Highlights

  • Game Drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park
  • Boat Cruise to see famous hippo recreation ground
  • Gorilla Trek in Bwindi National Park, Impenetrable Forest
  • Volunteer at a local community project Kids Club Kampala

The first half of your trip will take you to Bwindi Impenetrable forest were you will be highly inspired by the sight of the giant mountain gorillas. Later you will continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park – the world’s most biodiversity wildlife sanctuary featuring climbing lions, leopard, hippos, elephants, buffaloes not forgetting the beautiful launch cruise along Kazinga channel.

Over the next week you will be working with Kids Club Kampala’s out-of-school children to help teach them basic English, reading, writing, and to assist with their feeding programme. These education classes not only help children with their education and give them vital life skills, but also give the children a safe place every evening. Living in the slums can be dangerous, and these classes provide the children with a safe environment and sense of community, where they can keep out of trouble, out of danger and build up a trusting relationship with each other and the KCK volunteers. 

Kids Club Kampala works with some of the most vulnerable and poor communities in the urban slums in and surrounding Kampala, Uganda, currently reaching over 4000 children and their families every week. The children that they are working with come from extremely poor households and the conditions in Kampala’s slums are shocking. People face problems of overcrowding, poor sanitation, insufficient shelter and food insecurity on a daily basis. Many families survive on just one meal per day and cannot afford to send their children to school.

Currently working in 18 communities across Uganda, Kids Club Kampala is making a huge difference in the lives of so many children and individuals. They passionate about empowering these children and communities, letting them know they are loved and are worth something, and helping them to overcome their situations of poverty.

 

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and Welcome

You will arrive at Entebbe airport where our staff will welcome you and take you to the hotel to get the important rest before your safari starts. Meal Plan: No meals included on the day of arrival Transfer time: 10 minutes

Day 2: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

You will be picked up at 7:00am by a guide at the Papyrus Guesthouse from where you will continue your journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Queen Elizabeth is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Ruwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park has prolific game, including gazelle, Uganda kob, warthog and waterbuck. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park. Be prepared for huge numbers of hippo and elephant, and keep your eyes peeled for a leopard lazing in the sunshine. In the late afternoon you will go for a game-drive into the park. Your lodge is located on the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park, overlooking the spectacular Kazinga Channel. Watch wildlife from your own private verandah and fall asleep to the roaring of lions on the distant savannah. This truly is Africa. Dinner and overnight stay at Marafiki Safari Lodge. Meal Plan: Full Board Journey Time: 7-8 Hours

Day 3: Game Park Drive & Boat Safari

Wake up before sunrise when coffee, tea and donuts will be served in the lounge before we head out for a long game drive in time to see the first rays of light. You will search for all the wildlife in the park and are likely to come across Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Waterbuck, Leopard, Uganda Kob, and many Warthogs. A well-deserved brunch will be served back at the lodge in the late morning. In the afternoon you will take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel which joins Lake George and Lake Albert. Here, you will see a lot of hippos (more than you can possibly imagine!), as well as a variety of other animals which come to the waterhole to drink or bathe. You can expect to see buffalo, crocodile, bathing elephant, and a range of beautiful birds. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of your tour. After the boat-safari you game drive back to the lodge at Marafiki Safari Lodge. Meal plan: Full Board Journey Time: Game drive hours only

Day 4: Tree Climbing Lions - Bwindi National Park

Today you will go to the southern part of Queen Elizabeth NP. This area is called Ishasha and is famous for its tree-climbing-lions! To escape from the heat during the day, the lions learned how to climb the fig trees. We hope you get lucky and spot the king of the jungle in one of the huge fig trees. After lunch we will proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest for tomorrow’s gorilla tracking. Dinner and overnight at Mucha River Lodge. Meal Plan: Full Board Journey time: 5 hours

Day 5: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Forest

Today is the big day of gorilla trekking, meet Uganda's gentle giant!  The gorillas you track belong to one of nine habituated family groups who can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees - the only forest in Africa which can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primate, 113 species of mammal, over 200 butterflies and 360 birds. En route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity, including dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Your track will be an exciting journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes and bamboo before you eventually reach the gorilla family. The time taken to track the gorillas can be as few as 2 hours to as many as 7 hours. Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic and privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda’s very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’. After Gorilla tracking you will be transferred back to your hotel for Dinner and overnight at Mucha River Lodge Meal Plan: Full Board Journey Time: 2 – 7 hours, varies

Day 6: End of the Tour - Transfer to Kids Club Kampala

After an early breakfast, your driver/ guide will drive back to Entebbe stopping at the equator for the requisite snapshot and a bit of souvenir shopping. You will reach Kids Club Kampala Guesthouse where your volunteering program starts next morning. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch Journey Time: 8 hours

Day 7-12: Volunteering at the Kids Club Kampala

During the volunteering you’ll be staying at the KCK guesthouse which is basic but comfortable, with a communal hang out room, patio, wi-fi and free laundry service. A sample itinerary of your volunteering program will be provided upon enquiry. Meal Plan: Full Board Journey Time: 8 hours

Day 13: Departure

You will be picked up from the Papyrus Guesthouse and transferred to the airport. Meal Plan: Breakfast