Tips for Self Drive Safaris. Nothing beats the feeling of an inspirational journey than having to navigate with a rented car for self-drive safaris in a wildlife-filled game reserve in Uganda. Many of the cars hired from car rental agencies in Uganda like Crystal car hire are designed and hired out purposely for self-drive safaris like the full-time 4 Wheel Rav4 or the Toyota land cruisers that can maneuver the Ugandan terrains.
These are the simple cars with limited operations that any self-drive car rental independent traveler can handle. They are simple to drive, easy to navigate, and can go everywhere and on any terrain throughout the country. Driving in National game reserves is a very important aspect of self-drive car rental safaris. One requires reading enough in regards to driving within the park boundaries for reasons of conservation and safety. For any successful trip driving through most of the National parks in Uganda, one requires to be aware of some guidelines of a particular park and vehicle capabilities for a 4X4 self-drive car rental safari.
Here are a few tips for an inspirational journey self-drive safari in Uganda’s National game parks.
Maintain a low speed. There is no rush in the game reserves or what would you derive from driving fast in the reserves? First, you will miss out on interesting wildlife to spot and see and on the same hand, the speed limit in game reserves is 40 km/hour. Take your time, spot, turn off the engine and enjoy your photo moments. Driving fast or in a hurry has never produced any good results for a self-drive safari in Uganda.
Maintain a distance from big wildlife: Driving next to some wildlife or wild animals is a dangerous act. Wild animals like buffalos, elephants, Rhinos, and lions charge at cars or any external interruptions. It is always recommended to maintain 100m away from such animals in a game reserve for a successful self-drive safari.
Stay in the vehicle: National game reserves are wild destinations and so are the animals. Getting out of your rented vehicle doesn’t guarantee you safety or more so insurance of your life. Respect the animals and stay in your rented vehicle unless it is a gusseted area and allowed to step out of your vehicle. These wild animals can be viewed through the open roof of the cars rented or through the windows of your rented vehicle for safety reasons. Consider buffalos are the most aggressive wild animals and can attack at any time, especially the losers.
Do Not Hoot: Not only is it forbidden by the Uganda Wildlife Authority or as part of the park rules, but this is also unacceptable behavior in the game reserve. Hooting scares away the animals and usually migrate to deeper areas or change location. Therefore, for purposes of conserving for future generations, avoid hooting whenever in the vicinity of Park boundaries during your drive safari.
Turn off the car engine: A very important aspect during a self-drive safari in Uganda’s National game reserves is turning off the car engine when viewing animals or whenever next to the wildlife. However, do this if you’re sure of your car to ignite fast when the need arises. Wild animals get irritated by the sound of the car engine when left in idling. They reduce the chances of seeing a lot or longer stays of animals for views.
Follow the Rest and Ask: Most independent car rentals for self-drive safari visitors are not conversant with the tracks in the National game reserve. However, there is always an option to find wildlife or spot special animals in the park. Follow other safari vehicles where they head, take the same route, or ask where the best spot would be. Fellow drivers in the park are always helpful in making a self-drive safari memorable and impressive.
