Safaris By Jon

Mountain Gorilla Trekking was exceeded our expectation!

We booked a 5D4N package with Safari by John starting on the 13th June.

Lucky (the name of our driver) came to pick us up from our hotel. We were initially a little bit disappointed that our car was not a land rover but instead a 4by4 van, but it is also something we should have double-checked beforehand. Honestly though in some ways this car was better than a land rover (we had one in Kenya), as it was faster and on tarmac roads the ride was smoother.

Lucky was a very chilled-out, calm and experienced driver and we were similar age (28) so felt like we had things to talk about.

Our first meal was a local Ugandan buffet popular with the locals which was very good in particular the sugar cane juice with lemon.

Our first accommodation was a bit of a disappointment as it was not the lodge we were expecting as per our itinerary. John explained the one originally listed was booked up for that night but it would have been nice to have been warned in advance. John did manage to get us to the originally intended lodge for the second night we were at Queen Elizabeth National park though, where the food was noticeably better. The downside was we got two single beds instead of a double and the shower was an outdoor one, so more of a sidegrade than an upgrade.

We did the Kalinzu Chimpanzee Trekking, which in hindsight I think we should have done the Kibale one instead. As our fellow gorilla trekkers later told us, the monkey and chimpanzee number is far greater in Kibale than Kalinzu. We saw five chimpanzees but they mostly stayed high up in the trees, I guess safari is all about luck on the day.

Having done safariing in Kenya a week prior to this, the animal density and variety in Queen Elizabeth National Park were noticeably sparser. We were also admittedly a bit burnt out. However, the Kazinga channel boat safari was definitely worth doing, with a huge number of animals including elephants, buffalo, hippos, baboons and water birds. We even saw a monitor lizard and a Nile crocodile sunbathing.

The following day we travelled to the Ishasha region of the national park where we were fortunate enough to see one of the famous tree-climbing lions. This is rare though as our guide said he has only seen them several times in his 8 years of being a safari tour guide. Definitely a highlight of the trip.

Without a doubt though the main highlight of the trip was the mountain gorilla trekking. The lodge we stayed at had an amazing view of the forest and is also run by a NGO which gives a lot back to the local community. The trek can vary greatly depending on where your group of gorillas are (tourists are split into groups of 7 with a guide, two bodyguards, and porters). I strongly recommend a porter to carry your stuff, i.e. packed punch, camera etc as the trek can be quite challenging, very steep and slippery in some places. Our porter held my girlfriend's hand for a good portion of the hike which she very much appreciated otherwise she would have definitely slipped several times! It was all worth it though as we got very very close to several gorillas including a large silverback male and a baby gorilla. Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The guide and the tracker make extra efforts to ensure we could get good photos and videos of the experience.

Bunyonyi Lake was a nice place to chill at the end. We had another hiccup with the accommodation though where we were put in a small cabin with no ensuite. Fortunately, after we brought this issue up with Lucky we were moved to a better room with an ensuite. The lake is worth visiting in my opinion and if you dont feel like rowing yourself there are tourguide services which do the rowing for you or motorboat hire is also an option.

Lucky then drove us safely back to Entebbe, stopping by for local pineapple, bananas and berries, which were delicious. The Ugandan countryside is something special and different to Kenya's for sure.

Overall a worthwhile trip and despite the hiccups is still something I'd recommend!