Happy festive adventurous holiday!!!

Christmas time is arguably more demanded for by gold. It is the time of the year that everyone looks forward to. The holiday season, where its about eating, laughing and having fun. There are a variety of things that you can do in this time. If you are the kind of person who is into adventure, a perfect tour to Uganda or Rwanda would do you just fine. There are a couple of activities to do in different places like bungee jumping, white water rafting, boat rides, game drives in the various national parks or better still gorilla trekking. If you are the person who just wants to relax by the lake and enjoy the cool breeze, you can try the Sese Islands which have lovely beaches with white fine sand and breath taking sunsets. You can take cruises to various islands in Kalangala or nature walks on the Islands.

If you are into spending time with chimpanzees, you can take a trip to Ngamba Island which is like a home for orphaned chimpanzees. The other destination would be any of the national parks which have a variety of other animals.

So if any idea to do with adventure comes to mind, you do not have to worry about how to get there, we will organise the tour for you. Just the way you like it.

A quick clip or a nice shot can tell the whole story...

Photography is a very important part of our lives. Every moment that we have, we would like to keep and look back and laugh or reminisce. This is not any different in tourism and travel. We always find pictures of lovely cities, national parks, towns, villages, animals, roads on post cards, websites and wall hangings, name it. This is because photography is a very powerful tool for evidence, entertainment, communication and clarity on various issues.

It can also be fun; for example take a photography tour to one of your favorite destinations in Uganda and Rwanda and then put the pictures up on your wall in your room. You can also put them up as unique pictures in a photo gallery or even make your own wall hangings and post cards of lovely shots you have taken on your trip.

Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
John Berger

So pick up that camera and take a tour just to have those lovely pictures that will store lifetime memories.

not just a tour, but a tour with a purpose

For many out there, a tour is aimed at just relaxing one’s mind, seeing the beauty of nature enjoy the scenery while for others the tour would be to learn something, to feel something or to impact someone positively.

Our mission is to reveal the nature and beauty of East Africa through organising customised excellent tours with an aim to support local initiatives. In this way, we encourage cultural tours by including them in our itineraries. While cultural tours are not a mandatory part of our packages, they offer our clients an enchanting glimpse into the life and customs of local communities; an opportunity you’d not like to miss.

At Speke Uganda Holidays, we believe that enabling and equipping the local communities with development opportunities not only enhances their livelihood, but also motivates them to conserve their environments and promote tourism. We therefore support small businesses and community initiatives in the areas our clients visit. From the women’s project that makes our brochures, to those we work with to promote African art through our key holders, paintings and office chairs, Speke Uganda Holidays is leading the way in responsible toursim. We believe that Africa should not only be the leading tourist destination, but also a continent where the locals also benefit from tourism. Where others seek to be heard, we seek to listen. We stop at nothing less than a win-win situation for the our clients and the local communities we work with.

Uganda's tourism industry is growing bigger and better by the day. At Speke Uganda Holidays, we are proud to be part of this growth and we would like you to be part of it too. Through supporting local initiatives, looking after our beautiful environment and exploring the boundless beauty of the region, we invite you to be a great part of what we are doing for East Africa. Karibu!

unforgettable memories with Speke Uganda Holidays

At Speke Uganda Holidays, our goal is to make sure that we take care of you and give you affordable tours designed to your specific need. We expose you to the various things like culture, scenery, beauty that the pearl of Africa has to offer. We do not just stop in Uganda but go an extra mile to the country of 1000 hills (Rwanda). In Rwanda you also get to see a people with rich culture, wonderful hills, lakes, rivers and national parks. We make sure that our guides are trustworthy, knowledgeable, patient enough to see that you get exactly what you are looking for. At Speke Uganda Holidays, aim to see that our clients leave with a longing to come back and see more and more.
Some of the people who have travelled using our services have these experiences to share with you;
“ three days safari to Murchinson Falls national park together with my parents was great. It was well organized and a lot of clear information given to us before the trip. Our driver and guide was a sweet man who knew his work well. when it came to driving and knowledge about the national park and its animals. I personally was impressed with how patiently he answered all the questions about anything, many that he probably gets to hear on every trip. Murchison Falls is a beautiful park with an incredible number of animals. We were only three people on this safari and we all thought it was pure luxury to do it with our private guide in a big car only to ourselves, the trip was simply excellent. Pamela West, Feb.2010.
“Ronnie, our driver, was very nice and a funny guy, who seemed to know a lot about a lot of things. At least he could answer any question we had. He was also very prepared, with books and maps and tips, and solved problems in quite a calm and reasonable way. Plus, he was a good driver too; we didn't suffer too much on the bumpy roads. :) You should keep that guy. I also liked our hotel very much. Great food and really nice people! I appreciated the lunch packages they gave us both on the trekking day and the day we left. It was also good to know the place was owned by local people, I prefer to give something back to the people in the countries I visit. In addition to this, I'd like to thank you for arranging out trip. It went smoothly and you did a great job even though we were a bit slow, undecided and had you calculate a lot of alternatives till the very last minute. Oh, I might want to complain about one thing: that the gorillas stayed almost all the time up in the trees. But I suppose there will be a couple of millions of years till you could make a deal with them directly. :)
I wish you good luck with your company, and hope that you stay well, safe and happy. I will recommend you to anybody that goes to Uganda! Ingela

