There is such an odd feeling that washes over you when you’re in the middle of doing something that’s been on your bucket list since you were a child. You know it’s happening but you also cannot believe what you’re seeing with your own eyes. Reality and dream collides.

This was our time in Uganda.

Getting to Uganda was insanely frustrating after missing our flight by minutes in Ethiopia. (yes, I’m still very bitter) We had woken up in Addis Ababa with fresh attitudes and a shower after 3 days in the hottest part of the world. Nervous about our luggage after a night of chaos, we had about 6 hours of sleep and headed to the airport where a new crew of upbeat and happy workers welcomed us with open arms and assured us our luggage would “100% make it to Kigali.” We were supposed to leave at 11am to ensure plenty of time to cross the border from Rwanda to Uganda and avoid driving at night. Due to the spectacular flight issues, we ended up landing at 3:30pm where a lovely gentleman was waiting for us to go through security as VIPs. (that was cool!) We waited for all of the luggage to come down the carousel, knowing Caroline and her dad were waiting outside and we needed to hit the road before 4pm, so when all the bags were through, I broke down into tears. We had, in a very rookie move, moved all of our clothing to the main bags the day before to eliminate the weight on our shoulders so we had shorts, hiking boots, and a short sleeve shirt to potentially hike up a cold rainy mountain in. (and we had zero time to buy anything)

A young gentleman saw Curtis consoling me and came over to ask if we were the Gulicks. (apparently we’re famous!) He took us over to the luggage hold and handed us our two bags. Our bags that held all of our clothes…and two bags that arrived on the flight we were supposed to arrive on the previous night. Thrilled to have them, we raced outside to Martin, our awesome driver with Great Lakes Safaris who sped us across Rwanda at lightning speed.

Rwanda took our breathe away (and my voice, I legit couldn’t talk after yelling at everyone at the airport in Addis Ababa) and I couldn’t get over how clean it was, above everything else. It’s a visually stunning country but we never spotted a single piece of trash in our 3 hour journey north. NOT A SINGLE PIECE. I had never seen a world without plastic, trash, or random things on the side of the road. It was such a crazy juxtaposition to Addis and felt like a giant hug after what we had been through.

We had until 7pm to make it to the border before it closed and we dodged people, children, bikes, and animals to fly to the border at a speed I will not say to protect Martin’s job, ha. He was so focused and we couldn’t possibly put into words how much we appreciated his hustle! We made it to the border crossing with literal minutes to spare and got our stamps to cross! From there, we spent another 2 hours (yes 2) going 10 km to our lodge. Nope, not a typo. The roads were a series of boulders that you had to carefully drive across to keep your jeep from falling into a hole you couldn’t get out of. We were exhausted at this point but again, Marvin showed us he was a badass by getting us there in one piece.

And that’s when we arrived to Mount Gahinga Lodge.

The property can’t be appreciated at night very well but we instantly knew that our journey was worth it. We were greeted with warm towels and porters (a porter was such a welcome sight for our backs!) and they led us to the main dining area for a late dinner.

This is where I fell into my safari happy place. A warm room lit only by candles and 3 courses of food that seems impossible to cook in the middle of nowhere is how all of our safari stops had been in the past and it’s where I go mentally when I need a break from daily life at home.

Our rooms had been heated by the fireplace and hot water bottles placed in bed by the time we got back. We tucked in quickly, ready for the next day with intense anticipation.

It’s no secret I’m not a morning person but that was one of those mornings I jumped out of bed! (just like at Giraffe Manor - animals do that to me) I did my make-up (I knew photos would be nonstop) and put on the outfit I was terrified I wouldn’t get to wear the day prior. My body ached, my voice was completely gone, but dammit I was ready to be welcomed into the critically endangered mountain gorilla tribe.

Our view the next morning set the tone for a perfect day!

Our original plan was to hike with the gorillas in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo but after a few tourists were kidnapped (and released unharmed) a few months before our trip, the only park left with any permits in Uganda was Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. I cannot recommend this park enough! There’s only 1 gorilla family here and only 1 group goes per day, which they sometimes split up as they did with us, so we got a private hike!

We had a briefing at the Uganda Wildlife Authority hut and discussed how Caroline’s dad would lead the way to the top to set the pace. This THRILLED me guys. We had heard other people warn us of the difficulty of the hike because the guides go at a brisk pace but having her dad with us was such a blessing. We stopped every 5 minutes or so and it gave us the opportunity to actually enjoy the hike! We took pictures, got to observe the wildlife in the area, ask about the trees and fruit we saw growing, etc. He kept apologizing and I kept laughing. He legit made this hike so amazing as it gave us the chance to really enjoy ourselves and not push ourselves to crazy limits.

