When you close your eyes and think of Africa, the landscape you imagine – the jagged hills, the golden grasses, the plains dotted with wildlife, the soft glowing light – is likely to be Kidepo. This is Uganda’s most remote park, far away from city life.
The vast golden green plains punctuated with craggy, rocky outcrops, reveal an even bigger sky at night. Under a canopy of impossibly bright stars, this is where we are reminded that the earth is round.
room Apoka Lodge, Accommodation Kidepo Valley
Wildlife in Kidepo National Park is abundant. Lions, leopard, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, zebra (this is Uganda’s only park where giraffe and zebra are found together), possibly Africa’s largest herds of buffalo, hartebeest, water buck, bush buck, warthog…the list is endless. Better still, much of it can be seen from the privacy of your veranda or your outdoor bathtub, but the best way to see the wildlife is up close: on foot, or in one of our open-top Land Cruisers.
The rooms at Apoka have been built with comfort in mind. Everything is handmade by local craftsmen, everything is large and capacious. 10 expansive rooms with natural canvas walls surround a rocky kopje with endless views across the Savannah. With inside sitting rooms and private verandas there are plenty of places to relax, read and sprawl. Big hand-hewn beds with soft duvets are draped with mosquito nets, hand-woven woolen carpets, extra large plush towels, over-sized dressing gowns…you may be as far away from the city as you’ll ever be, but you won’t miss a thing.
Step outside to a sheltered terrace and slip into your own outdoor stone bathtub, big enough to fit the whole family.
The swimming pool at Apoka Lodge – deep and cool – has been carved out of the big rock. This is the kind of pool that makes you want to jump in, splashing and yelling, feeling like a kid again.
Do you want stride out across the savanna and walk with zebras? Spend time in a Karamojong village learning about their traditional way of life? Enjoy a sun downer in the arms of a massive fig tree? Sit and watch a breeding herd of elephant frolicking in the mud? This is the place for you.
Come and drink in the view, come and feel the lion’s roar in your chest. Come and stay a while.