With so many spectacular game reserves to choose from, determining the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime African safari experience is no easy task for travelers. On May 29th, 2022, I visited Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and I booked my trip with 4×4 Car Hire Uganda. By that time I had been in Uganda for three weeks, spending most of my time around Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi – a lake suitable named after a ‘place of many little birds’.
Suitable, because the most colorful and cheeky little birds I’ve ever seen gladly helped me finish my fruit-breakfast in the morning, when I stayed at the lake. But I could not withstand the temptation to visit Bwindi Forest – I wanted to see the gorillas with my own eyes! Even though the entrance price to the park was steep at the time, $700,- I decided that my chances of seeing these wonderful animals might be very slim if didn’t take this opportunity. What are the odds of me going to Uganda again, when there is an entire world to explore? So why not see everything I want to see, while I can?
While in Kabale, I had made a few friends, and one of them helped me get a permit. If you want to avoid tour operators, getting a permit can be difficult if you’re on a schedule. Only a few people a day are allowed to track the gorillas, so it could be a couple of days before you can get one. Since I was in Uganda for a month, I had that luxury, but if you’re visiting for a short period of time or if you have planned your entire trip, better be safe than sorry and use a tour operator.
We left late, and after it had started to rain, we found the roads be very muddy. But my 4×4 Land Cruiser did help, but I was so excited, We found a place to stay and sleep and had a late dinner – goat meat was all that was available, but it tasted great – even for a vegetarian 😉
The next morning I went to the UWA meeting place and heard some stories about what it was like. The gorillas move around a lot, so trackers are sent out to find them, before the tracking groups are sent on their way. The day before, the gorillas had stayed close to the camp area, and the group had found the gorillas within the hour. You’re allowed to stay a maximum of one hour with the group, so as not to upset them, meaning this group had come back early.
No such ‘luck’ for me, I am happy to say. We got word where the gorillas were, and our group was taken by car to the edge of the forest, where the trackers met us. The gorillas had moved on, so the tracking became a long, long hike – our entire trip, start to finish, took 7 hours, although that includes the drive and an hour with the gorillas. Yes, we did find them, after several hours following gorilla droppings, navigating narrow paths and steep climbs.
Not everyone in our group was prepared for this, unfortunately. An elderly man had come with his daughters to ‘see the waterfalls’, but since that excursion was full, they had opted for the gorilla tracking. On sneakers. Not a great idea, especially since the man himself was not really fit enough for the climbs – the guides had to help him up and down every hill, sometimes one person pushing, the other pulling.
To his credit – he never complained once, unlike his daughters, who were ready to go back after an hour or so, and eventually even demanded to be taken back – which was not an option. The lesson here: come prepared. Dress for the occasion, and do not try this if you are not up for a (very) long hike & climb on slippery forest trails and hills. This is not an exaggeration – holding on to tall grass to not slide down a hill was part of the journey. And on this day, the gorilla’s had quickly moved out of the forest, so we did not go very deep into it, (unfortunately).
But do not let this scare you off, either: that hill was the last one between us and the gorilla’s, and we could see them from afar. We had come out of the forest, as the gorillas had moved to the banana plantation to feast on the leaves of the banana trees, after climbing down that hill, crossing a stream, we went up the next hill to the group of gorilla’s (the H-group). We were told be as quiet as possible, no shouting, no wild gesturing or anything of the kind, and of course, we paid attention.
We walked up a trail that brought us about 30 meters or so above the group, a great vantage point for quiet observation. Or so we thought. Part of the group of gorillas was actually a bit further up the hill than we were, putting us basically in the middle. We heard some huffing and grunting from behind the bushes, and after moving about a bit (carefully) I spotted one gorilla lying on his belly, staring at us. He seemed content enough to stay there though. Unlike the gorilla that suddenly broke out of the bushes and make a mock charge at our group, me being nearest.
It was a female, with a baby on her back, which was no doubt the reason for her anger. Of course I instinctively backed away a couple of paces, even though she only took a step or two in my direction, I still think she was close enough to touch had I stayed where I was. She quickly moved down the hill to the rest of the group, and after calming down, we settled in for our hour of watching. The silverback, the leader of the group, was down there, climbing a tree to rip off leaves, then climbing down again with his massive, massive body to sit down and eat.
A couple of meters before him, two very young gorilla’s played on a log of wood, climbing, falling down, having fun, and the baby gorilla on the mother’s back that had just passed us, was groping at leaves as his mom moved about. I just sat there, taking pictures, and sometimes just quietly contemplating life in general and the beauty of what I saw around me.
Since we were already almost out of the forest, the trip back was fairly easy. The cars picked us up and brought us back, and it was all over…
I recommend 4×4 Car Hire for one of the self-drive safaris in Uganda.
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