Primates & Great Lakes 2023
(The Gorilla tour)

Overview

Once you start travelling in Africa, you realize that there are so much to see on a continent that is laced with cultural history and natural diversity.

That is why we are visiting Central East Africa for as long as possible.

Our journey north will lead us through Zambia past Lake Tanganyika where we take a breathtaking break. Boat rides scuba and snorkelling in this paradise.and the great rift valleys.

Then on to Rwanda on our expedition to see the Chimps and Mountain Gorillas. We visit lake Victoria, Malawi and Tanganyika. Drive through Rwanda, the cleanest country in Africa. Visit the Genocide museum in Kigali. A local coffee farm in Uganda, tea in Kenya.

We will be visiting the very mountainous, volcanic region in Africa. The edge of the great African tropical forest and the East African rift valley.  

Do a bit of Kayaking or rafting on the White Nile river at Jinja.

To add to this we will be returning to South Africa via Kenya and Tanzania, and there would then be no better idea that to drop in on the Ngorogoro crater for a day. This is pure paradise.

We do the tour over December and January as it is good seasons for Gorilla viewing and people have leave available for a long trip.

Join me for this incredible experience through the hart of Africa.

Bucket lists are not for the sake of having lists, let’s go…..

The Itinerary

Day 1

This is where our journey start. We meet at Kasane for our first night. I will be driving up from Johannesburg and should arrive in the late afternoon.  Kasane has a restaurant if you don’t feel like cooking for the evening.

Day 2

With everybody together we start our journey and travel North. We cross into Zambia and head towards Livingstone. This is our opportunity to enjoy the Victoria falls and Livingstone in general. It also allows us the opportunity to get to Lusaka the next day. Otherwise the day gets a bit long.

Day 3

After breakfast and last minute activities, we head to Lusaka.

Day4,5,6

In Lusaka we stop for groceries and we fill the vehicles with fuel. A nice breakfast or cake and coffee in one of the coffee shops. From there north before turning onto the Tanzam highway.

We stop for a break at the Hot springs before we continue north.

We cross in to Tanzania and arrive at Lake Taganyika.

Day 7,8,9

This Lodge is to die for! From scuba diving, snorkeling, sunset cruises and just general relaxing. That is why we do 3 nights here.

It is also a good opportunity to take a body break at this point, and we relax at the shore of the lake.

Day 10

A long day and we make our way inland and head around Burundi. No need to take chances here. We spend the last night in Tanzania before we  drive around and cross in to Rwanda.

Day 11, 12, 13

We take a well earned rest and visit the human rights abuses museum, AKA the Kigali genocide museum, and if that is not your cup of tea, just have a chilled day. 

Rwanda is a nice country to drive through and we spend three nights here.

Driving on the wrong side of the road is a bit strange.

Day 14, 15, 16

We cross in to Uganda to start our Primates section of the tour. We head for the Bwindi Impenetrable forest reserve. We will be stationed in this area for three nights and do our gorilla trekking.

Day 17 ,18

We head north to our base for the Chimp trekking. Here we spend two nights to relax, enjoy the forest and mountainous area and do a bit of Chimp trekking.

Day 19, 20, 21

We cross the equator again and head east to Jinja we meet up with the Nile river.  Many lovely rapids and water features around here. We spend three nights here for a bit of rafting and Kayaking, get the laundry done and enjoy good food and a Nile Special local beer.

Day 22

We start our journey south and head in to Kenya. We are just passing through for two days before crossing back in to Tanzania 

Day 23,24,25

We are back in Tanzania and stop for groceries in Arusha before proceeding to Karatu, our base for the Ngorongoro crater visit.

The Crater in Summer is absolutely supreme

Day 26, 27

We continue our journey down through the beautiful central Tanzania. We turn off the Tanzam highway and head for Malawi. We cross in to Malawi in the late afternoon and head to our campsite.

 Day 28  

A few long days means we deserve an off day. We take our off day and lazy around under the large shade trees, enjoy a cool drink at the bar or just sleep in a little bit.

 Day 29

We break back inland and head for Zambia.

Day 30, 31

We continue south towards towards Victoria falls and cross in to Botswana and head to Nata for our last night.

Tour specific comments

Vehicle:

A normal 4×4 or 2×4 will work for this tour. No special kit required.

Drivers:

No experience required, I personally guide the tour and will give you everything you need as we go.

Towing:

If you want to. Towing in very mountainous terrain is difficult but can be done, you would need a powerful reliable vehicle for towing. Also we have a few bad road days, so just be aware.

Here is a video of the route.