This colossal swathe of dusty savannah plains, arid hills, verdant meadows, riparian woodland and rolling bush carves its position out of the wildlife-rich reaches of southern Uganda. It’s hailed as one of the most biodiverse protected areas in all of Africa, and draws booming crowds of safari goers right throughout the year. They all come to view its wandering elephant herds (now recovering after serious decline in the 80s and 90s), monstrous hippos, African leopards and the favourite of the lot – curious, tree-climbing lions.

As any Queen Elizabeth National Park tour guide will tell, this region’s famed kaleidoscope of natural life is made possible by its contrasting habitats. As travellers drift on river cruises down the Kazinga Channel, crossing the Equator as they go, they will pass everything from volcanic crater zones to the Maramagambo Forest, the serrated tips of the Rwenzori Mountains to the Mweya Peninsula, home to human habitations thought to date back some 50,000 years.