Uganda - such a beautiful and unknown country (2018)
Weşandin: 18.04.2018
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I was able to get an idea of how the children live there, accompany them on their way to school, and experience their daily life. I felt very comfortable and was warmly welcomed.
A little sightseeing tour through Kampala was a must. Various guides showed me the palace and the parliament, the Kings Road and Idi Amin's torture chambers. I also had the chance to visit the beautiful mosque.
Finally, we had traditional food at one of the nicer restaurants - chicken cooked in a banana leaf. It didn't quite meet my taste :) I was able to buy some beautiful colorful dresses and pants at a small typical craft market, and then I was ready for the big adventure: a safari and gorilla trekking.
We started early in the morning with our guide Xavier. Two Danes were also on board. We all got along great.
After about three hours, we reached the equator.
Of course, it was hot, but I was told to wear long and light clothes due to the mosquitoes. In hindsight, I recommend doing this only at dusk :) The mosquitoes only came out in the early evening. But that's when caution is advised. In addition to clothing, you should rub yourself with DEET spray and also spray your clothes with insect repellent as a precaution.
Then we continued....the roads were very bumpy and we made slow progress. But we were able to get an impression of the lives of the inhabitants and the beautiful landscape.
Arriving at Queen Elizabeth National Park, we had our first game drive and saw many antelopes, buffaloes, and wild boars.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
In the evening, we went to the Bush Lodge - our place to stay. Here we had a delicious dinner right by the lake and were even able to watch hippos.
Now we finally saw elephants too....
In the evening, we were lucky to see a leopard. We were about to leave the park when our guide received a call from another guide that they had spotted a leopard. So we rushed through the park as quickly as possible, hopped over the bumpy tracks, and were able to catch a glimpse.
Now it was time for the last big adventure... gorilla trekking. So we drove to Bwindi. We were amazed by the beautiful landscape and nature here. We were now in the highlands. In the background, you could see the volcanoes. And it was simply beautiful....
We spent a night at the Gorilla Valley Lodge, where we were once again warmly welcomed. Beautifully located. It rained heavily during the night, which was very refreshing for us :) The next morning, we went to the meeting point for the gorilla trekking people. There is a limited number of gorilla permits, which are also very expensive. But it was so worth it!!
We were divided into several groups... experienced hikers and less experienced ones. We decided to trek a little more :)
We were then driven to the starting point of our trek. Two guides and two additional guides with rifles were waiting for us there. There were also porters, residents from nearby villages, ready to carry backpacks and even carry oneself if necessary :)
Our path went steeply uphill right away. After ten minutes, I was already sweating. We walked for about 1.5 hours through the jungle, up and down. Our guides were quite fast. We had little time to pause and have a drink or take photos :)
Much earlier than expected, our guides found the gorilla family consisting of about 18 gorillas. The big silverback and his females were lying comfortably on the ground. The children were playing around.
We started our way back and it was tough, at least from my point of view :) Motivated and dynamic, I followed the guide in front. We went through the bush with a machete. Accidentally, he hit a nest full of black wasps, and I could feel their aggressions. I panicked and started waving around. The guide calmed me down and said they are aggressive but not dangerous. A look into his deep red eye was enough for me, and I knew it had hit him too. But that didn't seem to bother him much either :)
Hardly had I overcome the first shock, the guide jumped to the side and shouted 'Cobra'. Luckily, it slithered back into the bushes immediately. I had my dose of action for the day :)
Back at the starting point, we took out our picnic and recovered from the trekking while enjoying the wonderful view of the landscape.
Very impressive!
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