Hippo filming on Kazinga channel – Queen Elizabeth national park

Hippo filming on Kazinga channel – Queen Elizabeth national park: Are you interested in filming the hippos of Kazinga channel on your safari in Queen Elizabeth national park? For everyone coming in Queen Elizabeth national park, definitely needs to read this article and know everything attached for hippo filming on the Kazinga. There are a lot of people who are looking at having boat cruise activities on Kazinga channel but among these include those that want to film hippos for different purposes.

Hippo filming safari on Kazinga is not a popular activity as of today as it’s done by a few travelers especially those that are interested in the hippo census. Filming and photographing hippos of the Kazinga channel is a very interesting activity that tourists on a safari in Queen Elizabeth park should look at.

Filming hippos on the Kazinga channel

Filming hippos on the Kazinga channel is best done on a boat cruise which moves at a very slow speed. The hippo filming activity is best done in the afternoon hours when the hippos are gathered in the water trying to cool their bodies from the sunshine. Queen Elizabeth park hippos do live in schools of 10 to 30 members although some groups can have even more.

On a good-sized boat cruise, the filming crew will pull out their filming equipment and start taking videos of different schools of hippos they are interested in. The channel has the highest number of hippos in Africa therefore filming crew should expect to see as many hippos as they can during the activity. During the hippo filming, tourists will learn about the habits of these aquatic animals and they will see crocodiles, water birds, and different park animals along the water channel.

Requirements for hippo filming on Kazinga channel

All national parks in Uganda are controlled and managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority. This means that to carry out any activity you will need permission from Uganda Wildlife Authority. Tourists that are intending to do filming on the Kazinga channel will write to Uganda Wildlife Authority allow them do filming on their safari to the park.

A certain amount of money is paid for any filming activity within Queen Elizabeth national park including hippo filming. The permits cost 40% of the activity fee and the filming crew should always apply for them a month before the activity. Other than the filming permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority, tourists need a media card which is obtained from Uganda Media Council. The media card is $175 per group and it lasts for 30 days.

After all this, you will have to sign a contract with Uganda Wildlife Authority and pay a refundable amount of money which will be give back to you after producing a copy of CD of the filming. The filming crew is also required to clear their filming equipment with the customs at Entebbe international airport on arrival in the country.

Best time for Kazinga channel hippo filming

Tourists can do hippo filming on Kazinga channel at any time of the year however certain months are better than the rest. The dry season from June to September and December to February is the best time to film hippos of the Kazinga channel and this is because of the little or no rainfall. During the dry seasons, the water levels on Kazinga channel are very low which gives good filming, and the game tracks the water channel are dry and passable.

Tourists can still film hippos on Kazinga channel during the rainy season from March to May and October to November however this favors budget travelers because the lodges are very cheap. The rainy season is not good for filming hippos because the water levels are very high which gives unclear views of the hippos during filming and the game tracks leading to the park are in very poor condition.

Getting to Kazinga channel for hippo filming

Tourists can get to Kazinga channel for hippo filming at any time of the year using road transport or air transport. By road transport, travelers going for filing on Kazinga channel can access the area by using Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Rubirizi road where they will access the park using the southern gates and get to Kazinga channel or they can drive from Kampala via Mubende, fort portal and Kasese to the park.

By air transport, tourists visiting Kazinga channel for filming hippos can access the area by using chattered flights by Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda. These flights are from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe international airport to Mweya airstrip or Kasese airstrip taking 1 hour and 15 minutes. Using flights to access Kazinga channel is way quicker compared to road transport.

Accommodation on a hippo filming safari in Kazinga channel

Tourists that are visiting Kazinga channel for hippo filming have got a variety of accommodation facilities where they can stay. These accommodation facilities are near the Kazinga channel ad where to stay depends on the travel budget. Accommodation facilities include Mweya Safari Lodge, Kazinga Channel View Lodge, Buffalo Safari Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Elephants Plain Lodge, Tembo Safari Lodge, Engiri Game Lodge, and Kazinga Channel Lodge among others.