Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Vaccinations, medication, Healthy risks to consider while visiting Uganda

Information about vaccinations, immunization and medications you need to consider as yo plan to travel to Uganda and Rwanda for your Holiday
What vaccinations do I need?
A yellow fever vaccine is essential – bring your certificate with you.
Hepatitis A and B, meningitis, polio, tetanus and typhoid vaccinations are also recommended.
A Rabies vaccination is recommended for anyone who expects to be in close contact with animals or in a remote area.
Be aware that some of these require a course of injections, and others take several days to take effect. So you should visit your doctor or travel clinic as soon as possible before you travel.
Should I bring any other medications?
Anti-malarial tablets are recommended throughout Uganda – visit your local travel clinic to determine which type is best for you. Note: Chloroquine does not protect against malaria in Uganda.
Bring all prescription medications with you – they may not be readily available in Uganda.
Be sure to purchase travel insurance before you begin your trip, including medical evacuation in case of an emergency.
What Other Healthy Risks Are There?
Even if you are taking anti-malarials, you should still wear an insect repellent, long-sleeved shirts, long trousers and closed shoes. This will also help protect you from other diseases carried by mosquitoes, and other insects such as tsetse flies.
All accommodation in high-risk areas will have mosquito nets  - be sure to use them.
Avoid swimming in Uganda’s lakes – they carry a high risk of bilharzias.
Tap water is not suitable for drinking, though bottled water is readily available throughout the country.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Rwanda Gorilla Tracking/ trek experience with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris


This is one Gorilla Tracking experience with one of our clients who trekked mountain gorillas in March 2013. They have shared their experience and reviews on TripAdvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293828-i9987-k6270417-Gorilla_tracking_Rwanda_Gorillas_and_Wildlife_Safaris_LTD-Rwanda.html  and also on their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/VinceAndDrewOnTheGo. They have allowed us to share their experience with out readers. Their YouTube channel is www.youtube.com/user/VinceAndDrewOnTheGo

So, here we go:

Gorilla tracking Rwanda, Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris LTD
 
Photo a property of Vince and Drew, all rights reserved please
Me and my wife (like facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/VinceAndDrewOnTheGo) used Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris LTD for Gorilla and Golden monkeys tracking in Rwanda with the 4 days package and we recommend them 100%. Their website being a bit hard to navigate and their prices being lower then most other operators, our expectations were not very high. Well, sometime you just find a gem and we found it; from airport welcoming to the end, everything has been extraordinary.

Our guide Paul was very knowledgeable and professional, spoke perfect English and was super friendly.
Also, the owner Yvan was very accommodating with our last minute booking and our hotel preferences. Important to say their was no hidden fees or surprises along the trip and everything was according to the proposal.


We got lucky enough to track a family of 23 gorillas and spent 1 hours with 21 of them....just magical! Website; www.gorillasandwildlifesafaris.com/index.htm

Vince P

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

USD$10,000 Raised in Murchison Falls Annual Fishing Tournament

by Ivan Wassaaka 

US Dolars $1000 Raised as 50 competitors and 21 boats battle in the 2013 Murchison Falls Fishing Competition which will now go in equal terms to the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda Conservation Foundation, to allow these two organizations to fund projects with the proceeds.
 
The annual Murchison Falls Invitational Fishing Tournament, which was held last week, bringing together some 50 competitors in over 20 boats, produced some fine fishing results but also, once again, raised much needed funds for conservation. Over 10.000 US Dollars was raised from sponsorships, which will now go in equal terms to the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda Conservation Foundation, to allow these two organizations to fund projects with the proceeds.
The winner produced an astonishing 96.7 kilograms combined catch, including the biggest single fish with 80 kilograms, being a giant Nile Perch, which the first and second runner up still clocked 92.4 and 90.4 kilograms respectively.

UWA also benefited from two donated motorcycles, to be used for mobile patrols by game wardens across the park. One of the winners of the motor bike, one Piet de Jong, spontaneously donated the motorbike to UWA when he was given the surprise prize from Toyota Uganda, the agents of Yamaha in the country, while the second bike was as a result of this gesture donated by the SAB Miller which had a team participate in the event.

Uganda is one of Africa’s ultimate fishing destinations with one third of the country covered by water. Sport fishing Uganda is carried out on Lake Victoria, Murchison Falls National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park. Popular catches include; Nile Perch (Lates niloticus), Tilapia, Tiger fish, Ferocious fighter, Cat fish and Barbel.

Fishing on the Nile, between the falls and the Nile River delta on Lake Albert, is becoming a popular activity for tourists, who can obtain a daily or weekly fishing license from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, often facilitated by the lodge they are staying at, and boat and equipment hire is possible on site too, even though the aficionados of fishing regularly bring their own rods along. Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest part and geographically divided into the two sections above and below the Nile Falls, which have the entire river squeeze through a 7 metre wide gap and fall 48 metres down, before the river then meanders along towards Lake Albert where it changes name from the Victoria Nile to the Albert Nile, before again being renamed into the White Nile when entering South Sudan at Nimule. Congrats to the winners and visit www.ugandawildlife.org for more information about Uganda’s 10 national parks.



