We set off early in the morning for a beautiful hike to the Kyambura Gorge headquarters. We hiked right from the lodge until we reached the elephant trench - a trench built around the lodge grounds to keep elephants from being able to enter.
Kyambura Gorge - our ranger Ruth who led us for the day and kept us safe (Erin Correia)
On the other side of the trench, we met Ruth. She was our ranger for the day, leading us and protecting us from any potentially dangerous wildlife encounters (elephants, lions, hippos…).
The scenery was beautiful, with elephants in the distance, as we made our way to the gorge headquarters. Here, we checked in to the national park and enjoyed a view of the gorge we were about to explore.
A chimpanzee tracker joined us and we drove to the area on the rim where he thought we would be most successful at encountering the chimps. From here, we began our slippery, muddy journey down into the gorge.
Ruth led the way as we trekked up and down the sides of the gorge, keeping an eye out for knuckle prints or chimp droppings. We hiked for a few hours, searching in vain.
Finally, the tracker spotted a chimpanzee, resting in the trees above us. Then another baby with its mother moving through the canopy nearby. We were hopeful that this would mean more chimps were in the area, but sadly, these were the only 3 we encountered, and they remained hidden up in the canopy, far away from us.
We spent about a half hour waiting here before we continued through the gorge, hoping for better luck. While we did not encounter any more chimps, we were lucky to be serenaded by the hippos who live in the river at the bottom of the gorge.
As we made our way along the river, their bellows filled the air, letting us know that they were not far off. We were able to see several family pods at a close distance, so at least our morning was not a total loss on the wildlife front!
(For better chimpanzee viewing, I suggest planning 2 chimp treks and/or planning a visit to Kibale instead.)
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
3 days ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
3 days ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
1 week ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.