Dispatches from the Field & Project Summaries
One Year Update
January 5, 2010
Questions & Answer: Ralph Schenk
We all know tourism has taken a hit this past year. What effects, if any, has this had on the lodge?
We were very lucky and only had a small reduction of Non-Resident visitors of about 5% and managed to keep the number of Resident guests stable so only had a slight reduction in occupancy. Our turnover actually increased as we had increased our Non-Resident rates by 20%. Generally it was a good year for us. March 2009 was the only month we we had a very significant reduction in visitor numbers. We actually employed more staff and continued investing.
In terms of conservation education within the local community, what projects are you currently pursuing?
We tried working on craft production with the local communities but found this very difficult and did not have much success. Our Leopard and Hyena project however, is very successful and we compensated more than 30 kills since we started the project. We have been in contact with some of the villages and have tried to see how we can help them. In Ruragara village we helped the local community to build a shallow well to provide access to clean drinking water. We also tried to teach the village the importance of keeping the village clean, which has had some success.
What is the progress of your Leopard and Hyena Conservation Project?
It is going very well, please find a report attached with some of the current data (Excel doc attached in email). It is also great that the lions which came back to Lake Mburo National park after being extinct for over ten years are doing well. We now have one male and one or two females with 2 cubs.
You had mentioned the building of additional accommodation and staff rooms. Please tell us more about any further plans to expand the lodge and the environmental design used during construction.
In 2009 we built more staff accommodation and now have 24 rooms and 2 tents for a total of 34 staff. We also expanded the staff canteen and installed a solar water heating system for the staff.
We also expanded our stables and now have 7 horses and 4 ponies. We managed to secure a concession agreement with Uganda Wildlife Authority and are now allowed to conduct horseback safaris in Lake Mburo National Park. Please find attached some more information on our horseback safaris.
On the environmental side we used to catch rain water from the rocks and store it in a 200,000 litre tank and then pump the water with a solar pump to header tanks. We still do this, but the problem was that we only had enough rain water in the rainy season and had to truck in water from 7 km away from Lake Kacheera during the dry season. This was costly and used fossil fuel both for the truck and an engine driven pump. In December 2009 we installed a solar pump that now pumps the water from the Lake up to our storage tank. This solar pump is connected to 28 solar panel and pumps the water over 4 km to our lodge. This investment cost more than 30,000 US$, but will reduce our environmental impact and also reduce our long term running costs.
We have not build any additional rooms for guests last year, but might add one or two rooms this year.
Have you added to your game drive options for guests? I know you anticipated your horseback safaris to run within Lake Mburo National Park. Any updates on this?
I mentioned this above and have attached a fact sheet on our horseback safaris in the park (see below).
Horseback Safaris in Lake Mburo National Park
Mihingo Lodge has been operating horseback safaris since December 2008 outside Lake Mburo National Park. We carefully adjust the rides according to the riding skills of each group; for beginners and inexperienced riders we only walk the horses. In fact a walk on a horse is the best way to view game. It is peaceful and relaxing and you get very close to the animals. For advanced riders there are also lovely stretches for trotting and cantering. We have 7 horses between 14.9 and 16.5 hands and 4 tough Ethiopian ponies which are about 13 hands.
In November 2009 we received a concession to operate horseback safaris inside Lake Mburo National Park where we found some fantastic routes. The best ride in the park is a 4 to 5 hour ride onto the 4 km long grassy Warukiri Range situated in the middle of the park with stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding hills and valleys in the Park. At the end of this range there is a waterhole, which often attracts buffalos and other animals combined with a magnificent view onto 9 of the 12 lakes surrounding Lake Mburo National Park. This ride changes the whole feeling of the park, making it absolutely spectacular. We had a friend Mini Trappe who is one of the leading horse safari guides in Tanzania and he was amazed how beautiful the riding in Lake Mburo is.
Horseback safaris are an exciting way to see the wildlife around Mihingo Lodge. Without any engine sound and fumes you feel part of nature and often get the chance to see the more timid animals. It is an exhilarating experience not to be missed. We sometimes see eland and buffalo and nearly always warthog, topi, impala, duiker, bushbuck, waterbuck and zebra on our horseback safaris, although this depends very much on the time of year and the rain fall in the area. Experiencing game from horseback is very special; zebra come towards you to check out the strange relative without stripes. Even the normally very shy eland curiously look at the horses without running away, just keeping their distance.
Our maximum weight limit for guests is 100 kg, but most of our horses cannot carry more than 80 or 90 kg. We provide fully adjustable helmets in all sizes and chaps. We ride with English style saddles or western-style trail saddles. We recommend that you wear long trousers and strong shoes if possible with a heel. At the moment we are not taking more than 6 guests out at a time. All our rides are accompanied by at least one experienced horse guide, but in most cases there are 2 guides accompanying each ride.
All the guests that have gone on one of our horseback safaris have absolutely loved it! For any further information please contact our managers and reservations team on reservations@mihingolodge.com or call them on +256-75 2 410 509.