SARAHS EXPERIENCE OF UGANDA
Having visited dry savannahs of Kenya and vast deserts of Namibia and Morocco, my naivety upon discovering how lush Uganda is, was a pleasant shock. The people were lovely too, not pushy, but shy, also proud and willing to please always with a genuine smile.

Uganda is rich in rainforest vegetation, lakes, spectacular scenery, and the Big Five. Animals viewed on game drives were numerous buffalo, elephant, giraffe, zebra, warthog, many species of nervous and magnificent antelope, various amusing monkeys, baboons also a handful of tree climbing lions. White rhino too, in Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, 6 of them have 7000 fenced hectares to explore. Leopards are present but elusive. Hippopotamus and crocodiles were near-constantly spotted from boat trips, vibrant birds too - spectacular and prolific in all parts of the country. Tracking habituated (used to humans being nearby) chimpanzees was one of our rainforest activities.

The highlight was the lifetime privilege of sharing an hour with the other habituated ape - gentle mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - an experience never to be forgotten despite the strenuous task of trekking to them for hours through steep rainforest terrain!

Most locations have clean eco lodges or community camps as well as higher range. Electricity is still scarce in remote areas, especially villages which neighbour national parks, as is hot water - it is the norm to order it in advance of shower time.

The diet is heavily based on carbohydrates. Stews and curries are accompanied by potatoes in all forms, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, mashed maize flour, mashed millet, mashed bananas, chapattis or rice.

After several early starts, a further 3 hours flying, took us to simmering Zanzibar island for a few days of beach bliss. Startlingly turquoise waters, yellow sandy beaches, snorkelling, diving and delicious food and cocktails were all enjoyed with the sun burning down intensely. A truly memorable experience of Africa.

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