First night in Murchison Falls

The bumpy roads and the day of travelling are worth it. We are staying inside Murchison Falls National Park, and it is incredible. After arriving, we take hot showers. (Hot showers!) We talk to other travellers from around the world; we order beers; we eat delicious food. No matoke in sight. The lodge has a campfire set up, a band playing some Ugandan music nearby, and a group of dancers showing us how it's done. It is so nice to relax. When the entertainment wraps up, a bunch of us sit around the fire, downing Nile beers (Slogan:"The True Reward of Progress") and sharing stories.

It's pretty dark, but we have a few flashlights and the campfire light to go by. The lights of our nearby lodge are fairly reassuring, except we start to hear some noises - twigs snapping in the bushes, not far from our bonfire. More branches crackle. "It's something BIG," says Eric. A warden walks by just at the right time, and Eric manages to flag him down.

When the man shines his flashlight down a small hill, into the brush, we are shocked at what we see. Elephants, a family of four, not 20 feet away from us. I think about taking a photo but am worried about what response a camera flash might instigate from these giant beauties. We are absolutely awestruck, and we don't dare make a sound. Amazing.