Our trip was broken into two different tour leaders (Lelei and Nash), drivers (Sam and Strong Patrick) and cooks...
Our trip was broken into two different tour leaders (Lelei and Nash), drivers (Sam and Strong Patrick) and cooks (Nicholas and Simon) all of which were phenomenal. I still am trying to figure out when the cook actually slept. All the guides went out of their way to explain their culture. Splurge for having a cook on this trip the days are SOOOO long that we would roll in at 7 and get everything organized for a 9pm dinner being cooked while tents were going up, showers being taken and one beer to be consumed.
There are quite a lof of TIA (This is Africa) moments but our guides were so good at quickly figuring out alternatives i.e. bridges washed away to the campsite and finding new campsites, campsites being flooded and again finding alternative accommodation, the bus broke down once outside Nairobi and a quick fix was found.
By far the best part of the trip was the Gorilla section - the chimpanzees, the boat tour the same day with so many animals on the river including baby elephants and hippos was mind blowing, gorillas - had no idea what to expect and just out of this world experience (do not do Mt Sabyano hike unless you are VERY in shape), the Masai Mara had cheetahs killing in front of us, cheetahs on kills with pups, lion fights, lioness with cubs etc etc. I have to say the Nairobi to Zanzibar isn’t really worth it on it’s own and hard to assimilate with the group if you jump on here because the first part of the gorilla tour is exhausting. If you can do the entire trip from the beginning, bonds are made from the beginning and harder to break into as time goes on unless you are a couple.
The tents were well taken care of and sleeping pads were sufficient on their own except maybe 4 days as you moved more south due lack of grass to sleep on. Be aware that if you are over 5 foot 10 you need your own tent because the footprint is too small and your feet and head touch the damp tent leading to unpleasant evenings, I am 5 foot 6 and it just fit me. I was really unsure of what temperature sleeping bag to take and a 0 degree celcius bag worked perfectly. Our first night was freezing though luckily as a Canadian I had brought a down jacket and scarf but if you just get a blanket all will be fine.First campsite was some peoples favourites or some peoples least favourite (toilet wasn’t working and no water to drain the toilet but lots of animals wondering through camp). Chimpanzee campsite was also a little rough but after that all were quite decent (basic but decent) and lots of upgrades for people who have the money...I stuck to camping.
Lockers fit my 55L bag well, it’s best if you have a 20L waterproof bag with a flat bottom that you store your night stuff and toiletry stuff in as there aren’t hooks in the showers sometimes.
More showers than you imagine and even if there is wifi many times there are just too many people on it and nothing happens. Would definitely recommend SIM cards for Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania as you spend your most time in these countries.
I would do your own laundry as the laundry completed by the locals did come back smelling good but were still dirty which was disappointing and one of my shirts just didn’t come back, check out the scrubba bags. If there are a few of you hand doing laundry with a beer and music it was a good time. The bus has laundry buckets.
Each country was so incredibly different for the first ¾ of the trip especially Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. I found that in Malawi it was just too overwhelming with people trying to sell craft goods all the time that I was quite panicked but it is very poor there at the same time so I understand their plight - I literally had 5 guys run me down at the beach with sand flying at their feet it was quite scary to get run after and surrounded.
I am a SUPER active person and spent many sleepless nights for months ahead of time stressing about all of the sitting and yes there was A LOT of sitting, up to 12 hours some days but it was tolerable and I wouldn’t do it any other way in retrospect. Don’t even think it’s possible to go for runs on this tour you just get in too late and your up early to leave. I did not gain weight on the trip but you have to consciously remember not to cram huge portions of the yummy food onto your plate and consider what activity you did that day.
PLEASE factor in tipping your driver, leader and tour guide DO NOT FORGOT to add it into your budget or get to the end of the trip and think wow that’s a lot of money to give them and undermine the hard work they’ve done the entire tour for YOU. Expect to pay a lot in tipping, you pay not only those 3 busy bees but every single person you meet along the way and the Gorilla trek is tips tips tips (about 60 US) for each military escort, trackers, guide and porters.
This trip was once in a lifetime, I had low expectations since I hate sitting still and I don’t like the heat but I LOVED it. Totally recommend.
PS bring a seat cushion, your bum will thank you.Show more
Traveled in January 2020
Reply from: Intrepid Travel
Thank you so much Parker! We're so glad you enjoyed your trip and can't wait to see where your next adventures takes you :)
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