We had a great time with Mountain Gorillas in Nkuringo family. Our stay during the trip was Nkuringo Gorilla Camp. It was a long-awaited day for the our closest relatives in the jungle…unfortunately it will involve tracking into the thick jungle to find them that makes it adventurous, interesting and it’s really worth it. The warning again were the same as stated earlier; comfortable footwear, raingear, among others
Our day started at 6:30 with breakfast and then we departed a 7: am from the camp to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Park headquarters where were to meet the guides, security personnel, and the porters to escort us the jungle. We started with registration as we were told that they are the names that will appear on our tracking certificates (offered to everyone who goes to track gorillas). The gorilla rules are then emphasized and among them was each member of the group needs a lot of drinking water to avoid dehydration with a minimum of 2 liters person.
When you go tracking the gorillas, know at the back of your mind that they are wild animals which can take you unknown time and if you have heavy luggage, the porters are available for hire at a cheaper cost [ask for one at the UWA Office]
At the end of this long journey with hustles and struggles through the jungle, there we were and at first were the branches shaking. The silverback is right there, the guide told us. It was a mixture of fatigue, excitement, fun and was almost hard to believe. At first, it was a disappointment with the gorillas hiding faces from the cameras but somehow, we managed to come into contact with two silverbacks and the young ones. We now had about 60 minutes with the Mountain gorillas.
The excitement could not last for a long time as we had to leave and back on our journey that was more hectic that the one to the gorillas. I could not imagine walking form more than 3 hours in the forest, through rivers, slippery rocks and to make it worse, raining on us before we could make it to where we were to find the vehicle to transfer to the camp. I was now a happy man [thinking that even if I go back, it had made my day]. Getting back on the camp, we found when they had prepared for us fire and coffee for warming ourselves from the coldness from rain.
The Batwa dancers from the surrounding community added on fun in the evening with the dances. We were told that it is one was in which Nkuringo Gorilla camp and Nkuringo Walking Safaris give back to the community.
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