9 Day Uganda Wildlife Safari, Water Rafting & Abseiling Trip
Overview
With inflatable rafts to navigate the longest African river & historically considered the word’s longest thought has been contested by research suggesting that Amazon river is slightly longer. Up to grade 5 rafting is considered one of the best one day whitewater rafting trips in the world. Visit the Sipi Falls on the foothills of Mt Elgon National Park for Abseiling & further to kidepo valley National Park for wildlife Safari + Rhino Tracking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary & Wildlife Ranch.
Included/Excluded
- Meals ( 8 Breakfasts )
- Accommodation listed on the itinerary or similar
- Ground transfers in a standard safari Van
- Rhino trekking permit
- Park entrance fees KVNP
- Abseiling
- White water rafting
- Coffee Tour
- Game drives
- Services of English speaking driver.
- Price excludes all things of personal nature like the bar bills, visas, gratitudes, personal insurance, porter hire among others
Tour Plan
Day 1; Entebbe/Kampala city tour and transfer to Jinja
Entebbe/Kampala city tour and transfer to Jinja
After a leisurely morning breakfast at your Hotel, your guide driver meets you and shortly after safari briefing visit the mabamba swamp for shoebill stock Trekking. If time allows visit the gaddafi mosque and then transfer to Jinja the adventure capital of East Africa. Overnight at Nile River Camp (Budget). Upgrade available at the following facilities
1) 2 friends Hotel (Midrange)
Day 2; Uganda Whitewater Rafting Bujagari Jinja
While most people come to Uganda for the chance to go gorilla & Chimpanzee Trekking, other activity often ends up being a surprise highlight: white water rafting on the River Nile. Even first-time rafters report that spending a half or full day paddling & plunging down the river, crashing through deep rapids or gliding over silky green sections of calm water, is exhilarating. A riverside barbecue half way through or at the end rounds off the experience, & in fact the whole experience of rafting rounds out a trip to Uganda, too, complementing the awesomeness of hanging out with gorillas with the adrenaline of plunging down the longest river in the world.
After your Early morning breakfast, transfer to the start point for your whitewater rafting adventure for a half day or full day. After the experience return back to the camp for chill out & relaxing while going through the experience in pictures. Overnight at Nile River Camp. Upgrade available at
1) 2 friends Guesthouse
Day 3; Jinja transfer to Sipi Falls on the foothills of Mt Elgon
After a leisurely morning breakfast, Visit the source of the river Nile and then drive to the Eastern Uganda towards Sipi Falls. Found at the foothills of Mountain Elgon just at the edge of Mount Elgon National Park. The falls are one of the most awe-inspiring sights in Eastern Uganda. Overnight at Casa Sipi Falls Lodge or similar. Upgrade available at Sipi River Lodge
Day 4; Abseiling, rock climbing & Coffee Tour Sipi Falls
Abseiling, rock climbing & Coffee Tour Sipi Falls
Sipi Falls offers an unrivaled opportunity in Uganda for hiking and trekking some of the country’s most stunning topography, taking in commanding views, and authentic encounters with the area’s local residents.
The main attraction to the area is, of course, the stunning collection of three waterfalls known as Sipi Falls. But simply viewing this natural wonder from afar is not enough. To truly experience Sipi Falls, you’ll want to get up close and personal.
That means Abseiling down & hiking the breathtaking route that weaves its way through the three falls, taking in stunning vistas and every day life of local farmers and herders.
After a leisurely breakfast, you will go for Abseiling and rock climbing which would be followed by coffee tour. Overnight at Casa Sipi Falls Lode or Similar. Upgrade available at Sipi River Lodge
Day 5; Sipi falls - Moroto & participate in the traditional kalamajong Village experience
After an early morning breakfast transfer to Moroto, you will be participate in the Karamojong traditional village experience with the option to stay a night in a traditional hut in the village. A Manyatta is a traditional homestead where the Karimojong still live life like their ancestors & conduct cultural traditions that have been passed on for many generations. You will be introduced into the culture by taking you to the beating heart of the community and invite you to participate in daily life activities. From preparing local foods to celebrations, this will be an unforgettable journey. Overnight at Kara Tunga Safari Camp.
Day 6; Moroto transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park
An early morning breakfast transfer to Kidepo valley National Park. The 1,442 square kilometres national park in the Karamoja region in northeast Uganda. Kidepo is rugged savannah, dominated by the 2,750 metres Mount Morungole and transacted by the Kidepo and Narus rivers. Overnight at Apoka Uwa Bandas. Upgrade available at
1) Kidepo Savannah Lodge (Midrange)
2) Adere Safari Lodge (Luxury)
3) Apoka Safari Lodge (High End)
Day 7; Game drives Safaris Kidepo Valley National Park
After early morning breakfast, we will set off for a 2 to 3 hours morning game drive to Kidepo Valley National Park as we search for lions, extinct cheetahs and leopards. After the morning game drive, we shall return to the safari banda/lodge for another breakfast. Then we’ll relax as we wait for the afternoon activity. In the afternoon, we will briefly visit the Karamojong for a cultural trail and have another afternoon game drive that is packed with lots of wildlife. Overnight at Apoka Uwa Bandas. Upgrade available at
1) Kidepo Savannah Lodge (Midrange)
2) Adere Safari Lodge (Luxury)
3) Apoka Safari Lodge (High End)
Day 8; Wildlife Safari Kidepo Valley Np transfer to Gulu
After early morning breakfast, we will set off for a farewell 2 to 3 hours morning game drive in Kidepo Valley National Park as we try again for our last chance to spot lions, extinct cheetahs and leopards. After the morning game drive, we will embark on the journey driving to Gulu. It’s quite a pleasant stop, with friendly locals, a relaxed feel and nice spots to hang out. It is the largest town in northern Uganda, one of the hardest hit during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict. Overnight at Acholi Inn. Upgrade available at Churchill Courts Gulu.
