Gorilla Trekking in Northern Uganda

I was based in Kisoro in Northern Uganda. It was an early start at 0615 the boda boda driver dropped me off at the Mgahinga National Park where I came to track Gorillas. So after paying the money, getting issued the permit, being thoroughly briefed on what you can and can not do, which included being debriefed on what you must do if you need to do a number 2 (You must dig a hole at least a meter deep and 200 meters away from the gorillas), I was off into the forest. 

I was lucky I was the only one who had a permit issued that day so it was just me the guide and the guy with the gun. I found the 1st 20 minutes hard because we were over 3500m above sea level. There was simply no air!! That’s my excuse anyway I am surely not that unfit. We trekked for around 2 hours and finally we found what I had come to see, a group of 9 Gorillas. I have seen King Kong but I could not believe how big they were. A 300kg beast just sitting there feeding. I was only about a meter away to one, the hairiest biggest backsides that I have ever seen.

They moved around a bit. Once you have located the gorillas you can only stay for a hour. The time flew and my time had come to a end. It was time to head back. We took a different route back I think we got lost for a bit there, but really nothing to be alarmed about. About an hour into the journey back I stood on a bit of grass that just sunk. I landed on a rock and twisted my leg a bit. It didn't really hurt, I was just glad I did not fall over. On arrival to the office back in the park I was issued with a certificate and the only ‘not negotiable’ thing on my Ugandan trip had come to an end. I got changed and that’s when I realized that I had pain in my knee. I went to get back to the main gate to jump back on my taxi but my driver was gone. I asked the guards where the closest spot I could get a taxi was and they said the next trading village was a 40 minutes to an hour walk away what a disaster!!

I started on my not so merry way and I thought I don’t want to travel far in an overcrowded bus as that would put strain on my knee. So I thought Rwanda is going to be my next destination, as we are right on the border. After I walked for 40 minutes I finally managed to get a boda boda to drop me off at the border.

So all that was left was a 50 meter walk to enter Rwanda, where you lose a hour of time, which I find amazing. I cleared customs, however immigration told me I did not have the right clearance to enter Rwanda. So after arguing my case for well over 2 hours and after a bit of, what some might call 'encouragement', he let me into Rwanda on a 'Transit Visa'.

Rwanda is one of the cleanest places I have been to in Africa. Not one person asked for money or harassed the white man which was brilliant. I rested overnight as there was only one bus that goes to Kampala. I jumped on the 1630 bus for a 13 hour mission which turned into a 15 journey back to Kampala. I managed to get out of Rwanda to my surprise and back to Kampala.

I still had a sore knee on Wednesday (5 days later) so I went to the doctor. As I was insured no appointment was required. An experience I would not recommend. I arrived at 9.45 and saw the first doctor at 12.00, got a scan at 14.00, saw the doctor who gave me my results at 16.00. It was horrible, especially as the doctor I saw was unable to communicate verbally - apparently there is more than one type of English. The assessment found in medical terms ‘post traumatic Heamoatherosis and Burstis’. In normal person’s language fluid in the lateral compartment of the joint space and some ill defined tendons (I think).

So I went and saw the bone specialist the next day a 3 hour process (9 hrs at the hospital over 2 days) where he gave me some drugs and made an appointment for a weeks time where another scan is going to be done  and if there is no improvement he will recommend key hole surgery.

I would recommend if anyone gets the chance to visit Eastern Africa, trekking the gorillas is one of the most amazing things that you will ever do. Believe me you surely will not go through the same events as what I incurred...... hopefully.