Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla Safari

January 14-25, 2010

Expedition Summary

Embark on our "Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla Safari," tracking endangered mountain gorillas, taking in lush landscapes and learning firsthand about the history and cultural heritages of two fascinating countries. Begin with game drives to see lion, hippo and elephant in the magnificent Queen Elizabeth National Park. Continue with tracking the critically endangered mountain gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's dense primeval forests in Uganda and the Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda. Finish with a city tour of Kigali and a visit to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial.

In Uganda, described by Sir Winston Churchill as "The Pearl of Africa," visit the magnificent Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in the western arm of the Great East African Rift Valley and beneath the majestic backdrop of the Rwenzori Mountains. With its tropical forest, savannah, crater lakes and swamps, this verdant park is enchanting. Centered around Lake Edward and Lake George, and linked by the Kazinga Channel, the park is rich in wildlife, including hippo, buffalo, crocodile, tree-climbing lion, elephant and a vast array of birds. With over 500 bird species, Queen Elizabeth National Park is a mecca for birdwatchers.

The safari will also include chimp tracking in the beautiful Kyambura Gorge. Chimpanzees are found in a number of forests in Uganda, including the steeply forested sides of the Kyambura Gorge located near the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The gorge is also home to the red-tailed monkey, the black-and-white colobus monkey and many bird species. Tracking chimpanzees in this beautiful river valley is a breathtaking experience.

A highlight of the tour will invariably be the days spent tracking mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda and the Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda. In contrast to the 6.7 billion human beings living on our crowded planet, there are only 740 mountain gorillas (Gorilla Gorilla Berengei) left in the forgotten forests of central Africa. Spend two days tracking these fascinating creatures through the misty Ugandan and Rwandan forests. Gorilla tracking will require patience and stamina, not to mention long, but hopeful hours spent walking in sometimes muddy and wet conditions. But the payoff is the thrill of encountering one of our closest evolutionary relatives in their native habitat and observing their daily activities up-close in the undergrowth.

Along the way, visit schools, medical clinics and community projects in the company of our Smith faculty speaker, Joanne Corbin, Ph.D., who will offer her own interesting perspectives on both countries. Our journey comes to a close with a city tour of Kigali, Rwanda's colorful and bustling capital city, including a visit to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. Smith Travel is pleased to share this departure with the alumni of Dartmouth College. Join us in Africa this winter and encounter the extraordinary!

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Faculty Speaker

Joanne Corbin, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Smith College School for Social Work. Her professional area of interest is exploring the effects of forced involvement in armed conflicts on the psychosocial and cultural lives of children and adolescents in Africa. One of her current areas of research is a qualitative study focused on the experiences of formerly abducted children returning to their communities. This study examines the lives of individuals who were abducted during childhood and adolescence by the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, upon their return to their communities.

Note: Joanne Corbin will be bringing her unique perspective to this trip with lectures and impromptu talks. A Global Adrenaline tour leader and local guides will provide all logistical support and will share their local knowledge.

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The Smith Travel Difference

Smith Travel takes you to places you've never been and gives you access to people and places you might not encounter on your own. In addition to lectures with local naturalists and other experts, our group will enjoy memorable activities making this a trip that will have added value for our travelers.

      -     Experience up-close encounters with

      -     Learn about mountain gorilla conservation

            and behavior from the Mountain Gorilla

            Veterinary Project, which monitors,

            conducts health studies, and provides

            life-saving medical care to mountain

            gorillas in the field. 

      -     Enjoy exotic accommodations, from

            spectacular safari lodges to luxury tented

            camps, featuring stunning scenery and

            views of wildlife right outside your door.

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Experience Required

This trip is rated Moderate. No experience is required for this trip, but in order to fully enjoy the expedition's activities, participants must be fit, in good health and properly equipped. A wildlife safari is an adventurous experience-but not very physically demanding except for long drives on bumpy roads. Gorilla tracking in thick jungle at elevations ranging up to 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) can be tough, arduous and wet, and often includes hiking over uneven and through dense terrain. Please be sure to wear a sturdy pair of hiking boots while gorilla tracking and expect to walk at least 3-5 miles.

Note: For those needing additional assistance carrying personal gear while tracking wildlife, extra porters may be hired at an additional cost.

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Trip Registration

Space is limited. A non-refundable deposit of $1,750 will guarantee your reservation. Full payment is due by October 14, 2009. For more information or to register, please contact our tour operator directly:

Global Adrenaline

Phone: 312-863-6300 or 866-884-5622

Email: Smith@GlobalAdrenaline.com      

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Includes:

      -     Global Adrenaline tour

      -     local English-speaking Ugandan and Rwanda guides

      -     airport transfers when arriving on the designated arrival

            and departure days

      -     accommodations as indicated on the itinerary

      -     meals as indicated on the itinerary (B, L, D)

      -     bottled water on vehicles for transfers and activities

      -     activities as indicated on the itinerary

      -     transportation as indicated on the itinerary

      -     gorilla tracking permits on January 19 or 20 and

            January 22

      -     tips and gratuities

      -     entrance fees to national parks, sites and museums

Does Not Include:

