tourcompanies, do it yourself and weather

Yes, busses in Nepal are scary too. And you're right, full of life and always interesting rides. The most scary ride I've had was at night in Bolivia. So, I'm used to all kind of transports.
I'm gonna have a good look at what I'm going to do in Uganda. Did a 5 day safari trip in Tanzania (Serengeti etc.) some years ago (seen the big 5), so not so keen now on doing a lot of safari trips. My main target will be the primates and some lovely dayhikes. And I'm thinking of using different villages as a base from where to arrange drives to the parks. If I'm lucky then I will meet some people to share costs. So, thanks everybody for the useful replies. When I have an itinerary put together I will post it.

Even though I like Masindi a lot (albeit it is a dusty and sleepy little town) and Murchinson is great then it is a long haul up to Murchinson just to see the falls. They are impressive and the park is beautiful and if you want to see leopards then this is the place to go in Uganda. I would probably spend my money seeing the chimps twice instead! They are really awesome and almost as good as the gorillas
Even though safari is not your thing then I think the tree climbing lions in Ishasha are pretty awesome and worth the detour.
As far as hangout places go I like the crater lakes and Sipi falls. They are beautiful and without the crowds of Bunyoni

I did Lake Mburo a week and a half ago without a tour company. There are nature walks and boat rides that you can do on your own. Although if you want to walk anywhere in the park you need to be escourted by an armed guard, which is free with the exception of the scheduled nature walk. I managed to do three days and two nights very cheep. You can take a bus to Sanga then jump a taxi or motorbike into the park. The drive into the park is one of the main game drives so you'll see plenty of wildlife on the way in. Plus my motorbike driver had no problem stoping and letting me take photos. I'm sure you can make friends with some people and go on their game drives with them. I had the park nearly to myself as it was just the end of the low season, but I'm sure it's full of game driving friends to make at this point.

Mmmmmm......sounds suspicious.