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UGANDA
ITINERARIES |
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GORILLA TRACKING IN UGANDA
- 6 Days |
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Day |
Itinerary |
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1 |
ARRIVE
ENTEBBE, UGANDA / BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK |
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Today you
arrive in Uganda, where you are met at the Entebbe
International Airport, and taken to your hotel for welcome
drinks and a briefing. We then travel to a nearby airstrip to
take an air charter to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most
biologically diverse areas in the world. On arrival, we are
welcomed to our camp. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure
to relax or explore. After dinner, we retire for the night,
lulled to sleep by the sounds of one of Africa’s most
incredible natural environments.
Gorilla
Forest Camp (L, D) |
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2 & 3 |
BWINDI
IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK |
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The next two days activities
may be amongst the most exciting and challenging of our entire
expedition. The Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi are part of a
worldwide population of just 600 individuals. The gorillas we
are allowed to track belong to either one of two habituated
family groups. For up to five years each, these groups have
undergone an extremely delicate process that has gradually
brought them to tolerate the presence of humans for a brief
period every day and allowed a few privileged visitors to
interact with them in the wild.
The gorillas are by no means
tame, and are completely wild animals. However, experienced
guides will accompany us on our tracking, many of who have
been involved in the habituation process themselves. The
guides will use their knowledge of the gorillas’ habits and
information from the previous day to locate the group’s
whereabouts.
Because of this, the time taken
to track the gorillas varies enormously, from as little as
half an hour to as much as 9 hours before one returns to camp.
Once the gorillas are located, our group will be allowed a
maximum of one hour with them. This is one of the world’s
truly memorable experiences – a look into one of these
magnificent creatures’ eyes brings home the bond that exists
between them and us. It also brings home the poignant fact
that they are on the edge of extinction, and that our presence
here contributes to ensuring their continued survival. The
hour is often over all too quickly, and we slowly make our way
back to camp to recount the day’s adventures.
Gorilla
Forest Camp (B, L, D) |
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4 |
BWINDI
/ ENTEBBE / DEPART |
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Today is
another flight back to Entebbe. Both the flight to Bwindi and
the return flight today are highlights of this trip. The huge
vistas that open up on our one-and-a-half-hour journey belie
Uganda’s small size. We see in the distance the hills and
plains of Rwanda and Tanzania and the Rift Valley dropping
away from us towards Lake Edward and the Congo. Below us
rolling ranchland soon gives way to dry scrub and gigantic
wetlands just before our final approach over Lake Victoria.
Later in the day, we will transfer to the nearby landing site
and travel by speedboat to the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee
Sanctuary, 23 kilometers (14 miles) off Entebbe on Lake
Victoria. The lake, at 69,000 square kilometers (27,000 square
miles) is the second-largest fresh water lake in the world,
and this boat ride will give you some idea of its sheer size.
Ngamba
Island Sanctuary is a program run by the Jane Goodall
Institute for orphaned chimpanzees rescued within Uganda and
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The environment on the
97 acres (45 ha) island is the same as for wild chimpanzees:
an African tropical rainforest with more than 50 species of
plants that chimps are known to utilize in Uganda. There is
plenty of room for the chimps to explore their forest
environment. However the forest is not large enough to provide
long-term sustenance for the 34 chimps at the sanctuary, so
staff members feed them four times every day. Two of these
feeds are delivered from the viewing platform, providing an
opportunity for the islands many visitors to observe and
photograph the chimps. After lunch on the island, we will get
a chance to view the afternoon feeding.
We then
relax for the rest of the day on our return to our hotel to
prepare for our evening flight out.
Imperial
Resort Hotel/The Boma Day Rooms (B, L) |
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2007 RATES: |
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$3,696.00 per person double
occupancy – 2 people
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$2,807.00 per person double occupancy – 3 people |
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$1,987.00 per person double occupancy – 4 people |
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$2,096.00 per person double
occupancy – 5 people |
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$1,917.00 per person double
occupancy – 6 people |
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$287.00 single room supplement
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$750.00 per person gorilla permits
– subject to change (Jan 01 – May 30, 3007) |
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$1,000.00 per
person gorilla permits – subject to change (June 01 – Dec 31,
2007) |
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PRICE INCLUDES |
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Accommodation in standard twin
rooms |
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Meals as indicated in the daily
meal plan (B = Breakfast L = Lunch & D = Dinner) |
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All road and air transfers as
indicated |
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Gorilla permits and chimp tracking
permits where applicable |
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Services of an English-speaking
driver guide |
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Park fees |
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All activities described in the
itinerary, unless specified as extras |
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Mineral water,
tea and coffee in the vehicle |
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Mineral Water
at the hotels and lodges |
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Medical
Evacuation to a hospital in Nairobi |
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PRICE EXCLUDES |
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Tips and
gratuities to your driver/guide hotel/camp staff etc. |
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All expenses
of a personal nature |
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Beverages
other than mineral water, tea and coffee in the vehicle and
Mineral water at the hotels and lodges |
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International
Air Fares, entry visa fees, domestic and international departure
tax |
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UGANDA GORILLA PERMITS |
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GORILLA PERMIT AVAILABILITY CANNOT
BE GUARANTEED UNTIL WE RECEIVE
A DEPOSIT OF
$500.00 FOR EACH PERMIT AND ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE PERMITS.
