Gorillas & Masai Mara - Camping Reverse

Something you can’t plan with any trip is your group or the wild animals. I’m happy to say that both were amazing. As lucky as we were to see up close and personal all the wonderful Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Lions, Leopards and so much more… Not forgetting the humble Warthog. This was greatly enhanced by fabulous tour leaders, drivers and chefs. We we’re always well looked after. Jacob our guide was knowledgeable, approachable and made absolutely sure we wouldn’t get eaten at night. Our chefs excelled themselves and turned out delicious food in interesting makeshift kitchens. Our driver was a stone cold legend, keeping us safe in long and challenging journeys. If I had one criticism it is simply that a final night in Nairobi prior to flying home would have been welcomed into the schedule. This would allow the group to settle and reorganise after a long camping trip as opposed to a long drive and flight straight out where goodbye’s were rushed.

Saw the most incredible wildlife, expert and professional team in Gilbert, Albert, Stoney and James and a wonderful road trip across E. Africa.

Long travel days, early mornings, tough tracking terrain, beautiful scenery, very changable weather, history lessons, amazing animal sightings, upset tummies, Masai and Batwa villages, hot and cold showers, trucks in ditches, border crossings, picnic lunches, and sooooooo much more

A very good but exhausting holiday with long truck journeys, heavy rain, early wet mornings but with magnificent sightings of all of East Africa's animals. The crew were exceptional with each member doing their job diligently and were a great help to us travellers. The following day's program were clearly explained each evening with questions asked and answered. Although I had no regrets about going on this holiday, I was just grateful that I did the reverse journey as I'm not sure that I would appreciate a six hour trek to see the gorillas at the end of the holiday - at 67, I'm not sure that I would have made it. Overall, I'm glad that I went.

This is a trip that's worth every single buck. I'll list the pros and cons though. Pros: Gorilla tracking is physically demanding. So is waking up very early every morning, travelling long distances and camping. Wildlife in Masai Mara is fantastic, no other national parks measure up to it in terms of sightings during this trip. When at the beginning of the trip energy level is high, better to do the gorilla tracking etc. Then in the end of the trip be rewarded by extraordinary wildlife viewing in Masai Mara. The crew was really great (except one) but Albert (chef) requires special mention because he was funny, kind and fed us amazing food. Stoney (driver) was very helpful and was always helpful with information. Cons: In some camping sites there is no Wi-Fi or internet, if we were informed before could tell our family not to worry if they didn't hear from us on certain dates. The truck was too old and dusty, some of the windows were difficult to open and close. We even had a breakdown close to Lake Bunyoni and that was only the beginning of the trip! Although Gilbert arranged alternative for reaching the campsite soon. On the days of long drive, why we stopped for lunch (sandwiches) which required preps and thus wasted time is beyond my understanding. There were days when we were given packed lunches (when went on game drives). Why couldn't the same be done which would have saved time and effort of the crew? Especially as bread in Uganda was horrible. The water pump was the most inconvenient thing ever! After a certain level it required one hand to hold the bottle, one to hold the neck of the pump and another to actually pump water! I've only two and one of crew member who was basically Man Friday, got annoyed because I was asking for help. He also tried to sell me wildlife photos (I'm a photojournalist and was travelling with pro cameras) but I didn't encourage him.