Acacia: Gorilla Encounter

Itinerary

• Day 1-2: Nairobi, Great Rift Valley

  Our safari begins in Kenya, one of Africa’s most welcoming countries, where the first words you hear are the Swahili greeting, jambo! (hello!), often followed by hakuna matata! (no problem!) From Nairobi we cross the Great Rift Valley, an enormous cleft in the Earth’s surface stretching north to the Red Sea and south to Mozambique. After stopping to admire the spectacular valley below us, we continue to Lake Nakuru National Park. Nakuru is best known for its wealth of birdlife, especially flamingos which feed in such numbers in the shallows that they form a pink fringe around the lake shore! Rhino, leopard, warthog, baboon and numerous other animals also inhabit the park and may wander through our camp during the night! Journeying on, we travel north through the highlands of Eldoret to the lush hills of Uganda.

• Day 3-6:Uganda, Kampala

  Uganda, nicknamed the ‘Pearl of Africa’ is a friendly and surprisingly green country. Our first stop is at Jinja, near the famed source of the Nile River. Time permitting, there are various activities available including white water rafting, guided walks, quadbiking and bungy-jumping! Alternatively, relax and admire the world’s longest river and the dramatic white water of Bujagali Falls from our camp. While here there is a chance to take part in a charity project involved in building and improving local community schools. Roll up your sleeves for the afternoon and make a difference! Further along the north shore of Lake Victoria we stay in Kampala.

• Day 7-11: Continuing to rural southwestern Uganda

  We pass through Mbarara and Kabale, and stop at Lake Bunyoni, a picturesque highland lake. We then move on to visit one of the gorilla parks in the area for the most exciting part of the trip - the trek to see the gorillas. This region is home to roughly half of the world's remaining Mountain Gorillas, and is one the few places where they survive in their natural habitat.

  Local guides lead us through thick mountain jungle. The trekking can be hard going at times but the hard work is forgotten once the gorillas have been located. We then have a one hour 'audience' with these gentle apes.

  Gorillas are very sociable creatures and live in families of 12-20 individuals, led by a dominant male (the so-called 'silverback') together with several adult females and numerous young. (NB: group sizes on trek are kept small to minimize the impact on the sensitive natural habitat, we may therefore spend several days here to allow all members of the group to view the gorillas.)

• Day 12-14: Kenya

  From Uganda we return to Kenya, crossing the equator and the Rift Valley to the bright lights and bustle of Nairobi, where our tour ends.

* All prices shown are for low season, per person, twin share. Click here to see full Terms & Conditions.