We knew that the longer we hiked, the higher up the gorillas went so the pace did require us to hike for much longer than we all thought (about 4 hours one way), and the last bit of the hike was a little treacherous. Bamboo had to be cut, we had to crawl a few places, and we went up and down to get over to the gorillas. The two guards for the gorilla troop were calling in more frequently now.

We passed a giant pile of poop and that’s when the guide said it: “they’re just over there.” I could see some movement, a few slivers of silver, but nothing could have prepared me.

We walked right up to the leader of the group. I was staring at a Silverback Gorilla.

Maybe it was the exhaustion, but I started to cry a bit. There are a little over 1,000 of these animals in the forests around me and I was looking at one. I was participating in direct conservation of these guys by hiring the guides around me to let me look. They do this daily and they still smile. They still look in awe. The culmination of your bucket list item being literally checked while aiding to conservation of a critically endangered animal is a feeling I just cannot put into words.

After my shock wore off, I went into full-blown photographer mode. I made a point to observe without a lens multiple times though, ensuring I had memories I had to use my brain to channel and not just photos.

We walked right up next to the leader, who the guides had named Mark, his back to us, a sign of extreme trust for any wild animal. He grunted a few times to let us know who’s boss and we felt it. It’s one of those times where I’m ok not being a leader. :)

After that, more gorillas were spotted so we started to move around and found another silverback munching on bamboo about 50ft behind us. I’m now flanked by massive gorillas! At that point, we all began to breathe a bit more and decided to start aiming for great photos. This is where Curtis SHINES. He is in his element, focusing on the gorilla with such extreme precision to capture what we feel. I may have fallen a bit more in love with him watching him in this moment.

I was distracted by Caroline, who had wandered off behind some bushes, who was signaling for us to come over. She spotted two baby gorillas! We were extremely lucky to get to see these guys and they were curious, playful, and ridiculously adorable. They acted like toddlers - breaking branches, play fighting with each other, looking at us like we were aliens, etc. We were watching 2 babies, a teenager, and another silverback. We were giggling at the babies and I swear I felt a breathe behind me.

We didn’t realize how close we had gotten to Mark, eating on the branches behind us so we were instructed to move closer to where the babies were.

This is the part where I’d like to tell you I was scared. Where I had a very human reaction to this extreme activity.

That would be a lie.

Something happens to me when I set foot on the African continent. I grow a huge pair. I face insane circumstances and ask for more. I especially push the boundaries when it comes to animals and have asked every single guide I’ve ever had to never, ever shoot the animal if it’s attacking me. Please, do not kill the animal that is so endangered and instead let it take me. There are 7 billion of me and 1,000 of them. I usually get a laugh but I’m dead serious. If that’s how I go, that’s a pretty spectacular way to go and that’s how it shall be.

Back to the gorillas - I slowly walked back around to Mark, who was now facing us. I envied his confidence as he ate. He knew he was the boss and he didn’t care about his belly hanging out. #goals

Unfortunately we were nearing the end of our hour (you only get 1 hour with these guys to prevent them getting too accustomed to humans) so we had to snap our last pics and say goodbye. I may have had to be asked to leave a few times but ultimately, we started the trek down the mountain.

The trek down was easier but our bodies were tired so we had to watch our footing. This gave us the chance to also snap pics of Congo, just a few hundred feet away! It’s crazy how borders disappear when you’re looking at them from above. DRC has such a bad reputation and yet, it looked just like where we were. This was a powerful reminder that borders are only there when we believe they’re there.

A few hours later, thanking God for the gorgeous weather day, we made it to the base of the mountain and Caroline’s dad was ready to be done. Uganda had one more surprise for us though.

We could see the building but blocking it were three bull buffaloes. If you know anything about African wildlife, you know this isn’t an animal you want to encounter on foot. They do not mock-charge and kill people all the time. Our guides started throwing rocks and yelling to hopefully scare them off and to our amazement, it just pissed them off. One guide was prepared to fire his weapon to scare them but we made the decision to cut through the staff village to get back. It was a long detour but we finally made it back in time to change before dinner. Overall, we were on the hike for 9 hours!

We began to guzzle wine and were thrilled for dinner and I ended up going to bed at the late hour of 9pm, haha. Dinner was super delicious, as usual, and we were all so happy with our day!

The next day, Caroline and her dad were heading back to Kigali to catch their respective flights home and Cape Town and Curtis and I stayed an extra night. Our original plan was to hike to see the golden monkeys but we decided to sleep in and enjoy the property for the day instead. It was a very nice change of pace from the days prior and our batteries needed that recharge. We used the opportunity to fly the drone (with the staff watching with excitement!) and talk to other travelers.

The next morning, we caught a small plane to Entebbe, where Curtis began his journey home, and I headed to Cape Town for a week in my favorite city! The flight to Entebbe was stupid gorgeous as we flew very low and right over Bwindi. We had multiple stops along the way (common for Africa) and even landed on our first grass runway!