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30,000 Reached, 10,000 Video Plays: What Next?
The success of the Video Map took our global team by surprise. We knew we had something special but we didn’t expect such huge, immediate Facebook effect. Our post reached 18,942 people because we paid Mr Zuckerberg $7 (yes, seven dollars) but the rest has all been “organic”; friends sharing with friends. We also prepared a…
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Gorilla Trek Ends with … Of Course!
Like so many hikers before them, East African Playgrounds volunteers felt they wanted to stay at Mutanda Island Lodge on Gahiza Island for another day… Yet their program was tight. On Sunday, following four days of trekking that would warm them up at Lake Bunyonyi then lead them from Bunyonyi to Lakes Kayumbu and Mutanda and finally to the edge…
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Second & Third Gorilla Trek Day in Images
This photo report is being sent from a tiny island on Lake Mutanda where mobile internet is patchy at best; please pardon our high compression and brevity. Over the weekend we will be in a similar situation, so allow us to complete the story on Monday. You may also like: Fresh Photos from Sabinyo GorgeThe…
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Background Story: Global Team behind the Video Map
Over three years, sleeping in grass-thatched huts and working in mud structures whose glass-less windows open towards a magnificent mountain lake, or from their homes across the globe, a small group of expert volunteers worked on a project like no other, the Gorilla Highlands Video Map. They cared about an outstanding region in the middle…
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Despite the Wisdom of Mountain Goat
It was a glorious day. A day that only those who know Bunyonyi‘s usual climate will know how to fully appreciate. The perfect, sunny, easygoing opening act to four days of rather demanding hiking. The first four miles out of 40 on land and water. Many of the 26 East African Playgrounds volunteers from three…
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4-Day Gorilla Trek Starts Tomorrow
The biggest thing that happens on the Gorilla Highlands Trails every year are the East African Playgrounds groups. Over 150 English volunteers will trek from Lake Bunyonyi through Echuya Forest to the lakes of Kisoro and eventually to Rushaga (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park) where mountain gorillas are expecting them… They are divided in eight groups…
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Gorilla Highlands in Germany
Lufthansa, Europe’s biggest airline, produces a monthly magazine for over 300,000 of its customers. In the June 2016 edition of Lufthansa Exclusive our region gets 9 pages, a consequence of the Gorilla Highlands Press Trip that brought Jiro Ose here last November. If you read German or simply want to see some great photography, download…
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In Great Company Mapping Is Fun
The Gorilla Highlands team spent the last two days learning from the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT). Our open invitation to join this mapping training brought to Lake Bunyonyi four Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger guides, a volunteer from Echuya Eco-tourism Association and a guide-in-training from Mutanda Lake Resort. All in all, 19 people had an educational and…
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Keeping Gorillas Healthy, or Not
Concerns that humans may pass on diseases were one of the reasons that farmers and forest inhabitants were evicted from the parks. However, the chance of people passing on disease to primates is higher with non-locals who wouldn’t share the same immunities. The main gorilla health organisation is the Gorilla Doctors, previously presented through an interview…
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Best Chef & Winning Recipe
Levi Kato wanted to be an accountant.
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Silverchef 2016: Why, How & What Next
The chefs… Stuck in hot, stressful places, only paid attention to when something goes wrong.
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And the Silverchef 2016 Winner Is…
Up to 15 points for organisation/cleanliness, 10 for time management, 15 for presentation, 15 for creativity, 40 for taste and 5 for personality.
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You Won’t Believe Where This Car Is Going
A fully loaded car departed at 1pm.
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Rwandan Tour Operators Exploring Uganda
We are progressively integrating Rwanda into the Gorilla Highlands concept (first with volunteering in two countries, next with Musanze chefs competing at Silverchef 2016) and are pleased to get any chance to talk about it. We were therefore excited to be invited by Ivan Mbabazi Batuma of Kigezi Tourism Cluster to present our region and plans to Rwandan…
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“Responsible Tourism” – Right Term, Right Way
There is nobody with a tourism degree on the Gorilla Highlands team, nor has anybody worked in the tourism industry beforehand. Our decision to enter this business was purely pragmatic. We noticed negative long-term effects of charity and looked for something smarter. We were enchanted with our region’s natural and cultural beauty. We felt that the best way…
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Help Us Refine Our Region on the OpenStreetMap
The Gorilla Highlands initiative is about putting southwestern Uganda and northwestern Rwanda onto the global map – and on 2-3 June 2016 there will be a special opportunity to do that practically. The Ugandan OpenStreetMap community, with support from the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) and Edirisa are teaming up for two days of training with…
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Background Story: Batwa “Pygmies” for Children
Wim Kok of Matoke Tours is well known for his creative ideas. Thinking of family travel in Uganda, he wondered how to engage children under 15 who are not allowed to track gorillas. Before his involvement with Matoke, Wim was a tour guide for another Dutch company. He guided tours all over the world, but…
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Innovation: Budget Family Travel in Uganda & Rwanda
The Gorilla Highlands Team is co-hosting #Africhat, a monthly gathering on Twitter that will take place between 7:30 and 8pm this evening (Uganda time). The topic: Family Travel in Africa. The occasion calls for us to share our recent pioneering experience with budget family travel in our region… At the end of December 2015 an…
