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Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Murchison Falls

The trip to Murchison Falls was one of the parts of the trip that I was looking forward to the most and it didn’t disappoint. We got the chance to go on two safaris and a boat ride up the Nile to see the falls during our time there. I really enjoyed seeing all the different animals the park had to offer. Some of the animals we saw were Lions, Gazelle, Crocodiles, Elephants, Hippopotamus, Water Buffalo, Giraffes, Monkeys and many more. Our driver was very knowledgeable about the animals at Murchison and would often stop the car and enlighten us about what we were seeing. I didn’t particularly like how whenever a lion was spotted every car would drive off road and surround the lions. Our tour guide during the boat trip had eagle eyes and was pointing out hidden crocodiles left and right. We couldn't get very close to the falls because of how strong the current was, but the views were well worth the trip. I also liked the fact that we got to sleep in tents, although it became a little scary when a hippo was feeding right outside my tent. The last thing we did before we left Murchison was drive up to the falls themselves. I really enjoyed the falls and learned that the park has been under protection for over 50 years, and has even changed names during this time. This was a great ending to the trip up to Murchison falls (Although the tsetse flies were bad), overall I was able to get some quality pictures and make some fantastic memories.

Murchison falls and tourism in general is important to sustainable development in Uganda because it contributes too many of the UN’s sustainable development goals, especially the ones related to life on water and on land. This is because many of Uganda’s tourist attraction deal with wildlife. The tourism sector also employs many Ugandans so it has a large effect on the goals of no poverty, no hunger and good jobs and economic growth.  

Questions for the group:
1. Do you think that the park is too big to be sustainable? Why or why not?
2. What was the coolest thing you witnessed during you time at the park?
3. What did you like or dislike about our trip to Murchison?

6 comments:

  1. Nice Post Matt! To answer some of your questions, I really don't think there can be such a thing as a too big national park, nature has been sustainably developing itself for thousands of years before humans came along, so I don't think growing nature is necessary a bad thing! The coolest thing that happened to me on the trip was being within 4 feet of a hippo when I woke up at 3 A.M. and looked out my window.

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    1. Very true about nature, Ross, but poaching is an issue. With large parks, it is more difficult to protect the wildlife. A possible solution would be increasing the number of park rangers and guides, but it would still be difficult. And I'm glad I didn't wake up to a hippo outside my tent.

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  2. Murchison trip, was really fun igot to see many animals most of all the lion however more improvement is needed in terms of accommodation and reliable electricity and improvement in infrastructure. It was really absurd when the waiters kept on messing our food orders so this arises the need for more committed staff as this will enable the sustainability of tourists that will lead to the country's tourism sector hence enriching the sustainable goals.

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  3. Murchison is definitely a large national park, but I don't think it is too big. The park attracts a lot of visitors, which adds to my least favorite part about the trip which is how over-booked Red Chili was. Better and safer resorts would lead to a larger number of tourists to come and visit Uganda, adding to the revenue. My favorite part of the trip was seeing all of the animals, especially the lions.

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  4. Murchison trip was one of my most enjoyable part of the program. I could not believe how beautiful this country is. The wildlife was incredible thus lions, giraffes, oribi, warthogs, elephants and many others.its rather unfortunate that poachers continue to kill these amazing creatures.One sweet giraffe that i named Honest lost one of her limbs to the traps set by the poachers. That hippo experience at redchilli is priceless.its more of a bitter sweet situation. i loved it so much.

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