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Is It Worth Getting a Local Sim Card? (Includes Amusing Facts)
SHORT ANSWER: YES, AND THIS IS WHY …If you want to make your trip to the Gorilla Highlands region of Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo as easy as possible, acquire a local SIM card right at the airport. Purchasing your SIM is not too complicated (you will only need to have an unlocked phone and…
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The Split (Kabale, Nkozi & Bunyonyi 2011)
This is the eleventh instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. When I woke up in a small room at Backpackers in Kampala one morning in 2006 I panicked. For the first time in my life I was…
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Wildlife, People, Prosperity (You Too Can Be a Godzilla Gorilla!)
The video below distils what Gorilla Highlands Experts is in about 50 seconds. Further down we lay our thinking out in 4 paragraphs. The prosperity of the Gorilla Highlands region at the crossroads of Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo depends on its breathtaking nature. Instead of destroying it through outdated industrialisation, our vision has been…
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SABA Episode #5 — Grauer’s Gorillas, Bonobos & Community Issues
With this fifth episode of SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA we achieved something pretty monumental: we recorded everything but the Voice of Santa Barbara live, at once! Before we would always have to add extra recordings to what we get on the Tuesday Zoom call. That wasn’t easy for me — I’ve been doing studio sessions,…
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Lost Co-Founder Climbs Back in the Window (Kampala 2010)
This is the tenth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. It was 2010 when Miha, in his characteristic adventurous spirit, approached me with a request. He wanted us to make a video documentary on how to transform Uganda’s education, from the…
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Should I Be Cautious of Wildlife?
100mm, f/4, 1/250, ISO640This is actually a well-worded question. Had it been whether you should be worried about wildlife, my answer would have been no. But cautious? Well, a bit of caution never hurt anyone.Animals come in all shapes and sizes, and people often worry about the wrong ones. Spider and snake bites are very…
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What Should I Expect in Terms of Cultural Shock?
Culture shock is expected, and even welcome, when you exchange a life in the West for a dive into African life. But your culture shock will inevitably be quite personal.Considering that I’m a fresh Gorilla Highlands Experts intern that will stay in Uganda for six months, my very recent arrival puts me in a prime position to share my own…
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SABA Episode #4 — Driving in Queen Elizabeth NP & Why Is Africa Poor?
The fourth episode of our weekly SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA podcast is, as always, preoccupied with the questions you send us. In the first segment, Kahiri and Miha have many provocative, critical and inspiring things to say as a reply to the following:It’s crazy how many African countries are insanely rich with natural resources and…
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How Edirisa Changed My Life, and Theirs (Kitanga 2009)
This is the ninth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. 2009 was a pivotal year for me and Edirisa UK as it was the summer that I first visited the Special Needs Education Centre (SNEC) in Kitanga…
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Should I Expect Very Basic Accommodation Facilities?
120mm, f/8.0, 1/250s, ISO250Hotels in the Gorilla Highlands region range from cheap and very, very basic — though rarely dirty — to the kind of opulence you would expect to be able to find in most big cities. Outside of urban areas, however, hotels probably aren’t where you want to spend your nights when there…
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Is It Right to Come with Gifts for Children?
No and yes and no.On the one hand, there is some serious danger that you will contribute to the culture of begging that can be quite annoying. At my Ugandan home, Lake Bunyonyi, it’s almost like children learn “Give me money!” before “Mama”. At my Rwandan home, Musanze, we have a startlingly common problem with…
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New GH Mega Trek Month: May 2022
📁 HikingWell, few will be surprised by this announcement: GH Mega Trek will happen in May 2022 instead.We were aware of what the pandemic could do to our plans, that is why we pushed the original dates to the very end of our anniversary year of 2021. It still wasn’t enough.While we are dealing with Covid…
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SABA Episode #3 — Africa’s Secret History
This episode of SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA might surprise those who thought we would be a podcast preoccupied with conventional travel questions. We are literally open to any question about Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo, and when a distinguished member wants to know how history is taught at schools, we go full blast! But the…
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What Photography Gear Should I Pack for Rwanda, Uganda or DR Congo?
There are a dozen ways to answer this question, and it is obviously very subjective. What kind of equipment do you own? How important is photography to you? What’s your budget like?The Gorilla Highlands region is very diverse, and different activities call for different equipment. Still, there’s no point in bringing more than you will…
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Thank You, Thank You, Thank You (Bunyonyi & Kabale 2008)
This is the eighth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. My Edirisa story begins with Learn From Africa (see Danger Dave’s story about 2006), the volunteer orientation that brought interesting visitors to my village.I would call the…
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Why is Akagera National Park So Expensive — And Where Does My Money Go?
OK, let’s talk about money … Safaris are probably not the cheapest holiday option. As well as your flights, accommodation, food and transport, you might also have game drives, park fees, and additional activities to budget for.There is also a whole mixed-bag of options when it comes to planning a safari. Whereas private reserves or…
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SABA Episode #2 & The Fun of Tuning In Live
Ladies and gentlemen, you can find the second edition of SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA above (and in the podcasting app of your choice), the episode that answers the following questions: How safe it is to use public transportation in Uganda and Rwanda being a white woman travelling solo?Is it possible to get by public transport…
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Miles of Smiles (Bunyonyi & Kabale 2007)
This is the seventh instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Experts. Click here for Part I. Year 2007 was that breakpoint year for me, when I decided that the Western world just doesn’t have that much to offer to better my state of…
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