IN CASE OF A CANCELLATION UGANDAN
GORILLA PERMIT PRICE IS REFUNDABLE AS FOLLOWS: |
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91 DAYS AND
ABOVE 25% CANCELLATION FEE |
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46-90 DAYS 50% CANCELLATION FEE |
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9-45 DAYS 75% CANCELLATION FEE |
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0-8 DAYS 100% CANCELLATION FEE |
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THIS
CANCELLATION PENALTY MAY CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. PLEASE
CHECK THE CORRECT CANCEL POLICY AT THE TIME OF BOOKING |
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RWANDA
GORILLA PERMITS |
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TO GUARANTEE A
PERMIT A DEPOSIT OF US$ 750.00 PER PERMIT MUST BE PAID AT THE TIME
OF BOOKING.
IN CASE OF A
CANCELLATION RWANDAN GORILLA PERMIT PRICE IS NON REFUNDABLE UNLESS
WE CAN SELL THE PERMIT ON TO ANOTHER PARTY.
PLEASE NOTE
THAT RWANDAN PERMITS AFTER 01 JUNE 2007 WILL BE PRICED AT US$500
PER PERSON PER DAY.
WE RESERVE THE
RIGHT TO AMEND THE STATED ITINERARY IN RESPONSE.
TO UNEXPECTED
CHANGES IN LOCAL CONDITIONS.
AIRCRAFT
WEIGHT AND TIME RESTRICTIONS.
PLEASE NOTE
THAT WE ONLY USE LIGHT AIRCRAFT IN UGANDA, ALL OF THEM SINGLE
PILOT, AND MOST SINGLE ENGINED.
LARGER GROUPS
WILL HAVE TO USE COMBINATIONS OF ONE OR MORE SMALLER AIRCRAFT.
THE FOLLOWING
COMBINATIONS ARE TYPICAL BUT NOT GUARANTEED, AND WILL DEPEND ON
CLIENT WEIGHTS,
CLIENT
PREFERENCES AND CLIENT LUGGAGE |
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MAXIMUM
PASSENGERS ALLOWED ABOARD FLIGHT |
AIRCRAFT
USED |
TOTAL
WEIGHT LIMIT (CLIENTS AND LUGGAGE) KG |
TOTAL
WEIGHT LIMIT (CLIENTS AND LUGGAGE) LBS |
| 1 PAX |
C-172 |
180 |
396 |
| 2 PAX |
C-172 |
180 |
396 |
| 3 PAX |
C-210 |
350 |
770 |
| 4 PAX |
C-210 |
350 |
770 |
| 5 PAX |
BN-2
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650 |
1430 |
| 6 PAX |
BN-2
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650 |
1430 |
| 7 PAX |
BN-2 AND
CESSNA 172 |
830 |
1826 |
| 8 PAX |
BN-2 AND
CESSNA 172 |
830 |
1826 |
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PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: |
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AIRCRAFT
PAYLOAD ROUGHLY ALLOWS EACH PAX 12 KG OF LUGGAGE, BUT THE
OVERRIDING LIMIT IS THE TOTAL AIRCRAFT PAYLOAD. |
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PLEASE NOTE
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TELL US ABOUT YOUR TOTAL WEIGHT SO WE
CAN |
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ENSURE THAT
THE RIGHT AIRCRAFT IS REQUESTED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING. |
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PLEASE NOTE
PRICE QUOTED BY US IS BASED ON CLIENT NUMBERS. IF, BASED ON CLIENT
WEIGHTS, IT IS DETERMINED THAT A LARGER AIRCRAFT IS REQUIRED, THE
QUOTED PRICE WILL GO UP ACCORDINGLY |
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PLEASE NOTE
ALL FLIGHTS TAKING OFF FROM ENTEBBE AFTER 1400 HOURS MUST BE DONE
USING FASTER AIRCRAFT, OR MAY INVOLVE THE OVERNIGHT OF AN AIRCRAFT
AT A REMOTE LOCATION OUR ORIGINAL QUOTE MAY INCREASE TO CATER FOR
THIS ONCE WE RECEIVE FINAL INTERNATIONAL ARRIVAL |
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CANCELLATION
PENALTIES |
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If
cancellation is received up to 130 days prior to departure, 20% of
the total tour price is forfeited |
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If
cancellation is received 129 – 90 days prior to departure, 35% of
the total tour cost is forfeited |
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If
cancellation is received 89 – 60 days prior to departure, 40% of
the total tour cost is forfeited |
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If
cancellation is received 59 to 30 days prior to departure, 50% of
the total tour cost is forfeited |
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If
cancellation is received 29 days or less before departure, 100% of
the total tour cost is forfeited |
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