What an amazing adventure we had in Uganda and Rwanda. We have traveled to other parts of Africa on many occasions, but we have never been looked after so well as on our trip to Uganda and Rwanda organized by Self-Drive Kigali. Every day was absolutely amazing, made much more special by our wonderful driver and guide, Emma. He met us at Entebbe Airport with a warm and welcoming smile. Our first night was spent in the beautiful 2 Friends Entebbe on the shore of Lake Victoria.
Excellent fortnight spent at the Protea; clean, comfortable room, first class, friendly, customer centric, professional and enthusiastic staff, great food and a stunning location on the lakeside. Facilities included a decent gym, (didn’t use the spa), a dependable restaurant and a very pleasant pool and bar on the lakefront.
With the 4×4 Toyota Land Cruiser, Emma arranged to collect us the next morning to take us to Mabamba Swamp in the hope of spotting the elusive shoe bill. We were not disappointed. We couldn’t believe we were so close to a real, wild, and very rare shoe bill, watching it hunt in the swamp. Our first day was one we will never forget, as was every day of our trip. The drives between our lodges were between 4-6 hours, and the beautiful scenery was so interesting to see, as were the villages.
Emma looked after us so well, and made sure we had plenty to eat and drink on our road journeys. Next stop was the Crater Lakes Region where we trekked with the chimpanzees in Kibale rain forest. It was amazing, and again we got so close to the chimps. Emma was the perfect guide with a wealth of information. We learned so much about Ugandan politics, the people, the history and so much more.
Another day Emma drove us to Bigodi Wetlands, a local community initiative village, for a morning nature walk and an afternoon with the locals watching them prepare banana gin and coffee, and we even spent an hour with a local medicine man which was very interesting and eye-opening indeed! We saw so many beautiful birds there, including huge horn bills. Emma then drove us to the Queen Elizabeth National Park where we went lion tracking. We got so close to the tree climbing lions, we were just a few feet away! Such a fantastic photography experience.
The lions just lazily dangled from the tree branches; it was awesome. As well as the lions, we saw lots of elephants, hippos, buffalo, antelope, eagles and many more birds. After a night in Ishasha Plains, Emma drove us to the Bwindi Impenetrable Rain Forest where we stayed for three nights to go gorilla and golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga Park. On this drive the scenery changed to high mountains, steep valleys and beautiful lakes. We stayed in a very homely lodge where we were looked after so well by very kind, caring and lovely local people.
Our gorilla trekking adventure was an amazing experience we will certainly never forgot. After a quite strenuous trek through the jungle, we got so close to a huge silver back and his family, including the cutest three year old gorilla in the world. He was a real showman and stood on a tree branch in front of us, changing his poses for our pics and banging his chest with his fists. It was a magical moment.
The next day was spent trekking with the golden monkeys, another fantastic and amazing wildlife experience. I could use the word amazing in every sentence about Uganda. After another very interesting five hour drive through Rwanda, and a visit to the Kigali Genocide Museum which was so very touching, Emma dropped us off at Kigali Airport for our flight home.
By the time we said our goodbyes, Emma had become much more than a driver and guide; he had become our special friend. He had driven us 1100 miles in 11 days, sometimes on difficult and tricky roads. We loved Uganda and its people so much, and we are so looking forward to returning to see much more of this beautiful country. Thank you to Self-Drive Kigali, and especially Emma, for showing us the most amazing Ugandan adventure.
