Ugandan Ape Adventure

This morning, you will meet your guide, either at your hotel or at Entebbe International Airport.  After getting acquainted, you will board your dedicated vehicle for the 5-hour journey to your lodge in or near the Kibale National Park.  Along the way, you can expect an amazingly varied landscape: savour the lush scenery, set against the backdrop of the mysterious Rwenzori Mountains.  For your comfort, a stop for lunch is included in the transfer.  On arrival at your lodge, you will be shown to your room, after which you have the rest of the day at leisure.  After a sumptuous dinner, get an early night in anticipation of an exciting day ahead.

Covering 766 square kilometres (296 sq mi) in size, and ranging between 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) and 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in elevation, Kibale National Park was established in 1993 to protect the rainforest and its inhabitants.  Most notable of these are a healthy population of chimpanzees and other primates.  The climate in Kibale is moist and temperate throughout the year.  Daytime temperatures average 26°C/79°F, dropping to a cool 16°C/61°F overnight.  Rainfall is common throughout the year, peaking in April and from September to November.  The driest, and consequently best, times to visit are during January/February and June/July.  Regardless of when you visit, water-resistant clothing and footwear are recommended.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Kibale National Park
• Lunch and dinner, not breakfast
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

After waking early, you will be served breakfast, after which we will depart for Kibale at 07h00.  At the park office, you will meet the chimpanzee trek guides.  After a short briefing, they will guide you into the rainforest in search of the chimpanzees.  There are several habituated troops of chimps within the park, and it may take some time to locate them in the undergrowth.  Please note that appropriate clothing and footwear, as well as a reasonable degree of fitness, are essential.

The forest is home to about 1500 chimpanzees.  Due to heavy persecution, by way of habitat loss and poaching, as well as being susceptible to human diseases, chimpanzees are now classified as an endangered species.  As such, to minimise disturbances, visitors spend a maximum of one hour with the troop.  Chimps live in large social groups that may number as many as 150 individuals.  Each troop is led by an alpha male, although there are numerous sub-hierarchies.  This makes for fascinating observations of their complex social lives and behaviour.

Afterwards, you will return to the lodge for lunch.  Then, later in the afternoon, you can join an interesting walk in the Bigodi Swamps.  Dinner and bed follow.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Kibale National Park
• Breakfast, picnic lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

Today, we will leave Kibale National Park after breakfast.  Your next destination lies approximately an 8-hour drive to the south, so sit back and enjoy the passing scenery and wildlife as we head through part of the Queen Elizabeth National Park.  Along the way, we will stop to enjoy lunch and stretch our legs.  By the late afternoon, we will arrive at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, one of the last refuges of the endangered mountain gorilla.  After being shown to your accommodation, you will have the afternoon and evening at your leisure.  A fortifying meal and a comfortable bed await at the end of the day.

Covering just 321 km2 (124 sq mi), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is relatively small.  In 1991, the area was designated a national park in order to protect the lowland and montane forest habitats.  The park is home to a huge range of species, most notable of which is the mountain gorilla.  To ensure its survival, the park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.  This is vital to protect the 450 gorillas that live there, which constitute just over 40% of the world’s remaining wild mountain gorillas.  To protect this fragile environment, the park is only accessible on foot.  Within its confines, researchers have documented 120 mammal species, 350 birds and a myriad of insects, reptiles, amphibians and flora.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Breakfast, picnic lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

After an early start and breakfast, we will transfer you to the park.  As with chimpanzee trekking, the appropriate clothing and hiking boots are essential for navigating wet, uneven terrain.  At the park headquarters, the gorilla trek guides will greet you and talk you through the protocols for the gorilla encounter.  The gorilla guides are specially trained and possess a deep understanding, not only of the gorillas, but the forest they inhabit.  

As the gorillas move freely, the guides’ knowledge of the terrain is invaluable, although it can take several hours to finally locate one of the habituated troops.  Once found, a maximum of one hour is spent observing the gorillas go about their day-to-day life.  This time limit helps ensure these endangered primates are not unnecessarily disturbed.

Gorilla numbers plummeted in the past, largely due to the influence of humans.  Due to poaching, habitat loss, conflict with humans, and disease, as few as one thousand gorillas are thought to live in isolated pockets of land across Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mountain gorillas are sociable apes, living in groups of up to 30 individuals.  Each troop is ruled by a ‘silverback’ dominant male, supported by a few sentry males.  The alpha’s females generally stay with him for life, while both male and female offspring migrate to join or form new troops.

After the trek, you will return to camp where you can enjoy some leisure time before dinner and bed.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Breakfast, picnic lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

After breakfast and checkout, we set off for the final wildlife destination of the tour: Lake Mburo National Park.  The scenic drive should take in the region of 5.5 hours.  On arrival, lunch will be served, and you can enjoy some downtime before the afternoon activity.  In this case, there’s no need for heavy footwear or fitness, as you’ll be taking a leisurely boat cruise on Lake Mburo.  In Nature, water means life, and Lake Mburo is no exception.  Hundreds of hippos and crocodiles inhabit the depths, while the shores are alive with a huge variety of birds.  Wildlife, such as buffalo, and various antelope species are always seen along its shores.  

After the boat cruise, you can enjoy your final meal under the African sky before retiring to bed.

Lake Mburo National Park covers an area of 260 km² (100 sq mi).  Within this relatively small area, the habitats include open grasslands, acacia woodlands, rocky outcrops, forested gorges and several swamps.  These habitats support a pleasing diversity of both mammal and bird species.  The climate is mild, with temperatures averaging 26°C/79°F by day, dipping to around 16°C/61°F overnight.  The driest weather and best game viewing are over June/July, while January/February also have relatively little rainfall.  Two distinct wet seasons occur, from March to May and September to December.

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Lake Mburo National Park
• Breakfast, picnic lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

This morning, after breakfast, we will check out from the lodge and depart on a final game drive.  While the park does not have lions, elephants or rhinos, there is an excellent chance of spotting a large herd of buffalo.  And, if you’re really lucky, you might see a secretive leopard slinking through the undergrowth.  Other species to look out for include Rothschild’s giraffe, impala, defassa waterbuck, eland, topi, duiker, oribi, bohor reedbuck, plains zebra, warthog, olive baboon, vervet monkey and klipspringer.  For bird-lovers, the park punches above its weight, with well over 300 species on record.

As we leave the park, we’ll make our way to the official equatorial line, where we will stop for a photo opportunity and the chance to pick up some last-minute curios.  Then we’ll enjoy a final lunch together, before continuing to Kampala and/or Entebbe International Airport (depending on your onward travel arrangements).  Arriving there in the early evening, it is time for us to say our goodbyes.

R. Elliot once quipped, “If you only visit two continents in your lifetime, visit Africa – twice!”  If that sounds like a good idea to you, Africa Flash McTours & Safaris would love to welcome you back to this special place we call home.

• No accommodation, this is the final day
• Breakfast and lunch, no dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra