After breakfast on the fifth day, we were given lunch packs to take along to the forest. We proceeded to the protocol office at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. While documentation was going on, a dance group known as Nkuringo Women Artisans Group entertained the Explore Uganda group. They solicited for financial assistance from people who made donations to support them. The team was later ushered into a small hall, where the tour guide, Levi, reeled out the rules of the game. He also divided the team into two with rangers and porters attached. The drivers took us to a particular place where we alighted and went straight to the mountains to track the Gorillas. The tracking will take at least four hours or more. We descended into the thick rainforest in search of the gorillas. The height of the mountain from where we descended from is over 2,000 feet above sea level.
As the rangers cleared the bushes, we spotted the paths and dungs of the gorillas. The gorillas were nowhere to be found. We followed their paths until we found the gorillas eating grasses. We spotted the massive silverback gorilla in the Bushaho family group and maintained a distance of 10 metres. Other family members followed the silverback eating grasses. For some reason as I was taking a photograph of the silverback, it angrily charged at us and we all scampered for safety. It took the intervention of one of the rangers who stopped the silverback from coming after us. It started raining heavily as we tracked the gorillas. After successfully tracking the gorillas, we decided to call it quits and ascended the mountain to enable us to eat our lunch. From our exit point, it took us an hour to locate our vehicle where it was parked in the morning. We returned to the protocol office where we were given certificates as having successfully completed the gorilla tracking in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. We planted a tree called Podocarpus, which serves as a memorial. One of the drivers conveyed us back to Gorilla Heights Lodge. After dropping our items in our rooms, we all dashed straight to the spa to relax in the steam and sauna for some minutes before retiring to our rooms. During dinner, Celestine, the lodge manager served free red wine and other drinks to his guests. He never wanted us to go back to Kampala. The team also made suggestions to the manager that will improve the quality of services at the lodge, which he gladly noted. Some stayed behind to have fun, while others quickly rushed to their rooms to prepare for Friday’s long journey to Kampala, estimated to take 12 hours.
Day Long Journey to Kampala
The Explore Uganda team left Gorilla Heights Lodge exactly at 8a.m. Ochieng, who monitored all activities, reminded us that it will be a long journey to Kampala. He was anxiously waiting at the Sheraton Hotel to receive us and he even posted on the team’s platform the dinner’s table he prepared for us. The drivers this time took another route to exit Bwindi, which has lesser bumps. The journey on the hills was breathtaking with the beautiful landscape. Everywhere was green all through, an evidence that Ugandans cherish their natural habit a lot. After about a five hours drive, we stopped at the Tourist Garden to take lunch. As the journey continued, Donald asked the drivers to stop us at the Equator – where the North and South poles meet. Apart from taking group photographs at the Equator, some received certificates showing that they were there live. They paid little for the Equator certificate. Other travellers stopped there to watch the demonstrations and take photographs too.
The team arrived in Kampala at night. As the drivers managed to get out of the heavy traffic, they took us to Sheraton Hotel where we were received by Ochieng who had waited all day for us. He quickly took us to dinner and asked a few questions about our trip. He promised to meet the team on Saturday morning. The South African participants left for the Entebbe Airport very early on Saturday morning. They later in the day communicated with the remaining team on their safe arrival to their country.
For the remaining participants from Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia, we had an engaging session with Ochieng during breakfast. Each participant shared his or her experiences during the Explore Uganda familiarisation trip. Ochieng also asked questions on how to improve tourism in Uganda, and the strong marketing points. He concluded the discussion session in the afternoon after which the Kenyan and Ethiopian participants left for the airport. The Nigerian participants, including Donald, were dropped off at Jikoni Restaurant on Clement Hill Road, Kampala, to have lunch. Donald later took us to the Craft Village for people to buy souvenirs. From there, we went back to Sheraton. Ochieng ensured that we had a lot to eat and drink during dinner. As early as 4a.m. Ugandan time, the Nigerian team left for Entebbe Airport to catch our 7a.m. flight to Nigeria. After documentation with immigration, the flight was delayed for an hour because of passengers from India who were on a connecting flight to Nigeria. I took a window seat inside the airplane- Uganda Airlines A330-800NEO, to enable me to see the beautiful landscape in Uganda again. The airplane arrived in Lagos at exactly 11a.m. Nigerian time. The Explore Uganda familiarisation trip for me was a life-changing experience.
