This trip is an absolute must for any animal lover.The diversity of fauna that we saw in 2 weeks was absolutely incredible.The gorillas were absolutely adorable and it was fascinating seeing them so relaxed in a really beautiful setting.The rafting on the White Nile was absolutely increible and I would recommend this to anyone who is not scared of the water and is a confident swimmer as the likelihood of coming out is very high.I came out twice !!The Masai Mara was absolutely stunning and within a few hours had seen leopard,lions and cheetahs.The setting itself is also very dramatic.Our guide was absolutely brilliant.He had a great sense of humour and constantly had us in hysterics during the trip with his banter.The food was excellent and I am sure I have put on weight.
WOW! Talk about a holiday of a lifetime. This has to be one of the most amazing and special trips I have been on. From meeting the group at the airport I knew that it was going to be something special. Often as group leader, Benard and Nebert are fantastic at making you feel welcome and involving the entire group. There is a great bond between them and it was this bond and their fantastic characters that made the holiday so enjoyable for me, they are an ace team. A special mention to Benard as well for his cooking throughout the trip, he always accommodated people and the BBQ steak was awesome. Seeing all of the ‘big 5’ and all the other wildlife in their natural habitat is very special most of all, the Gorilla’s, for which we were incredibly lucky to see the famed Susa group. Most emotional and moving for everyone was definitely the orphanage which is doing such wonderful work, and the genocide museum which really hits hard. Thanks to each of the leaders and the rest of the group for making it such good fun, certainly memories that will last a lifetime.
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!
