written by symaa Navid
As in, I totally cried on my flight home and had to pretend that the tears were over my book. Though I don’t think the British couple decked out in expensive looking khaki next to me believed it, maybe because I was already hiccuping by the time I thought to pull out my book. They were unimpressed. I mean, I was unimpressed with myself too – shouldn’t I be better at leaving places by now? I can always return!2 Weeks in Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC.
But the thing about this trip was, it wasn’t just three African countries I had fallen in love with. I was also heartbroken over leaving my six new favorite travel buddies.
You see, my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa included another first: my first time traveling on a tour!
Anyone who knows me and my travel style might be raising their eyebrows right about now, which is exactly what I did when i finally decided to add also these countries to the list of other African countries i have visited so far. But luckily I had the sense to put those eyebrows back down where they belong and see what became one of my favorite trips yet. Seriously though, I wasn’t even getting carried away when yelling best trip everrrrr off the side of our boat on the sunset cruise down the Nile my last night in Uganda.
But before I get into recapping my trip and sharing all the photos (guys, so many photos), I thought I’d begin by telling you what the deal with this tour was, and why I loved it so much.
I also seemed to fall into two categories: either a backpacker wanting to start off another African by land adventure or a lost wanderer with a huge ass backpack moving without a next.
One pal also described me as a “hardy” unstopping man, as i never showed any sign of strangness ,or even never minding about going into some countries like Congo. In fact I think sometimes am nut or a crazy vagabond wanderer.
and here already made it to the Congo!
Aside all the stuffs being told about this country,Congo is so so so beautiful more i can say it in words ,from its people to nature.
Okay, so what did i do?
I’ll definitely be sharing more details about my favorite parts of this trip in future posts (volcanoes! gorillas!), but this was my basic itinerary:
Kigali, Rwanda
I started off in Kigali, where we explored the city, drank some of that famous Rwandan coffee, and visited the Genocide Memorial. I also had one of the best dinners at Heaven, which is a lovely boutique hotel and restaurant in town that also has a gallery featuring the works of local artists.
Climbing Mt. Nyiragongo in the Congo
I’ll definitely be writing more about Nyiragongo as it was probably the highlight of the trip for me (though also included several of the trip’s lowlights too – SPOILER: that hike is hard) but for now I’ll just say that the top of Mt Nyiragongo was one of the most breathtaking places I have been in my life.
Lake Bunyoni, Uganda
After hiking Nyirangongo I MET A group of other female tourist from Germany and we made our way to Lake Bunyoni in Uganda to recuperate for a couple of nights before my next intense hike.
I stayed at Byoona Amagara on Itambira Island, which was such a lovely retreat. There were lots of other travelers there too, so it would be a good place to meet people if you were on your own.
Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi National Park
And then i hiked back into the jungle to hang out with some gorillas!
Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park
After Bwindi i headed into Queen Elizabeth National Park to catch some glimpses of lions, elephants, and all sorts of other animals,damn this place is tremendous and stonishing where by frankly i highly recommend it to any one wishing to visit uganda .And as a reminder 70% of all countries a safe only what matters attimes the mode you conduct yourself can make it unsafe for you.
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale National Park
Though my overflowing inbox might just have been an excuse, as ever since a certain traumatic incident I’ve been pretty scared of monkeys. Okay, I know chimps aren’t monkeys, and I did love hanging out with the mountain gorillas, but chimps seem a little less laid back than gorillas. Remember when that chimp ripped that woman’s face off?
But if you’re interested in chimpanzee tracking, I did get all the details from the girls in the group who did it!
You can either go for a full day or half day, and after hearing everyone’s experiences I’d definitely go with the full day program.
The half day groups apparently spent most of their time staring at black dots high up in the trees, and then when one of the chimps did come down, all the different half day groups in the jungle ran after it with their cameras. And while a chimp being chased by 40 paparazzi might sound like material for a good joke, I think in reality it was a little disturbing.
The full day group, on the other hand, was able to spend some quality time with the chimps away from the other groups and their experience sounded downright amazing.
While in Kibale i stayed at Kibale Forest Camp, which was my favorite accommodation of the entire trip. We shared twin tents in the sweetest little bungalows, and it was by far the fanciest “camp” I’ve ever stayed at – they even woke us up with tea and made our beds in the morning!
Hairy Lemon Island
After a few more 5 am wakeup calls than I’m used to, it was really nice to then head to Hairy Lemon Island for some serious relaxation. The island doesn’t have electricity or much of anything to do besides relax along the Nile, and that’s exactly what we did.
Nile River Explorers in Bujagali, Jinja
I ended my trip in probably the most backpackery place i stayed – Nile River Explorers. Travelers come here for white water rafting and other adventure activities, but it was also just a great place to meet other backpackers and sob our farewell tears into the Nile.
And then I went on a move again on my trip through Africa~#NORTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA BACKPACKING!
Though that really doesn’t deserve an exclamation point. Ugh sometimes returning your normal backpacking on road and mostly it can just be so hard. I have fallen so immediately in love with also this region(Africa) of the world since Central Asia the Caucasus Siberia (okay fine, I guess I’m always giving my heart away to new places). But I guess that’s a good thing, because it means I can’t wait to go back when am done my rough mission of backpacking all countries in the world including photographing them,intergrating with natives, learning wold diff cultures – and I can’t wait to share more about these trips hence inspiring another that it doesnt only need to have money to travel and see the world!
i will be so humbled when getting your feedbacks through comments and as well as your recommedation of other African countries you would like e to cover.
copyright by navix creative visuals 2009 – 2019
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