Zimbabwe has hit the news for all the wrong reasons again.  We must be stoics – at some point the politicians have to get it right and we’ll see some positive change. 

For 8 years we’ve been set to join a small vanguard rebuilding Zimbabwe’s safari industry.  We can wait. 

So in the meantime we’re hanging in and despite the travel warnings we’re still actively inviting enquiries and positively encouraging clients to visit the country! 

We haven’t completely lost our senses… our travel advice for Zimbabwe is fairly qualified and updated regularly.

Over the last few years we’ve spent time exploring primate safaris in Madagascar, Tanzania, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Uganda and Rwanda.  Chris guided his first group in Uganda in 1992, Trish has covered it during the last few years and John investigated most recently.

Notes from John Berry…

The recent “wet season” Ugandan trip was a refreshing step back into the simple and unsophisticated ways of being on safari.

First stop.  Emin Pasha is a first class “boutique hotel” in the centre of Kampala.  A great place to start or end any Ugandan trip – outstanding food, great service and fine wine.  One is lulled by its relaxed and civilised atmosphere, you could be in any capital city of the world!

That all changes quickly.  Ndali Lodge, a 5 hour drive from Entebbe is perched high on the rim of Lake Nyinambuga.  Dawn views over the lake and sunset views across rolling hills, more crater lakes and farmland towards the Ruwenzori Mountains. 

Quite a spot with dogs at your feet, a good telescope, a small selection of Africana books, no electricity, no solar power. The water’s piping hot from a “donkey boiler” fed by a Vulcan Hydraulic Ram from the Crater Lake below – 1774 technology!

Dinner is served under loads of candlelit chandeliers over an old banquet table.  Ask for the wine list and George takes you to the wine rack and passes a corkscrew.  The main course may well have been one of the chickens in the yard.  Served full of flavour with local vegetables, herbs and spices.  There’s no mistaking it, this is old Africa.  As is customary the company is genial and the smiles are warm and relaxed.

There’s nothing too sophisticated about it either, and quite frankly that’s much of Uganda’s charm.

Gorillas and chimps are the big draw card however and we had outstanding encounters.  I was in the company of “Ham the Man”, Hamidu Juuko, a quietly spoken Professional Guide who regarded our time with the Mubare group in Bwindi as the best he’d had.  We just never ran short of photo opportunities and still had moments to appreciate what was happening in the group around us.

Some people remember their first exchange with gorillas as “life changing” and whether you’ve done a single or a dozen treks you’re always going to find yourself humbled and perhaps a bit lost for words afterwards.

Chimp treks in Kibale and Chambura Gorge were noisy, hectic, frantic moments with only a few quiet minutes to spare.  As is often the case with chimps the photos are mostly inadequate. 

There’s so much more to Uganda than tracking primates though.  Queen Elizabeth National Park, Ishasha and Lake Mburo are truly under-rated for tree-climbing lions, elephants, masses of kob, great herds of buffalo, shoebills and loads of “lifers” for seasoned bird enthusiasts!  Crater Lakes, savannah, great forests, woodlands and kopjes.  Over 1000 bird species, 1200 butterflies species, orchids, epiphytic ferns and hundreds of tree species make it a naturalist’s gem. Uganda is a place where they say you bury a burnt match in the morning and return in the afternoon to find a tree growing in its place.

I came away feeling that if you took all of Uganda’s big features and attractions away there’re still month’s worth of serious exploration to be had just in Kibale or the QENP’s Maramagambo forest alone.

So next time I’m in Uganda it might just be for a month in a quiet and remote little tree house in Kibale…even if we don’t finish off with a mouth watering steak at Emin Pasha!!

Some Uganda planning tips

• Plan as far in advance as possible – we have access to permits up to 2 years ahead. 
• Current permit allocations per day: Bwindi-Buhoma 24; Bwindi-Nkuringo 8; Rwanda 40; DRC 8+32 maybe.  No amount of money will purchase unavailable permits.  Fixed at $500 each in Uganda and Rwanda.
• Set flights 12 months in advance and the permits and best available accommodation is guaranteed.  If last minute permits become available then chances are that accommodation is “potluck”.
• Getting around Uganda can be expensive to do properly especially if Semliki, Murchison and Kidepo are on the agenda.
• If you don’t have the budget then join a group (we have set date trips available 18 months in advance)
• Private trips give us best access and flexibility to spend extra time wherever needed but watch the calendar – July to October gets block booked in advance so remember to plan a year up front. 

Travel to Uganda demands a sense of adventure.  The roads can be long and fairly arduous, other infrastructure is fairly basic, service standards don’t match those you’ll get in Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania or Kenya and activities like tracking gorillas through thick forest in wet conditions can be challenging etc. 

Some of the advantages are obvious but at the end of it, so long as you understand what Uganda offers you’re likely to come with a far better sense for having experienced “real Africa”, warts and all.

…and if you find that old Kibale tree house fully booked next “dry season” then you know the last incumbent decided to reserve it again!

...a selection of shots from the web album    

The 2008 High Season Starts

Our traditional busy period starts 3rd week June to end October.  Zambezi rafting has just restarted now that the high water floods have passed; our migrant birds have headed north; our “champagne” period during May and June produced crystal clear daytime skies with cold and crisp starlit nights; we expect bushfires to start adding haze in the next month or so. 

Conditions are just perfect at the moment with best game reports from friends and clients who’ve spent the early part of the season in the Luangwa, Mana Pools and Lower Zambezi areas.

Rains in East Africa have been sparse over the last few months and the Serengeti is drying out quickly.  The Grumeti pools are forming already and with better rains further north the migration is showing real signs of moving from the Western Corridor up to Bologonja and the Mara. 

Availability in the better spots through most of Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania during July and August is very tight.  Kenya has good availability through the rest of the season.

Drop a note if you’re looking for some last minute availability between now and September.  Look out for October and November specials in the next month or so.

Char is a new gran to twins; Sam and Jools are back from their Zambian wanderings; Liz is back from her Mozambican and SA travels; Jane is languishing in the Scilly Isles; Lynda’s tracking lions and leopards in the Luangwa; Jackie’s husband Mark has joined the UK team and is being hastened through his induction; Neil is helping out during high season; Ashton and Corrie are working on some of our web projects for two months. 

The rest of the team are chained to their desks and so we do a head count of who was in the Devon office on the day and send our footnote photograph to the rest of the gang.

Then we thought we'd extend our congratulations to Robert Mugabe...

...and then we're off again!

Remember that if you’re in Scotland or England this summer then look out for us at:

The Scottish Game Fair :  hosted by Scotland's Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust from 4 to 6 July 2008 in the grounds of Scone Palace, Perthshire.  Trish, Chris, John and a Kenyan guest will be hunting haggis in their spare time.

The British Birdwatching Fair :  the largest international birdwatching event in the world from 15 to 17 August at Rutland Water, Oakham (105 miles north of London).

You’re a Kenyan bush pilot working for Blue Sky Aviation.  

You fly in some critical medical supplies, enjoy a quick lunch at the hospital.

It's a stifling 40 degrees in the shade and you're eager to get back up to the cool, high blue yonder.

On the way back to your plane, you discover that the only bit of shade within 1 mile has become very popular.

You start calculating the distance to the plane door and wonder......
 
‘Do I feel lucky today?'

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