Mweya Peninsula
Mweya Peninsula is one of the top tourist attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park that attracts travelers to go and enjoy the wild with great views. Mweya Peninsula is believed to have been in existence and occupied by human beings, plenty of goats and sheep for almost 50,000 years ago with thick blush and thorns. Its existence on the shores of Lake Edward was first confirmed by the explorer Stanley in 1889 when he spotted smoke in the wilderness and concluded that it was from bush clearing fires. Two years later around 1891, captain Lugard visited mweya peninsular and found that the peninsular was abandoned and all people had evacuated due to tsetse flies that caused sleeping sickness and the place was actually closed and no one was allowed to settle there until in 1952 when the Uganda wildlife authority declared it as part of Queen Elizabeth national park in the northern part increasing on the size of Queen Elizabeth national park which is now the second-largest park after Murchison falls national park. Recently, the peninsular has over 400 people staying around it and several accommodation facilities including Mweya safari lodge which is the oldest and luxury lodge in Queen Elizabeth national park. It’s also on mweya peninsular where the offices of queen Elizabeth national park are located, mweya Airport where the flights to and from Queen Elizabeth national park land, closest access to lake Edward which borders Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lake Edward which is connecting to Lake George by Kazinga channel.
Mweya Peninsula is strategically situated in the northern part of Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second-largest park with several attractions of fauna and flora due to its beautiful vegetation that harbors several wildlife thus attracting several visitors from all corners of the world as tourists to have a glimpse of the beauty of nature that exist in the park and specifically in mweya peninsular including plenty of games for game drive , water bodies for the boat cruise and the best topography for the nature walk and birding.
Activities around Mweya Peninsula
Below are the activities carried out along Mweya peninsular in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Game drive in mweya peninsular: Mweya Peninsula situated in the Northern part of Queen Elizabeth national park is known as the center of the heart of Queen Elizabeth national park almost where most of the activities in queen Elizabeth national park commences and is the best destination when it comes to game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park with a wild range of mammals and birds though visitors have to move with the ranger to help them in case of off track.
Visitors on a game drive in mweya peninsula starts from the crater lake known as Nyamunuka and moves through different trails in the thick and thorny blush with several mammal sightings including the leopards, buffaloes, elephants, hyenas, waterbucks, forest hogs, warthogs and many more mammals that reside in the bush. During the game drive, keep your eyes open for the possibilities of sighting several bird species including the eagle- Owl, Bee-eaters, king fishers and many more birds that call mweya peninsula their home.
Boat cruise in mweya peninsula: Several visitors on a Uganda tour specifically in queen Elizabeth national park can never miss out visiting mweya peninsula for a breath taking boat cruise on the Kazinga channel in a motorized boat that commences two shifts one in the morning and the other one in the afternoon all starting near mweya safari lodge. The shores of Kazinga channel is known as the best place that harbors the largest population of Hippos and crocodiles hence cruising on the channel provides a greater opportunity for viewing as much as possible as they bath, cool their huge bodies and yarn on the channel and on shores of Edward lake. Also the boat cruise on the Kazinga channel especially in the afternoon offers a clear view of several herbivores including the ones that are seen during the game drive and other mammals as they quench their thirst on the fresh Ugandan waters. Several bird species including the water birds are also seen across the channel including the Billed Stork and many more bird species. Kazinga channel is a 32km water body connecting Lake Edward to Lake George in the northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Apart from visiting mweya peninsular, there are also other sectors that are worth visiting while in queen Elizabeth national park these include the Ishasha sector for the mighty tree-climbing lions. This sector is located in the southern part of the park where lions are normally seen sleeping lazily in the tree branches especially during the afternoons. Some people think that these lions be escaping the heat on the ground and probably the insects that bite them but up to now, none has come up with the conclusions of the reasons as to why they climb in the trees.
There is also the Eastern part of queen which comprises of kasenyi plains which harbors several mammals hence good for a game drive. Game drive can be done in the morning, afternoon or at night depending on the visitor’s choice. However, morning game drive in kasenyi plains is the best since it gives greater chances of sighting nocturnal mammals before they return to their hideouts, and herbivores as they feast on fresh vegetation early in the morning./ mammals seen during the morning game drive in kasenyi plains include; the Uganda Kob, Elephants. In the eastern part, we also find kyambura gorge best known for harboring primates such as chimpanzees, monkeys, and several other mammals and bird species.
How best can one get to Mweya Peninsular
Mweya peninsular can easily be accessed by either road or by flight. Visitors using road transport from Kampala to Mweya use the kampala-Mbarara-Bushenyi-Kasese road which is approximately 420km which is around 6hours drive. However, visitor who do not need to spend time on the road can opt for a flight which is organized by chartered flights from Entebbe International airport to Mweya airstrip which takes less than an hour.
Accommodations with in Mweya Peninsular
Visitors in mweya peninsular have several accommodations with best services where to sleep and relax their mind. These accommodations ranging from Budget, midrange and Luxury accommodations. These include; Mweya safari lodge, Jacana safari, park view safari, Kazinga resort among others.
“Apart from mweya peninsular, there are lots of other sectors with wide range of attractions with in Queen Elizabeth national park that attract several visitors across the world on a Uganda tour.”
