Gorillas & the big 5, an amazing adventure Excellent trip with the major highlights being the gorilla trekking at the beginning and the wildlife safaris in Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara at the end (and we got to see all of the Big 5). Uganda was slightly disappointing, as we had to miss the Lake Mburo stop due to weather, although I did enjoy the white water rafting in Jinja. The crew were excellent and the accommodation was good throughout and it was a great group. Overall I had a fantastic time.
What an amazing experience! I cannot praise this holiday enough! If you are wondering about whether to book this holiday or not, stop wondering and hurry up and book it!
This was not the trip I had planned to take over Christmas, but it turned out to be truly rewarding, overall, although a little more of a heads-up regarding the gorilla trek would not go amiss. The whole trip may be rated as "2" - leisurely - and, for the most part you are travelling in a truck and this describes it well, but the mountain trek is definitely a "4", minimum (and I've been on a "3" and it was more demanding than that!). After 3-and-a-half hours up and down the mountain, mostly in pouring rain and hail, exhaustion was setting in when we reached our gorilla family - but the encounter really made the effort worthwhile.
Looking back, however, most of my photos were shot long before we arrived in Rwanda - the game drives through the Masai Mara were very successful! In all of the drive, the only thing we missed was a leopard, but we did get to see rarities like the serval and jackel, so that was very satisfying.
Some of the so-called "comfortable" camps were a bit of a let down, with poor washrooms and very elderly tents, badly in need of replacement, but the Exodus camps were great, as was our superb team lead by Peter Kiptoo, driver Boniface, cook Esther and assistant Amos. They really helped to make the experience all the more memorable by looking after us all so well.
This is a trip to be recommended!