Filming in Queen Elizabeth national park

Filming in Queen Elizabeth national park: The park sited on a 1978 sq. km piece of land in western Uganda is one of the popular national parks within Uganda. The national park has the highest number of wildlife which include 95 mammals, 10 primate species, and 600 bird species. While on a safari in Queen Elizabeth national park, there is a lot of wildlife that you can film starting from the big mammals and others.

Filming in Queen Elizabeth is an activity that requires a person to get permission from the Uganda wildlife authority. For any traveler to film in Queen Elizabeth national park, they need media cards from the Uganda Media Council and a filming permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority whose price depends on the number of days one is to spend in the park filming.

Several wildlife species can be filmed within Queen Elizabeth national park and the famous are the lions, elephants, banded mongooses, and hippos. In this article, we are going to look at different animals and how they are filmed. We are also going t look at the best areas of the park where filming can be done and the best time to film different wildlife species within the park.

What to film in Queen Elizabeth national park?

Lions

Lion sights on a filming safari to Queen Elizabeth park

Among the things to film in the park are the lions. Lion filming in Queen Elizabeth national park is done so because the area is home to more than 130 lions including the rare tree-climbing lions that are seen in only Ishasha sector. Tourists are allowed to do lion filming only when they have filming permits from Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Lion filming in Queen Elizabeth national park can be done during game drive activities that happen in the morning and evening hours within the park. Gam drives are a 2-4 hours activity therefore those that want to do filming always have enough time for the activity. Lion filming is popular in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park where a huge concentration of animals does live.

Birds

For travelers that are interested in filming birds, then Queen Elizabeth national park is the best area to do the filming from. The national park is a habitat to over 600 bird species some of which are endemic to the areas and others are migratory. Filming birds is done on Kazinga channel and during nature walk activities because that is where you have an opportunity to see a variety of bird species with the famous being the rare Shoebill stork

Leopards

Leopard filming is another activity that can be done in Queen Elizabeth national park. Leopard filing requires a number of days in the park as these leoaprds are hard to see. Tourists that are intending to film lions should consider working with the Uganda Carnivore Project which is an organization doing research and conservation of large carnivores within Uganda.

Leopard filming with the Uganda carnivore project helps tourists to track down leopards that have radio callers. There it’s easy to find the leopards than when you search for them during the game drives. The moment you find the leopards, you will be given time to do filming but only when you have a filming permit.

Elephants

Elephant filming is another activity that can be carried out on a safari in Queen Elizabeth national park. Queen park has gotten the highest number of elephants in the country with a total of about 2913 roaming in the savannah vegetation that covers 1978 sq. km. The fact that elephants are very huge animals that can be easily seen, tourists should consider filming in the rainy season when the vegetation is very green to produce a beautiful video.

Elephant filming in the park is done in all the park sectors because they roam everywhere in the park. These elephants are seen all the time during game drives, nature walks, and other park activities.  Filming elephants during the dry season is best done around the areas of Kazinga channel where these elephants are for fresh vegetation and water.

Hippos

The park has the highest number of hippos in the whole world and these do live in the Kazinga channel. Kainga channel has over 6000 hippos most of which live in schools and they are clear seen during the boat cruise activity. Tourists that want to have hippo filming on Kazinga channel will do it while on a boat cruise which takes 2-3 hours.

Filming hippos in Queen Elizabeth is done on stationed grounds and also during the slow movements of the boat. Hippo filming is best done in the afternoon hours when the hippos are gathered in schools and not on the move. Tourists that want to film hippos will always contact Uganda Wildlife Authority for the filming permits.

Banded mongooses

Encounter the Banded mongooses on a Filming Safari

Queen Elizabeth is one of the places where banded mongooses do live and they are seen in the Mweya peninsula on the western part of the park. Banded mongoose filming is done with a researcher whose role is to guide you on how to find the mongooses. The moment you find the banded mongooses, you will be given time to film them in their groups which comprises 25 members and above.

Best time for filming Queen Elizabeth national park

Tourists can visit Queen Elizabeth national park for filming activities at any time of the year however there are months that are better than the rest. The dry months are the best time for filming Queen Elizabeth national park because the vegetation is short and scattered with good views of wildlife. There is little or no rainfall that lives the game tracks dry and passable and the roads leading to the park are in good condition.

Other tourists like budget travelers can do filming in the park during the rainy season and they will benefit from discounted accommodation facilities. The rainy season is however affected by too much rainfall that makes the game tracks muddy ad slippery, roads leading to the park are in poor conditions and the vegetation is talk and thick with unclear views of the wildlife.

Where to stay on filming safaris in Queen Elizabeth national park

Tourists visiting Queen Elizabeth national park for filming activities have a variety of accommodation facilities to use if they are to spend there a night or more. Queen Elizabeth has accommodation facilities such as Mweya Safari Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Elephants Hub Lodge, Elephants Plain Lodge, Katara Lodge, Park View Safari Lodge, Buffalo Safari Lodge, Kikongoro Safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, Jacana Safari Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Kazinga Channel View Resort, Enjojo lodge, and Tembo Safari Lodge among others.