One thing that makes Lake Mburo unusual -- yes, we're returning there briefly -- is that you can go for a walk out in the wilds. You must do it with a ranger, and the ranger carries a rifle, but there you are -- out in what's called an "acacia savannah," following trails that are animal trails, not human ones, and with no other people around.
We did not see a lot of wildlife, either. A relatively rare eland off in the distance; a buffalo staring at us from far away that made Moses, the ranger, decide to take a different route; the sounds of a hippopotamus snurfling behind the papyrus; and of course many many birds.
But with Moses's help, we did see the signs of where the animals had been. He stopped at one tree, spotting something he hadn't noticed before: up above us, on a large branch, the carcass of a male impala draped over the limb, hooves and skull and antler still distinguishable but not 
much else left. A leopard took it up there, to keep it away from hyenas.
much else left. A leopard took it up there, to keep it away from hyenas."Imagine what it took to carry that deer up into the tree," Moses said. Indeed: the carcass was 15 feet up in the tree, and the leopard had nothing but its jaws to carry it in.
A little later, we tried to see those hyenas, but they weren't home. So we wandered through the dirt area that is their den -- littered with the skulls of animals they had brought there for the young hyenas to feed on.
It was an enlightening walk. No, no sightings of the famous predators everybody wants to see on a safari. But we were still seeing them -- through the signs of their activities -- close up, and personal. It was a peaceful morning's walk in a place that often is anything but peaceful. And it is all part of the amazing natural world here.
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