The Sanctuary of Kidepo Valley National Park

Uganda’s little-known gem of a Safari Park operating so close to civil war and strife

Almost everyone has heard of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. It’s one of the few parks where you can view the mountain gorilla up close and personal. But how many of you have heard of Kidepo Valley National Park? The park is located in northern Uganda, borders South Sudan, and offers a traditional savannah safari experience for its visitors.

What makes Kidepo Valley National Park interesting other than its proximity to one of the newest nations in the world, South Sudan, which suffered over thirty years of civil war against the Sudanese government in Khartoum before finally winning independence in 2011 and then breaking out in another civil war until 2018? It’s a safari experience where the animals are so unaccustomed to tourists, that it might be one of the few places left on the African continent where you can obtain a yesteryear safari experience.

In 2016 after hiking to see the mountain gorillas for two days and then another two days trekking to see the chimpanzees, my sister and I were looking for a lower-octane adventure to round out our trip to Uganda. Kidepo did not disappoint! We spent three nights at the 540 sq mile park which has only two lodges and one campsite, meaning we would have the park practically to ourselves — even over the Christmas holidays.

The park primarily operated jeep safari experiences throughout the park, meaning you wake up for an early morning safari and then another safari at dusk while enjoying the plunge pool, a nap, or a catch-up on reading mid-day.

One of the most fascinating things I found about Kidepo was how shy and scared the animals were of the jeeps or people. When you found an animal in the savannah, you needed to have your camera ready, or it was gone in the blink of an eye. There were also so few safari vehicles in the park that you could drive for a few hours without seeing another jeep.

On one safari drive, we stopped on the road to view an animal. All of a sudden, a herd of elephants traveled across the road behind us. We moved just a little bit back to get a better look at the herd. The last and largest of the mares stopped to stare us down in the road while we snapped photos. For some unknown reason, she did not like what she saw in our jeep. She raised her trunk and trumpeted! Then, she started to charge at us. While the safari guide turned on the ignition, put the jeep into gear, revved up the engine, and tried to accelerate, I could hear my sister saying next to me “Must go faster…..must go faster” as an homage to Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park! Our other passengers could be heard laughing nervously in front of us. I watched my life passing in front of me…..

Luckily, the guide was able to move us into high gear, and slowly, we gained some distance from the elephant who was determined to do some damage to our vehicle. Later the guide explained that we needed to give the elephants a wide berth in the Kidepo Park because the elephants freely roam between Kidepo and South Sudan, and they have both witnessed and been victims of the savagery of the civil war just north of here. They were unusually protective of their herds and their young. That elephant, who never forgets, has seen unknown atrocities against her relatives, and she bore only ill will towards any human as a result.

Many of the wild animals of Kidepo bear the psychological scars of the never-ending civil war raging just north of here. Our guide told us that while the animals were safe in Kidepo, there was still a risk of poaching or coming under crossfire when migrating north to South Sudan and back.

My most memorable moment of Kidepo, other than living a movie moment, was Christmas brunch after our morning safari drive. The team from the lodge took us out onto the savannah where they had set up a long table for us to enjoy our brunch amongst the animals of the savannah. We were very safe to enjoy viewing the African Buffalo, Giraffes, and other creatures as there were park rangers with guns guarding the perimeter around us. After the glorious brunch, our guide took us on a walking safari so we could enjoy the African Buffalo and Giraffes from a different vantage point. The animals kept a wide berth from us in keeping with the culture of Kidepo.

I will never forget that experience of feeling that I was in a desolate location in Africa where the animals were truly more afraid of us than we were of them even though they lived in a protected sanctuary.

Whenever we came to the northern park border, my sister and I would peer across to South Sudan not seeing any turbulence but imagining it was not far in the distance. In my mind’s eye, I would say hurry animals come this way where you will be safe! No, don’t go that way! You may not return!

As much as I enjoyed this unusual experience, I couldn’t stop praying that peace would return to South Sudan not only for the stability and economic prosperity of the people, but also for the safety of these animals. While the civil war ended in 2018 through a peace agreement and 2020 power-sharing agreement, the recent civil war in Sudan has destabilized its southern neighbor again flaring up pent-up grievances from the 2018 peace settlement.

I still hope and pray stability will come soon to the people and animals of South Sudan and Kidepo!

Sources:

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-south-sudan