We managed to get out of Kampala unscathed and set off on our two day drive to Bwindi and spent the first night at Lake Mburo National Park. As it was 5 p.m. when we arrived and the entry fee was $90 we decided not to stay in the park, opting to stay just outside the gate. We had an early start to Bwindi in the morning and wouldn't have time to tour the park in the morning. We practiced our campfire again and started the fire straight away. The fire worked well and we made chicken and vegatables, jacket potatoes and rice only we dropped the rice on the floor draining it from the pan!!!

Next morning we set of early but the drive to Bwindi took us 7 hours, the last 53 miles alone taking 4 hours. The road was merely a dirt track and a rough dirt track at that having recently suffered during heavy thunderstorms. Bwindi is a very tiny village with only a couple of campsites and lodges by the side of the entry to the National Park. Our campsite was run by the community although the community have recently had a raw deal. In the past the National Park paid 10% of trekking fees to the locals but this has recently reduced to 10% of the entry fee which is tiny. There are 34 permits a day costing $250 dollars each of which the park entry fee is a very small amount. There is no electricity in the villages or hot water and the roads are virtually non existant. It is no wonder the locals are resentful when the National Park is making all that profit. The hot water for showers is boiled in a drum over a fire and you have to get the hot/cold mix through the shower correct or you soon get scalded.

We went to a small shack that night to watch Man Utd v Reading and Arsenal v Fulham. The small bar had a generator and all the locals paid about about 30p each to watch. We were sat on two plastic stools surrounded by locals who have no concept of personal space and virtually sit on each other's knees. It was a looking around the room in total darkness, the only light coming from the t.v. and all you could see was t shirts and teeth as the Ugandans have particularly black skin. It was a brilliant atmosphere as the Ugandans love their football, the majority seeming to support Man Utd but as the games were both on at the same time we had watch 15 mins or each game in turn. The supporters put the Old Trafford crowd to shame and Alex Ferguson would have welcomed them they were so excited and vocal in their support.

The following day we met at the Park Office at 7.45 for our briefing and there were 8 people in our party with permits plus a guide, two armed guards two support staff and a handful of porters to carry rucksacks if required. We set off through the rain forest having been told it could take up to 6 hours to track down the gorillas. There are 4 families in the forest at Bwindi only Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo having mountain gorillas totalling about 700. We were prepared for a hard day but luckily we found our family of 15 with one silverback within an hour. They were hidden in the undergrowth and up trees at first but came down onto a jungle patch well into the open. The guide said later we were lucky to see them so closely. It was a totally amazing feeling being so close to the gorillas you could reach out and touch them. They took no notice of us whatsoever, gorillas being vegitarians, humans are not a food source. We saw all 15 members of the family at close range and had our allocated hour with the family, any longer and they can become aggitated. The babies just looked like little stuffed toys. I think Peter was a little disappointed, he would have had more a sense of achievement if we had had to track the gorillas for hours before we found them. I was just pleased we saw any at all and thought it was the highlight of our trip so far. I hope you all enjoy the brilliant photos we managed to get.