Thursday, March 7, 2013

Hirwa Group–A mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

 Hirwa Group (meaning "lucky one")

This group came into the lime light on the 17th of June 2006 when trackers witnessed its formation by the merging of some members from two different existing families, namely from Group 13 and Sabyinyo making a very small group then. As luck would have it, other gorillas joined the group and now Hirwa has 9 individuals: 1 Silverback; 3 Adult females; 2 Sub adult females and 3 Babies.

Despite being the newest group on the block, Hirwa exhibits strength and holds its own amongst all the other established groups.

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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Mountain Gorillas Aside, Why Does Earth need Bwindi so badly?

 
 
What else is there in Bwindi apart from mountain Gorillas? What else can one do in Bwindi apart from tracking mountain gorillas; why is Bwindi an IUCN World Heritage site?Bwindi Impenetrable National Park home of Uganda mountain gorillas
 
L-hoerst Monkeys and primates in Bwindi
L-Hoerst Monkeys, 1 of the 12 primates in Bwindi
With an ever growing importance now being attached to tourism development in East Africa, each country is trying to find a niche tourist attraction where they have competitive advantage over the other.
In Uganda, the endangered mountain gorilla is the flag bearing attraction. Thousands of tourists (largely foreigners) come to Uganda every year for tours to track (or trek) these mountain gorillas.
 
Almost a half of the remaining 780 mountain gorillas on earth inhabit the impenetrable Bwindi National Park, the rest being scattered in the Viungas (shared by Rwanda, Uganda and DRC). This makes Bwindi a very important region for tours in Uganda. Almost the entire Uganda tourism industry has a bearing with Bwindi. Tourists who come for gorilla tours frequently end up visiting other national parks in Uganda as well.
 
This brings us to the question, Besides the mountain gorillas, what’s so special with Bwindi to the extent that the IUCN declared is a World Heritage Site?
 
clip_image004Bwindi is characterized by steep hills and narrow valleys with a general incline from the north and west to the south-western corner. Together with some remnant lowland forest outside the boundary, the park constitutes an important water catchment area serving the surrounding densely populated agricultural land.
With an area of 32,092ha and an altitudinal range of 1,I 90-2,607m, Bwindi is one of the few large expanses of forest in East Africa where lowland and montane vegetation communities meet. Combined with its probable role as a Pleistocene refuge, the forest hosts an extremely high biodiversity.
 
Bwindi is the most diverse forest in East Africa for tree species (more than 163 species) and ferns (more than 104 species), as well as other taxa. The trees account for 38% of the total recorded for the country and include 10 species not found elsewhere. A further 16 species have only a very restricted distribution in south-west Uganda, and one species, Lovoa swynnertonii, is globally threatened .
 
Bwindi has one of the richest animal-life communities in East Africa, including over 214 species of forest bird (> 65% of the Uganda’s total), 7 species of diurnal primate (58% of the country’s total), and 202 species of butterfly (84% of the country’s total).
Highly significant is the presence of almost one half (380 of about 780) of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.
Entagered Mountatin Gorillas of Bwindi, Uganda
Endagered Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi
Bwindi is also an important locality for the conservation of Afromontane fauna, in particular those endemic to the mountains of the western rift valley. At least 70 of the 78 montane forest bird species occurring in the Albertine Rift region are found in the forest, including 22 of the 27 endemics.
 
In the case of butterflies, 8 Albertine Rift endemics are known to occur in the forest, which may be the most important in Africa for the conservation of montane butterflies.
Overall, Bwindi contains 9 globally threatened species: mountain gorilla, common chimpanzee, I’hoests monkey, African elephant, African green broadbill, Grauer’s rush warbler, Chaplin’s flycatcher,African giant swallowtail and cream-banded swallowtail.
Black and White Colobus monkeys in Bwindi
 
Next week we shall discuss the greatest importance of all, cultural significance of Bwindi. Stay tuned!
 
Do you still have any doubts to the strong importance of Bwindi to this earth or Uganda in particular? Share it with us. Of course this is not a conclusive text of Bwindi’s significance. Feel free to share your thoughts, this will certainly further the conservation efforts.
 
