Our hour was up and it was time to say good bye and embark on our 3 hour trek back. Being down hill most of the way, it was much easier, except for a few slips here and there! The rain had continued to stay away so it was nice and dry as well. Out of the forest and down through the tea plantations we came across a local who had carved gorillas out of wood. Andy had already reached this man before Steph and had picked out a very good carving, we bought it to add to our mementos of this incredible experience.
Finally back at the vehicles we said our good byes to the amazing porters and rangers. Inside the van the rain finally came and we were pleased with our good luck. Back at the Wildlife Authority headquarters we were awarded with a certificate of our experience.
At the lodge we excitedly discussed our different experiences with the other tourists who had trekked other gorilla groups. They were all quite shocked with the 7 hour trek we had just completed, but we were very proud of ourselves for completing it as it added to the whole experience for us.
After dinner we went to our beds and fell asleep quickly.
The journey back was quite eventful, we came across quite a confused state on one of the roads. It looked like some vehicles may tip over and we did come across one that had! We hit Kampala in the early evening after a ten hour road trip and the traffic was just impossible, we thought we'd never make it to the hotel.
Eventually arriving at Le Petit Village hotel, we said a long good bye to our great guide Hamid, who has been exceptional. We had seen rare sights such as a Leopard, Giant Forest Hogs and a male Lion asleep in a tree, numerous of birds we wouldn't have had a clue about and so many animals, all thanks to Hamid who obviously loves his job and is very good at it. We couldn't thank him enough.
For us now it was time for dinner and then bed, the next day we would be exploring Kampala.
