Great Lakes Safaris

Newsletter

1.   Kibale Forest NP
Uganda is home to human's closest relative, the chimpanzee, a delightful ape whose evocative pant-hoot call is an indissolubly sound of the African rainforest. Chimpanzees have been habituated for tourism at Kyambura Gorge and Budongo Forest. A community of orphaned chimps can be visited on Ngamba Island. The best place however to have an unforgettable meeting with your relative is Kibale Forest!

Kibale harbours the greatest variety and concentration of primates found anywhere in East Africa. Not less than 13 different species are living in this small area of 560 km², including the black and white colobus, blue monkey, red-tailed monkey, grey-cheecked mangabey and bushbaby.

More important, the dense forest hosts a population of more than 1,000 chimpanzees. Since 1991 one 80-strong community has been habituated in Kanyanchu, allowing visitors the unique opportunity to view these great apes in their natural environment. Enjoy a guided primate walk in the lush expenses of the tropical rainforest, in search of the wild chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys and many more! (UWA & TU)

2.   Meet the chimps!
Come face to face with these fascinating creatures in a very special way! The Uganda Wildlife Authority, with assistance from the Jane Goodall Institute, started the Kibale Primate Habituation Project. It focuses on habituating the chimpanzees to human presence, without necessarily altering their natural behaviour. Accompanied by UWA rangers you will be taken behind the scenes and experience how the chimpanzee families are getting used to human presence.

Your Chimpanzee Habituation Experience starts as early as 5:30 am. From the camp you will walk to the place where the chimpanzees are sleeping. Watch them waking up and coming out of the nest. Then you follow them up in their daily activities and get as close as possible. Spending the entire day with our 'cousins' will enable you to learn about their lifestyle and to discover the mysteries of their existence. The behaviour of the babies will be adorable while the older males do their very best to impress. Experience how they feed themselves and play with each other. Listen to their chatter, see how they quarrel and make up again. You will be amazed by their human features, as they share over 98% of our DNA! Between 6.30 and 7.30 pm the chimpanzees will start making nests and go to sleep again. By this time you will return to the camp for your own bed as well.

The Chimp Habituation Experience is offered for 1, 2 or 3 days and available from US$ 150 per person. Please contact us for more information and bookings.

3.   Primate Lodge Kibale
Great Lakes Safaris is proud to announce the opening of a new lodge in the middle of Kibale Forest National Park. Thanks to the concession that was awarded by UWA, we are now able to offer our guests the quality and comfort they have all been looking for.

Whether you bring your own tent, prefer to stay in middle class accommodation or wish a high level of luxury and comfort, Primate Lodge Kibale will be the place. Step by step the location, which is currently run by UWA, will be renovated and upgraded.

First of all the camp site will be maintained. The existing bandas will be replaced by two spacious cottages. We intend to build eight self-contained luxury tents that will be fully up to the standards of the upmarket traveller. Finally, the popular Sky Tree House will be renovated and we will construct even more tree houses of the same type!
Great Lakes Safaris is also going to take over the canteen that has been run by Bigodi Womens Group. Instead, a new restaurant will be build with local and international cuisine, adjacent a comfortable bar and a lounge to spend the evenings pleasantly. At a later stage sauna and steam bath will be constructed as well. Obviously we won’t loose sight of the profit for the local community. We will involve them wherever possible, varying from buying local products from them to organizing cultural performances.

The most important activity in the lodge's surroundings is of course the chimp trekking, offered in the morning and afternoon. The young among us can enjoy a guided nature walk while being educated and entertained by experienced ranger guides. Then there is the habituation experience. Moreover, we will improve on the equipment for the nocturnal walk, where you will go in search of the bushbaby and potto.

So forget about leaving at a very early hour for the 8.00 am chimp trekking. Instead, wake up with the sounds of the forest, have a peaceful breakfast in the charming restaurant and calmly prepare yourself for the highlight of the day.

Come and witness the wonders of the African jungle where Primate Lodge Kibale will be your home!

We will open the new lodge in phases. All constructions are expected to be completed between June and August 2007. Soon more information will be available on www.ugandalodges.com.

4.   Permits available
For this year we still have some permits available and even for next year reservations have already been made. Thus if you want to track the mountain gorillas on any of the following dates, you are guaranteed of a permit!
      20th December 2006      4 permits available
      7th July 2007                  6 permits available
      16th July 2007                4 permits available
      4th August 2007             8 permits available
      15th August 2007           4 permits available
Permits can be booked in combination with a tour to other national parks, completely adapted to your wishes. But book early as competition is high!

Special note: UWA has announced to increase the prices of gorilla permits from next year. Effective 1st July 2007 a permit will cost US$ 500 per person. With this rise Uganda follows the footsteps of Rwanda.

5.   Meet our guide... Noel
Noel Bayo Edroma is a single man from 30 years old. He was born and raised in Arua, the West-Nile of Uganda. At the moment he lives in Kampala and is an indissoluble member of the Great Lakes Safaris team.
“I've been dedicated to conservation for the last 5 years. As one of the senior guides I spent 4 years working in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Joining Great Lakes Safaris has enabled me to expand my knowledge in tourism. The most important aspect with guiding tourists is that I’ve learned how to manage clients expectations. I’ve been able to open up and it has resulted into learning more from tourists, since they are from different nationalities. This has helped me broadening my thinking abilities.
I would love to see Great Lakes Safaris becoming one of the leading companies in East-Africa. I’ve placed my commitment to working with the company and I must say that I am happy with my friendly colleagues, who are always willing to help.”

6.   Testimonial
Mr Watanabe Shunji from Japan travelled with us in September 2006. He was the first visitor to the new cultural centre Nshenyi Village. This is what he says about his stay:
"I spent two nights in Nshenyi Village. I tried milking cows, locally called 'Ente', grazing them and tasting fresh milk with local food for lunch. Not a compliment but it was the most tasty milk which I ever had!
The scenery around the village was so beautiful! I watched the sky and stars were brighter than fireworks. I listened to the sound of the wind and the voices of insects in the dark. Everything in the 2 days stay became the best memories and unforgettable for me.
What I felt thanks to the stay is that I live on this earth! I can enjoy even my daily life after realizing it. I really appreciate everyone I met in the village and I want to continue being involved with Uganda."

Next edition
Appearing in December is our 5th and last edition of 2006. We will look back at this year and present our new year's resolutions. To line with the holidays at the end of the month we will also surprise you with an exciting special offer!

If you have any questions or comments concerning the newsletter please contact us!

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for more details

www.safari-uganda.com
www.cultural-safaris.com

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info@safari-uganda.com
gls@utlonline.co.ug

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