This morning just before sunrise Charley Fisher and I continued Phase Three of Great African Expedition with guide Julius from Wildplaces Africa’s Apoka Lodge, and Daniel the ranger from the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Kidepo Valley National Park. There really is no better way to get up close and personal with Uganda’s flora and fauna than to be on foot, trekking for hours upon hours. We followed herds of giraffe and grazing zebra while keeping a mindful eye open for lions, elephant and buffalo, all of which we could see through our binoculars in the not too far distance. Absolutely magical!

We’ve just got back from an afternoon with the Karamojong pastoral herdsmen and women in the village of Lorukul in the Kaabong District of northern Uganda, just outside the Lokomoti gate of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Kidepo Valley National Park. We were treated to a cultural festival of dancers that would have truly gone on until the wee hours of the morning had not the setting sun chased us back into our 4×4 for the journey back to Wildplaces Africa’s Apoka Safari Lodge. Both Charley and I are drained mentally, physically and emotionally from our time spent with the Karamojong.