Much as I love safaris, the downside is the long travel time to get there. This time we fly to Doha with a 4 hour layover and further 6 hour leg to Entebbe where we overnight. We stay at the Protea Entebbe – a stone’s throw from the airport. It turns out to be better than expected, though funding ran out as there is just a concrete shell for the third floor. The hotel is on the shores of Lake Victoria and all rooms look out over the pool and lake. Not an unpleasant place to enjoy our first holiday beer.

Next day we have a civilised departure time of 11.40. If left to Entebbe Airport security staff we would have missed our flight. They would not let us clear security because our flight was not showing on the departure board. We were ushered to a holding area, which we instinctively knew was incorrect. Following some hasty WhatsApp messages to BMG Safaris, who were most helpful, we were advised to tell security we needed the Aerolink desk and to muscle our way through. This was the correct tactic but still involved going through two more screening processes. I have never taken my boots and belt off so many times. I’m all for security but this was beyond amusing! We were much relieved when we finally had our boarding passes and could relax with a cold beer.

From the air, there are great views of Lake Victoria.

It is a 2.5 hour flight from Entebbe to Kihihi and we stop enroute at Pakuba.

The flight is followed by the best part of a 2 hour drive, initially on tarmac roads but then on dirt roads which must be nigh on impossible to negotiate in the rainy season.

We are relieved when we reach our hotel after a long day’s travel. We are staying at Mahogany Springs Hotel, which is just outside the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The lodge staff give us a warm welcome and show us to our rooms for a freshen up before dinner. We have been given a 2 bedroom bungalow. It is huge with a splendid verandah running the entire length, a jacuzzi and fabulous views over the valley and mountains.

Now for the gorillas. We have an early breakfast at 06.30, then our drive takes us for the short drive through the local village to the National Park.

We are greeted by local women who dance for us. They form part of a community project to empower the women here.

There follows a briefing. It is recommended that we have porters, who will carry our equipment and also lend a helping hand when the going gets tough. Then everyone is allocated to their guides. There are numerous groups of gorillas here and they are located at varying distances. We have opted for an easy first trek as we have no idea what to expect. Our group is comprised of 8 people, plus our guide John, 3 trackers, 2 park rangers with guns and all of our porters. We are excited when we finally set off on foot along a rough track.

After 10 minutes we arrive at the rangers village. We walk up through it and into the forest but have only been there for about 5 minutes when our gorilla group is located. This is incredible. We are so lucky to have found them so quickly and yet there is a sense of it all being much too easy and that we have not really earned such a privileged encounter. Initially the gorillas are in the forest and quite hard to see. It requires some tight focussing through the branches.

This group is named the Katwe family and comprises 8 gorillas, including one silverback. We have to wear masks so we do not transmit diseases to them and maintain a 10 metre distance. However, the gorillas do not know this and we are much closer, sometimes within touching distance.

The gorillas are very placid and calm. They are pretty unconcerned by our presence. The silverback is sitting in the undergrowth, calmly chewing vegetation.

The first to emerge is the huge silverback. He pretty much brushes our legs as he walks past. He looks at us straight in the eye. It is quite intimidating. He is big!

They emerge from the forest into the open and walk through the village where they pause to lick the bricks for minerals. I assume that this is a much frequented location for them. Our permits allow us to spend a wonderful hour with the gorillas. What a fantastic start to our holiday!

In the afternoon we opt for a nature walk through the forest to see the waterfalls on the Munyanga River. The walk takes about three hours and was moderately challenging. It was very immersive to walk through pristine primary rainforest. We caught glimpses of red-tailed monkeys and the occasional bird. There were few insects to pester us and it was a worthwhile excursion though very humid, so we definitely sweated profusely. When a downpour occurred at the end of our walk it initially made little impact on our already soggy attire.

Next day we decide to relax, which was exactly these was required and prepared us for a more challenging trek on the following day. We meet our guide and then drive for over an hour to reach our starting point where we meet our porters, trackers and rangers. Then it is time to proceed in single file at a steady pace on a steepish gradient through farmland where an assortment of crops are being cultivated.

There is no respite from the upward slope there is little shade and it is warm and humid. Every so often we pause to catch our breath and drink some water. After an hour or so the land flattens and we are treated to wonderful views. We realise how high we have climbed.

The vegetation becomes thicker, the path disappears and we slip, slide and scramble through the undergrowth to reach the our targeted group of mountain gorillas who are now close by. The group has seven members including two silverbacks and a mother with a one month old baby. the vegetation is dense so capturing photos is somewhat more challenging than our previous encounter.

The silverback is protective of the mother and baby and initially places himself between them and us. Eventually he becomes more comfortable with our presence and we do manage to observe the baby who is quite helpless with flailing arms and legs and a floppy head.

We spend just under an hour with the group – the most time the permit allows – and then feeling emotional, elated and privileged we leave the gorillas in peace. It is now mid-day so we sit under trees in a clearing and eat our picnic lunches…

… before returning the way we came. It is much easier going back. Downhill all the way!