      -     international and domestic flights (approximately

            $2,000-$2,500 for USA - East Africa - USA flights)

      -     international airport departure tax ($20)

      -     beverages (discretionary)

      -     travel insurance (discretionary)

      -     optional third gorilla tracking permit on January 23

            ($500)

      -     optional extra porter to assist while gorilla tracking

            (if needed to carry personal gear)

      -     passport fees, visas, and visa photos as required

            (discretionary)

      -     phone calls, laundry and other items of a personal

            nature (discretionary)

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Trip Itinerary

January 14 and 15:  Depart the U.S.A. Arrive in Uganda

Depart the U.S.A. and arrive into Entebbe International Airport (EBB). Meet your safari guide and driver just outside of the baggage collection area and transfer to our luxury hotel in Kampala.

January 16:  The Equator and Kazinga Channel Cruise

Pass through the verdant rolling hills of the Ugandan countryside en route to Queen Elizabeth National Park, stopping at the Equator for a photo opportunity and rest stop.

After checking into our safari lodge, enjoy an afternoon boat trip with intimate views of hippos huffing and spraying, buffalos drinking in the shallows, and an incredible variety of birds flocking on the channel's edge. Look for malachite and pied kingfishers, great white and pink-backed pelicans

and the open-billed stork. Have dinner at the safari lodge.

(B, L, D)

January 17:  Kyambura Gorge and Queen Elizabeth National Park

Report in the early morning to the ranger station in Kyambura Gorge to track habituated chimpanzees. These delightful apes are more closely related to humans than to any other living creature, and are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in the trees. The chimpanzees are quite mobile and this wildlife viewing experience is unpredictable. It will take anywhere from 15 minutes to 5 hours to reach the chimpanzees, but the walk is captivating. 

After lunch, enjoy a late afternoon game drive to view a wealth of animals such as elephant, lion, hyena, and Ugandan Kob. Have dinner at the safari lodge. (B, L, D)

January 18:  Ishasha and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Today, pass through the remote southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park known as Ishasha, famous for its tree-climbing lions. View buffalo, topi, hippo and other wildlife. Continue towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, admiring the excellent views of the Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda on the way. Although best known for its mountain gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park also attracts spectacular birds, including many endemic to the area, like the bar-tailed trogon and

the kivu ground thrush. Make yourself at home

at one of two lodges, your base for the next three

nights. (B, L, D)

January 19 and 20:  Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - Gorilla Tracking, Village Walk and Clinic Visit

For the next two days the group will be split into two, with one group gorilla tracking, and one group exploring the village. Group Number 1 will go gorilla tracking on January 19 and Group Number 2 will go gorilla tracking on January 20.

Gorilla trackers will report to the ranger station in the early morning and accompany guides and park rangers through the bush to track the mountain gorillas. This trek can take from 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the gorilla group is on that particular day. Sit in the forest among the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male silverback.

Those who are not gorilla tracking will enjoy a guided village walk to see how the local Ugandans live, including a visit to the local medical clinic. Visit a banana wine maker, meet a witch doctor, and enjoy a dance performance by the Batwa pygmies. If there is time, take a guided walk on the Munyaga River Trail which leads to three crystal clear waterfalls set amid a profusion of tree ferns and orchids, the air thick with Bwindi's colorful array of butterflies. (B, L, D)

January 21:  Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda

Drive through the heart of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to Rwanda, "the land of 1,000 hills." Traveling through the lush countryside, cross the border and enjoy a picnic lunch en route to your Parc National des Volcans lodge. In the afternoon, visit the Mwiko Primary School or the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project.

(B, L, D)

January 22:  Parc National des Volcans - Gorilla Tracking

In the early morning, report to the park headquarters to embark upon your Rwandan mountain gorilla experience in the lush mountain forest on the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes. Listen to the sounds of the rainforest as you track the gorillas, glimpsing other wildlife along the way. Gorilla tracking usually takes a half-day. Some gorilla families, however, are more elusive or farther away, and tracking can take a full day, especially when it

is wet and muddy. (B, L, D)

January 23:  Parc National des Volcans - Golden Monkey Tracking or Hike to Dian Fossey's Memorial. Transfer to Kigali

Spend the morning tracking endangered golden monkeys through bamboo forests, or hiking to Dian Fossey's Memorial. Golden monkeys are among the most endangered primates in Africa and it is now thought that the only viable population of these monkeys is in the Virunga Mountains. For an additional charge, and based on permit availability, you also have the opportunity to do an optional third day of gorilla

tracking.

Drive to Kigali in the late afternoon and check into our hotel. This evening, gather for a farewell dinner celebrating your safari adventure. (B, L, D)

January 24 and 25:  Kigali City Tour. Depart for Home. Arrive in the U.S.A.

Tour the capital city of Kigali, including a visit to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. The Memorial includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the genocide of 1994. There is also a children's memorial, and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. Transfer to Kigali International Airport for return flights home, arriving the next day. (B)

Photographer Credits: Dick Dodds, Meredith Mason

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