Arriving in Entebbe, Uganda I cannot believe that I will be gorilla trekking on this trip! Instead I’m greeted by the usual mish-mash of most African cities, with the exception that Entebbe is situated on Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and the source of the Nile river. A sunset cruise changed my perspective of the city, especially as we got to cross the equator and watch the latitude count down on our iphones to 0 0’0″.
Next stop, Murchison Falls in the north. What a piece of paradise set on the Victoria Nile. The Falls are a sight to see – 300 cubic meters per second flowing over a 47m drop only 7m wide. Thunderous to say the least! Bakers Lodge, situated just downstream, is a charming semi-tented camp right on the banks of the river. My companions were a pod of hippos living right outside my door, grunting as I walked past. Sundowner cruises, spotting the rare Shoebill bird, game drives with plenty of elephants and buffalo and a nightly hippo symphony were just a few of the highlights in this remote but beautiful part of the world.
Rare Shoebill spotted on the Nile
Heading south on a road that had not seen any maintenance since it was built, I couldn’t help but notice how friendly the Ugandan people are. Always smiling, laughing and very keen to help. People are always walking somewhere, dressed up in their best clothes to walk along a hot and dusty road. Water needs to be fetched so the ladies put the large water containers on top of their heads and walk home chatting to friends! Clothes need to be washed so rivers are a perfect spot to doing your washing and catch up on a bit of gossip.
Breakfast served African style after game drive
In Kibale Forest Chimp Trekking was fun and sweaty work, but we were rewarded with some great sightings of a family with a few young ones, although they move fast, so you have to run at times to keep up with them. Initially we tracked them on the ground, which was comparable to doing a trail run. Once they headed up into the trees though, we sat below, cooling off watching them swing effortlessly through the trees while eating and throwing their leftovers on us.
Chimp trekking in Kibale Forest
Driving further south through Queen Elizabeth National Park to Ishasha Wilderness camp gave us an opportunity to see the famous tree climbing lions twice. During the heat of the day, they head up into the branches of the large fig trees where they sleep and cool off in the breeze. Elephants and buffalo were also abundant in the park together with antelope and plenty of birds. Our pop-top Landcruiser was perfect for game viewing.
Tree climbing lions cooling off in the heat of the day
As we made our way along the winding, bumpy road, we passed through colorful villages which lead us further south to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the starting point for the gorilla trek. Sitting on my deck at Buhoma Lodge the evening before we set off, I could only feel excitement and anticipation…. and I was not disappointed. We trekked for 2 hours up a steep and winding path, with the help of our amazing porters to find the Rushengura family lying in the shade, munching on bamboo sticks, like they were expecting us. It was such an incredible feeling to be sitting amongst these primates, while they walked around us, not really concerned that we were on their turf. They were curious but not at all hostile.
Kibande enjoying his breakfast
This family have 15 members including a big Silverback weighing in at around 200kg’s, who runs the show plus 4 babies who kept us entertained with their somersaults and other very human-like activities. One little guy came so close to us I was sure he would hop into my lap had the guide not asked me to move back. We spent an hour with these gentle giants, watching and even shedding the odd tear. This was a bucket list trip for many in our group so to be a part of them in such a non-threatening manner left us feeling content and totally in awe. If I had been handed a permit to do it all again the next day, I would’ve leap at the opportunity.
There are currently around 800 mountain gorillas in the world of which about half live in Uganda. Thankfully these numbers are increasing due to the conservation efforts in Uganda. Although permit costs are fairly high, ($600) part of this money goes towards conserving these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.
Uganda have 11 gorilla families and only issue 8 permits per family per day for one hour only. This trip needs to be planned well in advance in order to secure your permits, especially if you are travelling in a large group. Allow me to help you with this planning – please contact me at debbie@africanfirefly.com
For more information on the gorillas and conservation click on the following links:
http://www.ugandawildlife.org/gorilla-tracking
http://igcp.org/
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Gill
January 24, 2018
A good insight to an amazing trip! I would love to do this!
Peta Allen
January 25, 2018
Looks amazing Debs – wow! Something for the bucket list…