The Pearl of Africa: There’s More Than Meets the Eye

By Rajah Njeri

As the Sales Manager of AeroLink Uganda, I had the opportunity to organize 4 days, 5 nights familiarization trip of 8 top Kenyan agents to showcase Uganda’s gems and amplify what great products our market has to offer. I realized that in the tourism world, when people think of Uganda, all that comes to mind is Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking. I felt it was my duty to educate our industry partners from Kenya on all the products that Uganda has to offer and cement the fact that one can do a 7–15-day tour, as our tourist destinations indeed are many.

The trip kicked off on a beautiful Sunday morning. The culmination of the shining sun and the cooling breeze created a perfect backdrop to welcome our guests to the Pearl of Africa. AeroLink Country Manager, Captain Catherine Mugo and I greeted out guests arriving from Maasai Mara with AirKenya’s schedule flight and assisted them through immigration before checking in for the onward flight to our first stop in this great adventure. After a short one-hour flight with AeroLink Uganda’s schedule flight, we arrived at Kasese Airstrip located in the Western part of Uganda. We were warmly received by Uganda Lodges ground team. We enjoyed packed lunch provided by the team and embarked on a scenic 2-hour drive to Fort Portal, a city based at the bottom of the Rwenzori mountains. As we drove through Kibale National Park, the agents couldn’t help but exclaim at the beauty Uganda has to offer. We inspected a handful of magnificent properties within the park and headed to Primates Lodge for a sumptuous dinner, concluding our first day of the fam trip.

After an early breakfast and briefing, we headed deeper into Kibale, which is an epicentre for Chimpanzees. Here you can find the largest number of Chimpanzees globally in addition to friendly trekking routes that almost anybody can handle. We began our trek through the forest in hopes that we would be lucky enough to strike gold. After about an hour of trekking, we came across 2 chimpanzees- one Alpha male and a teenager. We had one glorious hour to interact with them. During this time, we observed and learned about chimpanzee behaviour and family composition. Picture sessions signalled the end of this encounter as we headed back to the lodge for a much-needed refresh session and lunch.

After the morning’s activities, there was no better way to relax than a boat ride along the Kazinga channel. We boarded MV Kazinga owned by Uganda Lodges for the 2 hour boat ride. The scenery was breath-taking to say the least. Did you know that the Kazinga channel is home to one of the world’s largest concentration of hippos? It sure is! Approximately 2,000 of them. We watched them from a safe distance as they relaxed and cooled off in the water. Along the shores, we also saw hundreds of buffalo basking and dozing off under the African sun. The ride concluded with elephant sightings further down the channel. Thereafter, we headed to Elephant Plains Lodge for the night and had an amazing opportunity to come across lions lying by the road. On day 3, we got to sleep in. Well, for a fam trip an 8 am breakfast is considered a late breakfast. We enjoyed a game drive enroute to our inspection of Kyambura Gorge Lodge, located at the edge of Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park in western Uganda. We passed by Kyambura Gorge, the magnificent valley of apes which was formed by River Kyambura and is roughly 100 meters deep. Even though only a handful of chimpanzees can be found here, one gets to enjoy the most stunning views of the rain forest as it is also positioned very close to the equator crossing. We proceeded to Ishasha Wilderness Lodge for an inspection of their facilities and lunch. Our afternoon saw a 2-hour drive to Buhoma, which is the Northern Part of Bwindi. After insightful inspections of the leading lodges and camps in the area, we arrived at Gorilla Forest Camp where we hung our boots for the night.

It was another early morning for us the next day. The 4th day comprised the big-ticket item. Gorilla trekking in the great Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Climbing along the slopes of a mountain range, the park comprises of lush green vegetation, a collection of narrow and steep valleys, all engulfed in mist. Bwindi is home to half of the world’s population of the endangered mountain gorilla.

After a light but energetic breakfast, we departed for to our trekking point. Here we got to meet and interact with a group of lovely, vivacious women from an organization called Ride 4 a woman. The organization is set up to empower women in the community struggling with HIV, domestic violence, and poverty. The women treated us to a show comprised of singing and dancing to their traditional songs. The sounds in the air were a great way to set the mood for the tiring expedition ahead. We were split into two groups where we met our trekking guides and park rangers. We were given an extensive briefing and then we set on our way.

I opted to hire a porter at an additional fee which is one way of helping the community directly as this is a form of local employment. My porter helped me carry my belongings and came in handy assisting me when I was challenged. The paths were steep, muddy with lots of overgrown vegetation. There was a thick mist in the air which added to the optics of it all. The hike up the mountains is quite strenuous. One needs to be in good physical shape to attempt. It is also important to be well dressed and covered up to protect yourself from bugs and poisonous plants such as the poison ivy. We all came armoured with dark colored long pants, socks, long sleeved shirts and jackets, hiking boots, bug spray, hats, ponchos to combat the ever-present rains, along with walking sticks which were provided by the lodge.

It took us about an hour to locate a family of gorillas. The Rushegura family to be exact. This family is the biggest in Buhoma sector with 19 members. It is unique in that it had two alpha males, known as silverbacks, with the older of the two being the dominant one. Notably there were also two older females. It was quite an exhilarating experience to be so close and personal with such gigantic primates and share quite intimate moments with them. We got to watch them close, study their behaviours and see how they interact amongst each other. I was intrigued to learn that much like humans, before they lay their heads to sleep at night, they will lay leaves on the designated area, seemingly like the human equivalent of making one’s bed. We immortalized these moments by taking no flash photographs. The park has a very strict one-hour policy. Once a family of gorillas is located, you can only spend one hour with them and then descend the mountain. Following our visit with the gentle giants, we bid farewell and began our trek back to base. We received our certificates and returned to the lodge very tired and worn out but filled with memories so many still have on their bucket list.

Over dinner and campfire, we all got to exchange stories of our individual experiences. It was so amazing to learn that the second group had quite a different experience. They put their waterproof ponchos to great use as they came across lots of rain, making their trek more challenging. All in all, we could agree that it was quite the magical experience and that everyone should experience it at least once in their lifetime.

On the final day, we had an early breakfast followed by a 2-hour drive to Kihihi airstrip. Upon arrival at the airstrip, we boarded an AeroLink scheduled flight back to Entebbe. Once in Entebbe, our guests had the opportunity to meet and greet, Amos Wekesa, the CEO of Uganda Lodges who was our partner in the Familiarization trip. Shortly thereafter, our guests said goodbye to us and boarded their AirKenya flight back to Nairobi.