We arrived in Entebbe from Istanbul at 3:30 in the am. Customs was a breeze and our driver from the hotel was waiting for us. There is a large military presence which our driver felt was due to some diplomatic VIP in town. Entebbe has the only international airport in Uganda, but it is not the capital. We were stopped at the gate to our hotel and a military person examined the car and underneath the car. There was a metal detector at the door to the hotel. We slept until 7 when a driver rode us through the dirt streets on Entebbe to a ferry where we crossed a portion of Lake Victoria. We continued driving dirt roads for a total time of 2 hours. We arrived at Mabamba marsh where we jumped into a large canoe with our guide and driver who took us through the small waterways pointing out various birds along the way. We reached a distant finger in the marsh where we came upon the ’elusive’ Shoebill bird. Stands 4 feet tall and has a head from prehistoric times. We saw 4 of these amazing birds before returning to our hotel for a nap.
We flew to Kihihi about 2 hours away. We drove an hour to our lodge Mahogany Springs which is just outside the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where the Mountain Gorillas live. Apparently the gorillas were on our lodge’s property just a week before our arrival. Beautiful lodge with large and comfortable rooms and a gorgeous panoramic deck off the main lodge where Katie and I tried the local beer and a Hendricks G&T. This is the rainy season and they say it rains almost every afternoon. Sure enough by 1pm there was unending thunder and pouring rain. Sitting on the covered deck looking out over the jungle with the thunder and rain was/is spectacular. We were up early for breakfast then off to the forest. Our group consisted of a guide, Felix, 3 trackers that went up the mountain at 6:30 that am, 2 men with rifles to guard our front and back, and several porters (Katie and I each hired one as we were told they all are local people who earn some money being a porter). It was nice to have them as they helped push and pull you up the slippery slopes. It was a slow walk up the mountain but after 2 hours we came to where the gorilla family were eating. There was the Silverback male (200kg), 4 wives, and 4 children. We stayed with them for an hour getting as close as a foot from some of them. They posed for pictures, put up with our slipping about the hill, and eventually stopped to take naps after a morning of eating for them. Fantastic guide and help from all. We have now assumed our positons on the panoramic deck, the thunder and rain has begun, and we’ve had our first beer while contemplating the wonderful setting and culture of this area.
