Day 102: Rohija Community Campsite – Rushaga Gorilla Lodge and Campsite

What a wonderful drive through Bwindi National Park to Kisoro. The scenery is breathtaking. Fog hangs everywhere after this morning's rain. And we're shivering in 13 degrees Celsius at an altitude of up to 2,500 meters.

Even if our trek doesn't work out, it was definitely worth the trip. Wow! Tarzan's jungle :-))

We didn't see any gorillas (that would have been too good anyway), but we did see black-and-white colobus monkeys; not to be confused with the reddish colobus that the chimpanzees had killed. And we saw two magnificent hornbills with impressive beaks.

In Kisoro, we head to the Coffee Pot for soup, omelet, fries, tea, and coffee and wait for Sheba, whom we're supposed to pay for the permit. Not exactly the most likeable person...

After some discussion, we go with him to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) office, and we are assured that we can trust this agency and Sheba in person. And no, they can't check the system to see if a permit is reserved for us, and no, they never sell permits to "individuals." It's pure Africa again: behind every service lies an opaque chain of profiteers. Even though the two UWA employees don't appear particularly professional (one is cutting her hair and feeding her child), we decide to hand over our 1,700 US dollars (2x800 standard permit costs and 2x50 agency fees) to Sheba in the hope that he will not only bring his guests to the gate on Saturday, but also our two permits.

Sheba shows us his office (a shabby old shack) and his room at the Golden Monkey Guesthouse (also a shabby old shack) to show us that we can trust him. We copy our IDs (for the permit) and he shows us the intersection from which we can best get to Rushaga. The trek is supposed to start there, and we plan to stay there overnight.

We spend part of the evening with Brad, a young Californian who is traveling for nine days each in Botswana, Uganda, and Kenya with "full board." This means: accommodations, meals, driver/guide, etc.