EPIC ADVENTURELUST MEET-UP: THE ULTIMATE AFRICAN WILDLIFE EXTRAVAGANZAaAaaAA PART ONE: UGANDA

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Follow along on my Uganda adventure on Instagram: #Ugandaganza

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We’ve recently wrapped up an incredible African wildlife adventure on an Epic Adventure Meet-Up with my brand/biz/empire Adventurelust, and WOW that was a wild ride. let’s dive in!

I arrived 5 days before the rest of our Adventurelust group got there to kick off the tour. I settled back into the Pearl of Africa (my third time here!), met up with my friend Andy in Kampala (which was absolutely hectic and I loved it) and also visited Jinja, where I first met Daudi my business partner from Buutu Safaris, to experience his lovely guest house Buutu Nest and explore more of Jinja. Driving in Uganda is the most fascinating thing ever because the country is so lush and green with red dirt roads, there is so much going on, from the chaos of Kampala to the crops of the countryside, I swear everywhere you look there is something new that you’ve never seen before — 4 people crammed onto a moto, people carting around furniture on their laps, carrying giant bouquets of sticks on their heads. Uganda is certainly a feast for the senses!

The heart and soul of Uganda is evident to everyone who visits — driving through the rural areas, the streets lined with mud-brick huts, you have never seen bigger smiles in any other country. Kids are constantly standing at the side of the road, ecstatic to wave at you as you pass by, perhaps calling out a friendly “mzungu!” and beaming the most genuine smiles at you. It is so unique and heart warming and reminds me of why I fell in love with Africa in the first place during my time in Rwanda & Uganda in 2017.

Our Adventurelust group met up at Via Via Guest House in Entebbe, where the staff is soo friendly, the setting is a jungly vibe with resident monkeys, and the bar and restaurant area is lit with string lights and even had a campfire on my weekend night there — very social vibes, perfect for trading stories with other travellers, a perfect launchpad for your Uganda adventures

Those of us who arrived early (to anyone reading this, make sure you apply for your Uganda visa ahead of time and arrive early because flight delays are definitely a thing getting over here!) went to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where we got to spend the night settling in and spent time on foot with rhinos, a special experience because rhinos are the only species of the Big 5 you won’t find on safari in Uganda and I’ve also never gotten so close to them on foot (they were so chill) or seen them so active, especially the baby!

MURCHISON FALLS SAFARI

Our first official stop on our Adventurelust X Buutu Safaris #Ugandaganza tour was Murchison Falls, which is home to the most powerful waterfall in the world and a super beautiful national park with palm trees and beautiful vistas. We stayed at Pakuba Lodge, which is a mid-range lodge with beautiful grounds and view of the Nile River. We enjoyed a cruise down the nile (ellies! + warthogs, crocs, baboons, hippos), and a few game drives, including a LEOPARD SPOTTING and then some of us at the lodge received a tip and were able to see ANOTHER LEOPARD SIGHTING FOR SUNSET laying on the lodge entrance sign!!! If you know me AT ALL you know how I feel about leopards and I was not expecting to see them here so this was a MAJOR treat!!!

Other highlights of Murch included tons of giraffes and other game, and a bucket list sighting for me — tree climbing lions! — which are famous in the Queen Elizabeth Park in Uganda but we were lucky to see them here as well! Loved seeing our group get to start to bond and come together here, because what is a better shared experience than a safari?!

GORILLA TREKKING IN BWINDI

A short flight + 4 hour STUNNING drive through the mountains took us to our main event: gorilla trekking. We stayed at Ichube Lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest which was also a nice mid-range lodge with epic mystical jungly views — I mean Bwindi is basically enchanted.

We split into 2 groups for gorilla trekking and you can see all the details/tips from this day on this post! Our group had a beautiful hike, not too hard but a little steep when we were actually chilling with the gorillas, and had some hilarious playful babies who loved to swing on the vibes (see the reel here). Here is my full recap reel of the gorilla trekking — a truly magical experience that I am so grateful to have experienced twice in my life and it was awesome to share with the rest of the group, who all absolutely loved it (someone even called it life-altering, which is facts).

There was an option to go visit a local community, try their banana beer and do a bit of shopping, and we met for a drink at a super cool little local “bar” for a lil dance party, because when in Uganda! Vibes vibes vibes.

LAKEFRONT BLISS IN BUNYONI

The final stop of our Ugandaganza tour was Lake Bunyoni, which I had heard about before but hadn’t been yet, and WOW this may be the most beautiful lake I have ever seen in the world???? We stayed at Arcadia Cottages which are perched at the top of the mountain, looking out over the green islands and surrounding landscapes and it is truly BREATHTAKING.

We spent a day cruising around with a local Josh, exploring the islands, tasting some more local beer (even I had a sip!) and stopping by the vibey Reggae Island for rolex lessons (chapati + omelette and veggies like avo or carrots). It was a nice and chill ending to our adventure in a beautiful setting. Here’s my Bunyoni reel!

Embarking on the drive back to Entebbe (it’s also an option to cross the border to Kigali) we stopped for lunch and photo opp at the Equator and headed back to Entebbe airport, where we had a liiittle flight mishap leading to having to disembark the plane, get an airport hotel and fly out the next day instead — but I mentioned this is where travel insurance comes in handy right? ;) All part of the adventure!!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Ultimate Wildlife ExtravaganzaaaAaAaAAA — #TANZAGANZA!