Speke Uganda Holidays will show you the Wonders of Uganda that you may leave with memories to last a lifetime as we build a lifelong partnership with you.
The better part of it is that every experience is unique and you will never know if you will end up in a tent and telling a story about it or end up seeing something spectacular that you had never seen before. Whatever is comfortable, we are ready to do our best to see that you get it. So many places to visit, so many cultures to look into and so many types of food that you would definitely want to try. So why not Uganda for your next holiday and why not with Speke Uganda Holidays in particular.

for more information; www.spekeugandaholidays.com

Hippopotamus-amphibius

A hippopotamus is found in only Africa and specifically west and east Africa. The hippopotamus has two species which include the large hippopotamus found in East Africa and the pygmy hipopotamus found in West Africa. Although the pygmy hippo is extinct. The hippopotamus is the third largest land animal in the world next to the elephant and the white rhino. Uganda is lucky to be one of the countries that has large hippos. These animals are protective of their young ones and their feeding territories and have killed many Africans who try to interfere with their way of life, more than any other wild animal.
Nearly all of the famous African explorers and hunters – Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Selous, Speke, DuChaillu – had boating mishaps with hippos. All considered the hippo to be a wantonly malicious beast. Spencer Tyron, a hunter, was killed while hunting near the shores of Lake Rukwa, Tanzania.
Apparently the hippo has pink/reddish sweat, which not only cools the hippo down when the hippo gets too hot, but also has antibacterial properties helping to fight infection in the thick skin of the hippo when the hippo is bitten or injured when fighting, generally with rival hippos. Hippos can be found in various national parks in Uganda which include; the Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, shores of lake Victoria and Lake Albert.
So take time off to see the hippo on your next holiday and learn a lot more from your tour guide.

See: Fascinating facts about the hippo

Fishing tours

When most people think about coming to Uganda to tour the country, very few people consider fishing as an option. One can decide not to dwell on just fishing but also being able to see the various species of fish that we have in our country.

Almost 25% of Uganda is covered by water because Uganda has water bodies that include lake George, Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake Edward and not forgetting lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water body in the world. River Nile can also be an option for fishing and tourism at some points for example in Murchison Falls National Park, one can fish at the banks. Some of the fish in this place include the Nile Perch, Tiger fish among others.

Uganda has over 262 species of fish and most of them in the fresh waters of lake Victoria. Some of the species include the tilapia fish which also has different species like the singida tilapia known locally as "Ngege", the Sabaki tilapia, the wami tilapia, victoria tilapia,red breast tilapia, red belly tilapia, mozambique tilapia among others. Other kinds of fish include; the marbled lung fish, the lake Victoria deep water cat fish, the elephant snout fish, the long tail spiny eel, the silver cyprinid, Egyptian mouth-brooder, Dwarf Victoria mouthbrooder,
Gray bichir, Dark stonebasher, to mention but a few.

Fishing is fun, but at the same time we also have to be mindful of the number of species so that we do not exploit too many so that some species are eventually extinct. Fishing is done alot as a means of getting food but it can also be done for tourism purposes so that people can see the great wonders of Africa and Uganda in particular. So when did you last go on a fishing tour?

Beloved Culture

John Speke being among the first people to realize the kind of beauty we have even before the inhabitants did, opened our eyes to what might be looked at as the most beautiful places in Uganda and was later refered to as the pearl of Africa by Winston Churchill. In this day and age, Ugandans have realized the richness in the nature which includes the lakes, forests, national parks, historical sites to mention but a few. We could look at many things but the part that people ignore the most is the culture.

Uganda is blessed with a number of cultures that people are proud of. You find the Baganda in the central region, in the east; the Bagisu, the Sebei, the Japhadola, the Bagwere among others, the west; the Banyankole, the Banyoro, the Batoro and then the North with the Acholi, the Alur, the Luo and North East with the karamojong, the Itesots. All these tribes have different languages for these people.

Uganda is rich with Culture and all these different tribes have clans, taboos, activities respective to their surroundings, climate and origin. Some of the cultural sites have a lot of stories to tell but some tribes have no historical sites but express their culture in different ways like through ceremonies like marriage, circumcision, death, birth of children and community activities. Many people say Uganda is progressing and developing although many of the kingdoms have made an effort to see that the cultures are preserved.