It’s been a very busy past few months for me as I’ve been lucky enough to have travelled to some amazing places with some of our amazing clients. This week, I would like to share some highlights of our incredible Gorilla Trek & next week I’ll share our exhilarating East Africa Migration Safari.
A small group aptly named the ‘Silverback Six’ flew with Emirates via Nairobi on to Kigali in Rwanda. The next morning we transferred by road across the Uganda border to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and our stunning accommodation at Trackers Safari Lodge. We all had to pinch ourselves as we looked out across the mist, hovering over the Rain Forest with the realisation that the following day we would be trekking into the natural habitat of the world-famous endangered Mountain Gorillas, only found here, in this remote corner of Uganda.
The next morning, we were up early, feeling a little apprehensive and hopeful we would all make it to find the Gorillas. We travelled the short 10-minute drive to the starting point of our trek. After a thorough briefing, we were introduced to our guide & trackers and chose to hire some local porters to help us along the trek. They cost USD20 per person and for them, they wait patiently to be picked to obtain a day’s wages. It’s a great thing to do, even if you are an experienced trekker as it helps the local community so much and they love to talk & show photos of their families and asked about our lives, where we lived etc.
The terrain was beautiful, lush rainforest with steep climbs up & down, that muddy & very slippery, walking across narrow bridges over flowing rivers, all the time with our individual porters always right there beside us ensuring we didn’t slip or fall.
After almost 3 hours, we finally came face to face with our Gorilla family and those first moments were such an incredible experience that words don’t seem enough to describe the feelings & emotions that overcome you. To protect the Gorillas as they are susceptible to 95% of human viruses, you have to wear a mask for the hour your spend with them.
“After almost 3 hours, we finally came face to face with our Gorilla family and those first moments were such an incredible experience that words don’t seem enough to describe the feelings & emotions that overcome you.”
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who has a dream to see these beautiful Gorillas in the Mist. It’s remote, expensive and takes quite some effort to get there, but help is always on hand and it’s possible for everyone, not matter your fitness level. My advice would be to just do it while you still can and while the option is still available. We would love to help you plan this once in a lifetime experience so please give us a call if you would like more information.
Leonie
