is neatly manicured. Pakuba is fenceless and you can see animals such as giraffes feed in the wild, while the sneaky hyena moves about, near the river banks.

The wild
In the evening, more animals rest in the compound. At nightfall, you will be advised to move with a torch. If you an early riser, there are more animals to see, and the golden sun as it rises.

Murchison is home to some 500 bird species, including the shoebill stork, crested crane and African Fish Eagle and a variety of animals.

While at Pakuba, your schedule should include games drives, either in the morning or in the evening. Excursions in Murchison are truly rewarding.

You stand a chance of watching lions, elephants, cobs, hartebeests, buffaloes among other species in the animal kingdom on top of open savannah grasslands.

Your guide will lead you to places you are sure to see some good wildlife. The scenic Buligi area and Delta Point are some of the ideal places.

QUICK NOTES
Pakuba serves breakfast early morning and midmorning. Full board rates are Shs180, 000 for locals. It is an alternative to pricier lodges like Paara. When the sun starts shinning on mother earth, gaudy geckos and other lizards, begin playing and running about.