Day 9; Gulu - Rhino Tracking, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary - Entebbe
After early morning breakfast, we will embark on the journey to Kampala/Entebbe. We will stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking. Thereafter, proceed to Kampala/Entebbe marking the end of the 9 days tour. Your guide/driver will drop you at your desired location in Kampala or Entebbe. Alternatively, he will drop you off at the airport for your outbound departure time.
Request Quote
Communication via WhatsApp to make arrangements went very smooth with Aron being quick and clear in his responses.
Aron drove us most of the time, but we also had a ride with driver Barnice. Every time they were in time, most of the times even early to make sure we could leave whenever we wanted. The service was more than just a private taxi service: Aron told us many interesting things about Uganda and let us taste some local food. That really made our trip more colourful and interesting.They know a lot of good places all over the country, like restaurants and accomodation. Although we organized our trip by ourselves, that was still an advantage. Above that, Aron uses his business in Uganda to help other Ugandans as well.
We would definitely recommend to travel with Safari 2 Gorilla Tours.
Jon Peters
USA
In my iniitial email to him I had explained that I'm Kenyan and would be travelling to Rwanda from Nairobi, Kenya. As an east African citizen I thought this information was useful in terms of national park fees and so on; little did I know that it would affect my whole Gorilla trek experience.
I'd settled the balance of my invoice in November 2019 and Aron emailed to confirm full payment. I never heard from Aron again except when I emailed him to find out the arrangements for when I arrived in Rwanda. At the time I didn't think much of it as I'd read so many glowing reviews of Aron and his tour company; his attentive nature, professionalism and general good nature. A fortnight or so before my arrival I'd still not heard from him so I emailed to find out the itinerary for when I arrived in Rwanda - nothing. Just a curt response confirming that he had the number for my hotel and presumably (Aron did not confirm) that he would call me at my hotel to arrange a time to pick me up from my hotel.
I arrived at the hotel, following a 10 hour flight from London on Friday, 24 January to find there was no message was left by Aron advising when I'd be picked up the following day. On Saturday, 25 January at about 9 am the receptionist knocked on my door to inform me that a driver had arrived to pick me up and drive me to Uganda. As I'd not had any advance information of this arrangement I was not ready; i hadn't showered or eaten breakfast. And so we did not set off until gone 10 am. This was the first poor service i'd received.
I'd paid for a 3-day Gorilla trek etc which included on the first day a visit to the Rwanda Genocide memorial. When the driver set off we'd been driving and passed a sign to the memorial site, after almost an hour I asked if we were still going to the memoial site, and only then did the driver inform me that due to the late departure he had decided to postpone the visit to the memorial until the return leg of my three day trip. The second poor service i'd received.
Bwindi national park is in Uganda and so I was driven through Rwanda to Uganda via a land border, an eight hour journey that ordinarily shouldn't have taken that long. The third poor service.
During the drive Aron maintained constant communication with the driver - whose name escapes me - and not once did he ask the driver to pass the phone to me so that he could speak to me. By that I mean even welcoming me, asking me how my trip was, finding out if there was anything I needed, any issues or problems with the trip I'd paid for. The fourth poor service I received
When we arrived at Rushaga camp each visitor at dinner was assigned a table with the name of their guide on it; stupidly I immediately thought Ohhh so Aron had sent a driver to pick me up from Rwanda and that now I was going to meet him! How wrong i was. When i sat down expecting to meet Aron who should turn up? but the driver! Cheekily I asked if he was Aron and offended he curtly replied no!. When i asked what happend to Aron he informed me that Aron had been in constant communication throughout the day! When I asked why Aron hadn't even said hello or welcomed me he just said that Aron was on another tour. At that moment I realised what was happening and why. In Aron's eyes I was a black African tourist that yes, had paid for the same service and support that my white counterparts had received but due to his low perception of me and fellow black Africans I did not warrant the same service, attention, or even respect. I did not speak to the driver again for the rest of the evening. I was surrounded by fellow travellers that were accompanied by guides who made them feel welcome, valued and respected; they sat together sharing stories from their travels whilst I and the driver sat silently. Even as I tried to get the driver to understand how insulted and disrespected I felt he just didn't get it. A part of me feels if i was white he wouldn't have found it so hard understanding how poorly I'd been treated. But as a black African what reason did I have to complain? The fifth poor service I'd received
On the second day i was due to visit Mgahinga national park almost a two hour drive away. As debrief started at 8 am we arranged to leave Rushaga Gorilla camp by 6 am; arranging to meet for breakfast at 05:30 am. 06:00 am the driver was nowhere to be found. Finally at 06:30 he appears in the dinning room feigning an alarm malfunction. I had to demand an apology from him. The sixth poor service i'd received.
We arrived at the national park at 08:25. I was the only black tourist and when I asked the guide to summarise the debrief he audibly commented that as I'd arrived late he'd not be able to repeat it for me. Cynically I felt that If I was white he'd problably have ignored the fact that the driver had got me to the debrief late and still gone through the key points. The seventh poor sevice I'd received.
I could go on and on but I won't. I think you get the gist. I never once spoke to Aron, met him or communicated with him during my time in Rwanda and Uganda. I left Rwanda on Tuesday, 28 January 2020 and have delayed posting this review until now to see whether or not I'd hear from Aron. I haven't and I know I never will.
I would never recommend this company to anyone regardless of who you are. I pity and despise racists and would never support a business that openly discriminates against black Africans.
Would absolutely recommend Safari 2 Gorilla Tours! Thanks Aaron and Martin for an unforgetable trip!
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Address
Plot 1 A, Cohen A Road
Makanga Hill,
P.O.BOX 568 Kabale