Kenya and Uganda did not disappoint!

Mama Gorilla with baby in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda

We spent two weeks in Kenya in late August and two weeks in Uganda after that.  This was a fabulous month in eastern Africa for so many reasons!  

Great things about the Kenya part of our trip:  

The Old Friends reunion! Our guide and driver for two weeks was Amos, who was the guide that took us teachers around Kenya in 2013.  We booked our trip with the company he now works for. I've been in touch all these years and got to reunite with him, his wife, their son Adriel, and their daughter who I had never met, Eli.  And a brand new baby Zoe.

The Friends! We shared this with two couples who we know and love and who are our camper buddies.  Terri and Kent from Longmont and Joe and Nancy from Wisconsin. 

The Animals!  We saw so many animals doing what they do in their own habitat.  The Masai Mara (Serengeti) was so full of life! Every park we visited was interesting and fabulous.

The People! And we met wonderful local people working in the beautiful lodges.  And visited the Masai tribe and the Samburu tribe to learn more about their lifestyles.

Great things about the Uganda Part of our trip:

The Friends!  We planned this Uganda trip with Kirin and Matt in 2019 for spring of 2020.  Covid canceled it.  We rebooked and canceled due to covid a few times. And in fall of 2022 we all got there together!

The Animals!  Wild chimp trekking in the Kyambura Gorge was amazing.  Wow, they can scream and scared us.

Wild gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park were our main reason to go to Uganda and our two visits observing gorillas did not disappoint. Silverbacks are HUGE!

The People!  Everyone asks about gorillas, but I came home with new people in my heart.

The kids walking to school for miles in the dirt and dark.  So many people walking and motorbikes for transport on bumpy rutted roads.

The Batwa Pygmies outside of Buhoma where we stayed to go see gorillas in Bwindi National Forest and who have changed me. They are the poorest in one of the poorest countries in the world, yet they smile and laugh and find joy in life. They are my project.

The Karamajong in northern Uganda who are farmers and live a very primitive lifestyle in their villages. Who have nothing, but welcomed us and sang and danced for and with us.

We did not care for our main guide and driver, Moosa, but we really liked our final guide and driver in northern Uganda, James.  The guide can make or break the experience.

There is little infrastructure and maybe 100 miles of paved roads in the entire country of Uganda.  We saw Idi Amin's place in the north.  What a horrible legacy of terror that we hope never returns to these wonderful people.

loved seeing the elephants and especially the babies and teens

Scott and me with the Batwa Pygmies outside Bwindi National Forest, Uganda. 

riding bikes in Nairobi, Kenya with Terri & Kent, Joe & Nancy, and our guide Amos.

Giraffes are so elegant when they move.  Loved finding them!

Karamajong kids with Scott in northern Uganda

Waterbucks outside one of our rooms.

This Karamjong cutie was intrigued by us.  And us with her.

The brother of the chimp troop leader hung out near us for a long time.  The rest were very elusive and we only caught glimpses of them.

Kirin and Matt were our fabulous tour partners.  What a great adventure we shared this time!  

This is a leopard in a cactus tree!  We don't know how he got in there but it was a joy to find him.  We also saw cheetahs, lions, tree lions (very rare for lions to hang out in trees), hippos, hyenas, rhinos, hartebeests, wildebeests, cape buffalo, antelope, jackals, zebras, warthogs, baboons, maribou storks, various types of monkeys, and so many other animals.  Truly an amazing part of this world. 

  You can see why these giant males are called silverbacks.  This leader of the group kept an eye on us.  His head is much larger than the females too.

Our Kenya group - Scott and me, Terri & Kent from Longmont, Joe & Nancy from Wisconsin. 


Except for the long hours of flying, I would go back in a minute.  And hope to be back again soon.