Safety On Gorillas and Maasai Mara Trip

Just did this trip recently and saw no evidence of trouble or danger. See all the positive reviews. That said you cannot travel the world in a bubble thinking nothing will happen to tourists, it's better to remain vigilant and treat the place with enlightened respect. There was some activity between the Kenyan army and the Somalians at the border (in the north east of Kenya) but this trip starts centrally in Nairobi and heads north west towards Lake Victoria and into Uganda, so if there was any trouble we were heading away from it. There was even a military conference in town while we were in Rwanda but there was no overt uniformed presence. The local guides will have your saftey as top priority so rest assured. Go with an open mind, don't draw undue attention to yourself but enjoy it. On the whole the people in all 3 countries are welcoming and helpful.  Pete :-)

Hi, we are going in Sept, perhaps you can give me a little advice. Do you wear shorts at all or is it preferable to wear trekking trousers and how many towels do we need to take I assume none will be provided. Looking forward to it as we haven't done safari etc before. If you can give me any advice other than what I asked I would be very grateful. Sandra

Sandra Barrett

Hi Sandra. Following the trip I think I left a very comprehensive review on the trip page so take a look at mine and others for some top tips on travel in that region. As with all these kinds of trips/treks it's the weather that determines the clothing and as you will be travelling across 3 countries at all times of day or night and in mountainous regions then I'd take both shorts and trekking trousers. Some of the early morning walks can be cool and in long grass so leg protection is a priority. I remember one of my best pieces of advice was the use of gardening gloves and gaiters, particularly on the gorilla trek as the forest doesn't necessarily have a set path, and our group did end up on all fours crawling through bamboo tunnels in pursuit of a gorilla family! 

Those quick dry camping towels are always useful and we take them everywhere, they are lightweight, fold small and dry quickly. I don't remember towels being provided as some of the camps are very basic. Things can be washed and dried quickly in the heat. In general though the showers (where availabale) were quite good and the toilets adequate. With one exception at Lake Mburo...but even that wasn't unusable, just not well ventilated and a bit hot due to the weather! 

One of our free days was spent painting a local school and another with the children at an orphanage (Loving Hearts Helping Hands in Kibale, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda) so maybe take pens, pencils, exercise books etc. for the kids. These can be bought in the nearby towns very cheaply if you don't want to carry them out there.

 A great trip covering a huge area, so plenty of variety. Hope that helps, enjoy it and let me know if you have any other questions. P :-) 

Very many thanks for getting back to me. Lots of useful information. I will try and find your report back on the trip page. Once more thank you. Sandra