Uganda, 2022

Day 2. 5 am start. We drove for about 8 hours to get to Buffalo Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, arriving in time for a pre-sunset boat ride around the Kazinga Channel. I’ve never seen so many hippos, probably more than a hundred in numerous pods in the shallows near the shores. We also saw an elephant, buffalos, crocodiles, a troop of baboons, dozens of pied kingfishers nesting in the sandy cliffs, and two pairs of fish eagles, one with a youngster. Back at the lodge, an elephant visited, coming within about 5 metres of our room balcony. We had a quick dip in the pool, with a view of waterbuck in the distance, before dinner and an early night.

Day 3. 6.30 am start. We drove to the Kalinzu Forest, where we set off into the jungle in search of chimpanzees. The trackers are sent out ahead to find the groups and by the time we got close, the chimps were hunting. The frenzy of the hunt is accompanied by a cacophony of shrieks, cries and whoops, as they chase and then ambush their prey – in this case, a red-tailed monkey. They move extremely fast through the trees and we had to hike briskly off-trail to catch up. We then had a chance to observe them up in the trees. The one that catches the prey tends to get most of the spoils, with others settling for scraps. One was munching happily on the tail. Seeing chimps in the wild reinforces the cruelty of confining them to zoos or medical labs. To avoid conflict with surrounding communities, they cultivate tea plantations on the edge of the forest.

After our 6 kilometre jungle trek, we drove five hours to Rushaga Gorilla Camp, located on a winding dirt-road mountain pass frequently choked by clouds of fine dust. In the evening, we were treated to a singing and dancing performance by members of the local community. Most incredible was a 72 year-old woman whose agility and fitness put us all to shame. We bought a beautifully hand crafted walking stick, with gorillas carved into the design, as well as two wood-carved gorilla masks. Cleverly, the walking stick unscrewed into 3 sections for ease of packing and transport. After dinner, we toasted marshmallows on the fire before another early night.

Day 4. 7.30 am start. A short drive took us to the entrance of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where we joined others for a briefing by the park rangers. We were allocated into groups of around 10 people, each of which would be tracking a gorilla family. The name of our family was Busingye, which means peace. We trekked for about 2 hours before the advance trackers located the gorillas. After a short off-trail scramble, we got close to where they had settled down for a lunchtime nap. The impression is of great intimacy, as they huddle together in a sprawl of black fur and entangled limbs, dozing under a cloud of hoverflies.

Day 5. 5.30 am start. After an 8-hour drive, we made it in good time to Entebbe airport and our flight left on time without any problems.

Our connection in Doha was delayed, but we were just happy that we got back to London this morning, safe and sound, with no lost bags, and no rush to drive back home. All in all, despite the stressful start and an overly intense program (squeezing the original 7 days into 5 days), we had a fabulous experience in Uganda and are left with many special, shared memories.