Time got away from me again and finally I decided to sit down and update the blog.
In November, Steve and I went to Uganda! It was for chimp and gorilla 'safaris': 1 all-day chimp trekking in Kibale National Forest and 3 days of trekking to 3 different gorilla groups in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Along the way we met wonderful Ugandans including Habibu our safari guide (who knew everything about Uganda!), our Entebbe guide Edward, trip coordinator Lydia, The Prices at Ndali lodge, the staff at Kyambura Game Lodge, the 2 lady basket weavers and chief's daughter at Bigodi Swamp, Barbara, Jackson and Nicholas at Gorilla Safari Camp. I know when you travel you don't often get introduced to the 'locals' so I have to say the hospitality and genuineness of everyone we did meet made the trip very special.
Uganda is home to 1,200 different species of birds and we saw many wonderful and different birds - you can't help it, they are everywhere.
Habibu would be driving down the rutted, dirt road and while watching for potholes or bicyclists, he'd point and say " On that branch, there is a
such-and-such bird." He'd stop the vehicle and we'd zoom in for a photo.
Over and over again I was amazed how he could drive and spot game at the same time.
Here are a few of the birds we saw ... I have to qualify and say we never made it into the Ishasha swamp to see the shoebill, but Edward took us to the Entebbe zoo to see it - sorry birders, we 'cheated'.
 |
Maribu Stork standing 4 ft. tall !!
Fish Eagle
Crested Cranes, the national bird of Uganda
Pied Kingfisher
We also had a couple of days of 'game drives': seeing many different monkeys, elephants, Ugandan kob (like a gazelle), cape buffalo, hippos, warthogs, and lions.
Our trekking days were the hardest: you may walk up 75 degree slopes for 2 hours to get to the gorillas and then you are allowed a hour to watch and photograph....which goes by in a snap. Then you hike down. Luckily we hired 2 porters at $ 15 each to help me, bad knee ya know. The last day was the worst - tall roots and eroded slopes to climb up and over...not to mention the vicodin not agreeing with my tummy, so breakfast was left at the side of the trail. Then, it rained during the lunch break which made going down something of a slip and slide. Again the sure-footed rubber-booted porters were life savers: one on each side of me helped lift me down, over roots and rocks and stabilizing my footing.....I couldn't complain because I was there to see the gorillas, and it was a thrill! Steve made it without falling while the ranger behind him fell a couple of times.
Here are a couple of gorilla photos - we are between 5 ft. and 15 ft. away from them as they feed and move through the underbrush.
A 6 month old curious infant
Mother and infant - she reigned him in when he became too curious at those other primates (us!)
The Silverback male is each family's leader, easily weighing in at 600 pounds!
Here we are with the gorilla trackers and rangers, our 2 porters and a new trainee...The last of our 3 days, the most rigorous and....full filling my dream to again see gorillas in Africa....being lucky to have been in Rwanda in 1988 to see them before the tribal civil wars.
I would go back in a heartbeat, struggle physically and trek again!