Do you want to visit Bwindi? Click here and take advantage of these amazingly huge seasonal discount offers




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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Umubano Gorilla Family/ Group - Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Umubano Gorilla Family/ Group - Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Meaning "neighborliness", Umubano a family of 11 individuals: 1 Silverback; 1 Sub adult male; 3 Adult females and 6 Babies. Umubano were originally Amahoro members but broke off after the dominant silverback (Ubumwe) was challenged by Charles, now the leader of Umubano.clip_image002

As Charles matured into a silverback of the same rank as Ubumwe, he could not stand being given orders and decided to stage a fight and challenge Ubumwe. The fight went on for weeks and then months. Finally, Charles managed to snatch from Ubumwe a few females and formed his own group; thus Umubano was formed. Since then, he has commanded respect and recognition from Ubumwe. We have observed, on various occasions, interactions between the two silverbacks, but no fighting has been seen since the great battle ended.

 
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Monday, March 4, 2013

Bwenge Family – A mountain gorilla group in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Bwenge Family – A mountain gorilla group in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

The family size of this group is 11 individuals with Silverback. It is mostly found on the Slopes of the Karisoke Volcano. The group is led by a silverback named Bwenge and was formed in 2007 when he left his natal group and was gradually joined by females from other groups. This group has had some hard times; this is because there were some deaths of 6 infants. However now the group is growing strong with 2 successful births in the last few years and a strong capable silverback leader. The trek to see the group is tough and one has to hike up the hill or like 3 hours (gaining approximately 600m in elevation). The trails are sometimes muddy and very steep. Apparently it was also the group that was featured in the movie "Gorillas in the Mist".

 

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13 Group (aka Agasha Group) Gorilla Family in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park

13 Group (aka Agasha Group) Gorilla Family

When first habituated this group had only 13 members hence its name. Now the group has approximately 25 members: 1 Silverback; 12 Adult females; 2 Sub adult female; 3 Juvenile and 7 Babies.

Formerly this group was commanded by Nyakarima who was challenged by Agashya meaning "the news". Agashya indeed made news by first watching and estimating Nyakarima's strengths and eventually challenging him to a fierce fight by taking off with his whole group. This was a shock to Nyakarima and an unprecedented event in observed gorilla history. Agashya then moved up the volcano to secure his group and make sure Nyakarima did not track them. Agashya has since increased his group's numbers by snatching from other groups and assimilating other lone gorillas, rapidly increasing the group from 12 to 25 individuals.

Group 13 Gorilla Family (Agasha Group) in Rwanda's Volcanoes Naional ParkAgashya is known, at the first sign of trouble, to take his whole group up to the top of the volcano. Once, while we were taking a group of tourists to see Group 13 this exact scenario unfolded. Agashya felt that there was another silverback who was about to challenge him. In response, he took the group up the volcano. Every time we thought we were close to see them, Agashya would move the group further uphill. We did not reach them until the very top, where we finally got a chance to see them. By the time we got back to the car we had walked for 12 hours. While it was an exhausting day, it was magical to see gorillas at the top the world.

Karisimbi Gorilla Family (Susa-B gorilla group) of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Karisimbi Gorilla Family (Susa-B gorilla group) of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

This is the family that split from the Original Susa (Susa-A) family and now it’s called Susa-B or Karisimbi Group. It contains 15 individuals and it always stays in the slopes of Karisimbi Volcano (4507M). which the highest pick of Rwanda. The Karisimbi Group is better suited to visits for more serious hikers. It appears that they have established their home range high up on the slopes of the Karisimbi caldera. Thus, a visit to this group may well end up as a full-days trek. The group sometimes migrates to higher altitude and hence makes tracking difficult. However, RDB tourism and conservation guides know where to find the group a day before. Tracking this gorilla family may sometimes be prohibited because of its distant location.

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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Sabyinyo Gorilla Group–A mountain gorilla family from Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Sabyinyo Gorilla Group - A mountain gorilla family from Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Sabyinyo is an easily accessible group led by the powerful silverback Guhonda. Guhonda, the largest silverback of all the groups, who is well known for his massive physical appearance. Guhonda has kept his main challenger, Ryango, out of his group as a lonely silverback. There are fewer members within this family than in the other groups however they are equally impressive as a family.
The group was named after the Sabyinyo volcano which means "old man's teeth". Sabyinyo is one of the groups closest to the park's edge with 8 individuals: 1 Silverback (the biggest in the park); 3 Adult females; 1 Non adult female; 2 Juveniles and 1 Baby.
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Amahoro Gorilla Group – A mountain gorilla family of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Amahoro Gorilla Group – A mountain gorilla family of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Meaning "peaceful group", Amahoro, is the most peaceful of all the gorilla groups. The group has 17 individuals: 1 Silverback; 2 Blackbacks; 5 Adult females; 2 Sub adult males; 2 Juveniles and 5 Babies.
However, peace comes at a price. Ubumwe, the group's silverback is so peaceful, easy going and calm, he has lost group members to Charles in the Umubano group.

To reach Amahoro one must endure a fairly steep climb however the climb is well worth it once in contact with this tranquil group.

Amahoro Gorilla Family group Volcanoes National Park Rwanda
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