Black Meetings and Tourism

September / October 2022

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B M & T ••• September/October 2022 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Silver Back Gorillas. The next day, we arrived at the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest around 6am. We were shortly greeted by the local village group with a traditional welcome song and dance, which was very heartfelt and gave us the good energy needed to enter the Bwindi Forest. We were given a guide as well as a National Ranger, a short safety briefing, and then it was time to trek the Bwenza Gorilla family (Our group's assigned family). I must say that words cannot do this trekking experience justice. It was intense and very rewarding at the same time, as the guide used a machete to create and clear a pathway throughout the forest trek. Similar to the chimp trekking, we were told that it could take anywhere from 1-8 hours to find the Gorillas. It took our group of 7 about 2.5 hours to find the Bwenza Gorilla family. Once you find the fam- ily, you have a 1-hour immersive experience with the Gorillas. You get to take photos and follow them. Believe it or not, you are within 5 yards of the gorillas and highly encouraged to follow them. Like the chimps, they behave similar to humans and acted as if we were guests in their home, which we were. The gorilla youths were a lot of fun and we got to experience them playing tag with each other as well as playing with the mother. We then found our way back to the base, where we received certificates from the Uganda Wildlife Authority for successfully completing the trek. After receiving this certificate and knowing this was our last stop, it felt like we had conquered something many haven't had the privilege to experience. Although the trip was only 7-days, it felt like we had been in another world. We knew this experience would have a lasting influence on our perspec- tive of life and nature. I can definitively say that our experience would not have been nearly as great without our guide, Peter Nsubuga. His passion for his country as well as the protection of wildlife was expressed at every turn. We had a chance to also really get to know him and learned that he grew up in a rural village next to the Mabira Forest – the biggest tropical rainforest in Central Uganda. He detailed his aspirations to create his own experience for guests at his own lodge near one of Uganda's National Parks. He also aspires to create a Marathon event near the Mabira Forest, where he grew up. Peter is very thorough in everything he does and never skips a beat. His plans for everything are highly detailed, defined, and mapped out. I am looking forward to the day I get to come back to Uganda and book a trip to Peter's lodge and participate in his Marathon, as I know it will be yet again another life changing experience. I highly recommend travelling to Uganda and booking an immersive trip with Peter. It will change your perspective in ALL the right ways. If you are interested in learning more about planning a trip like ours above or a trip that is customized to what you would like to see, reach out to Peter via email at peterugandan@gmail.com or give him a call at +256 751 200 900. 14

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