Maria Theodosiou in Uganda & Rwanda

Maria Theodosiou reporting in from Uganda – Our Senior Sales Support shares photos from her first few days in Entebbe, Kibale, and Queen Elizabeth!

ENTEBBE – July 2 + 3

Greetings from Entebbe, Uganda! I am thrilled to be here and joining our exclusive “Primate and Plains Safari” with two AAC clients, Kimberly and Ron.

I flew in a day early so I could do some hotel site inspections and visit the Mabamba Swamps.  This day trip is the best excursion to see the famous (and elusive) shoebill stork – and I was lucky enough to see three of them! What a thrill!

ENTEBBE – KIBALE – July 4

The next morning Kimberly, Ron, and I boarded our charter to Kasese, the airstrip for Kibale National Park. We met our guide, Nelson Natwijuka, and we were off on our adventure.

Here is a gorgeous volcanic crater lake that we stopped by for photos!

Primates Lodge will be our home for the next two nights and it is lovely. Each room has a private patio where you can see and hear different monkeys in the trees.

KIBALE – July 5

This morning, I did an awesome Swamp tour with a local guide, and we looked for birds, smaller monkeys, and butterflies!

Then we did a community walk where I met the local coffee maker. She ground the whole beans, roasted them, and ground them and we drank the coffee! Then we went to the local ladies who weave and got to learn about the process. Last, we watched banana juice get made then tried banana beer!

This afternoon I did a chimp trek and it was wonderful! Rom and Kimberly did the morning chimp trek but decided against the afternoon one so I went on my own. We had a great ranger/guide and saw SO MANY chimps!

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK – July 6

Yesterday we left Kibale and headed to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We had a fantastic boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. We saw elephants and tons of buffalo and birds and even a giant forest hog which are normaly very shy!

QUEEN ELIZABETH – ISHASHA REGION – July 7

Today we had a morning game drive before heading to Ishasha where we were immediately greeted (after a 30 min unplanned drive) by two tree climbing lions! It’s been over a week since the lions here decided to climb so it was excellent timing!

QUEEN ELIZABETH – ISHASHA REGION – July 8

We had another great game drive this morning and saw the leopard again! No more tree climbing lions. In the evening, we saw a ton of birds and then had a beautiful sundowner above a valley filled with elephants!

Let me give you an overview of our accommodations in QENP and Ishasha:

Elephant Plains is a lovely lodge with a great view. It definitely has the most bells and whistles (gorgeous bathtubs in rooms, hair dryers provided, universal outlets). It has a lot of similarities to Primate (which makes sense since they are the same company). While it didn’t have WiFi in the rooms, the WiFi in the main area was the best we’ve had the whole trip. The lodge is a bit of a trek to get to the point where you can start game viewing (45min) as it’s located outside of QENP – but totally worth it!

Ishasha Camp is the most rustic camp (limited WiFi, hair dryers on request due to power needs, more simple furniture and decor) but it has been my favorite between the two. The food was the best so far (delicious, well plated, and creative— their chef is awesome) and the location was just wonderful. We had elephants at the river for our lunch yesterday and there was generally always some creature around camp. The staff was also great all both locations. I LOVED Ishasha.

Today we said good bye to Ishasha and headed to Bwindi!

BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST – July 9+10

Today we said goodbye to Ishasha and headed to Bwindi! It was a gorgeous 3hr drive. After we got to Trackers Safari Lodge, we had a quick lunch then went to the Gorilla Health Clinic at CTPH (Conservation through Public Health) Conservation Camp. We had an incredible presentation where we learned about gorillas and how the organization monitors their health and works with local communities to help reduce human/gorilla conflict and contact (which can spread disease). It is an incredible organization.

Today was our first Gorilla Trek! We headed out at 7:30 this morning, had our briefing and got lucky enough to be assigned to the largest gorilla family (Rushegura) in the park (17 members include 5 babies!). It was a decent hike with quite a few obstacles (crossing a river by walking across the stones, some pretty steep and slippery sections) but the pace was slow and steady. We saw SO many gorillas and had so many awesome moments (a silverback got annoyed and charged at the group, a mom and her baby came down almost on top of where we were sitting). It was really incredible. One of the highlights was Ron! At 83 years old he did this trek despite thinking he wouldn’t make it at several points. They got him two porters and the lead guide stayed with him as he worked at his pace. He ended up joining us about 30 min into viewing the gorillas and it was incredible to watch him come up the hill! Shout out to the porters who helped get us up and down the trek!

So, the day after our gorilla trek, I went and did 4 site inspections (Bwindi Lodge, Mahogany Springs, Buhoma Lodge, and the renovated Gorilla Forest Lodge) which were awesome and super informative! Then Kimberley and I did a community/cultural experience in Buhoma that supports the Batwa. We learned about different plants they grow to support themselves, got to try the local millet bread, and some coffee! After the little meal, they sang for us.

WELCOME TO RWANDA! – July 11

Yesterday, we left Bwindi and spent 7 hours in the car headed toward Rwanda. We stopped to eat our packed lunch on the way at a scenic spot. Nelson dropped Kimberley and Ron at Amakoro Songa before taking me to Sambora Kinigi. After freshening-up, I transferred over to have dinner with Ron and Kimberly. They are LOVING Amakoro! It is absolutely gorgeous. I’m also really enjoying Sambora and it’s nice to get two different experiences! I’m about to head out on my golden monkey trek so I’ll send more photos soon!

VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK – July 12

Today was an adventure and a half! I started my morning with a golden monkey trek while Ron and Kimberly headed out on their 2nd gorilla trek. The hike up to the monkeys was great (if very muddy!) and we saw so, so many of them!

Then this afternoon I had the pleasure of doing a site inspection at Singita Kwitonda and Singita Kataza House! Later in the evening, I joined Kimberly and Ron for dinner at Amakoro. Their gorilla trek was amazing! Amakoro had a cultural dance performance and Ron and Kimberley were crowned King and Queen of the night!

Kigali – July 13

This morning we headed out after breakfast to Kigali! We stopped at the Genocide Memorial and learned about that tragic 100 day period, how it happened, and the after math. Driving through Kigali it is amazing to see how the country has come together and progressed. After, we headed to the airport for our flights home!

Uganda and Rwanda are singular experiences when it comes to experiencing Africa. Gorilla and Chimp trekking are one of a kind and magical. I met so many incredible people, saw so many amazing primates, and learned so much about these two countries.