Trip reports uganda
I went on a two week birding tour of Uganda from 2 July 2015 to 16 July 2015. The tour was organized and guided by Muhumuza Deogratius [
First of all, Deo is not only an excellent birder, very knowledgeable, but also a great guy, very easy to get along with.
Hi my name is Peter Saunders from Nottingham England--we booked this birding holiday a year in advance with Deo. The participants were Peter and Lorraine Saunders, Jonny Price and Will Price.
Deo drove us hundreds of miles and with his and Robert's expert bird finding skills we clocked around 480 species and saw all the main mammals as well - including the fantastic Biwindi gorillas. Communications, food and accommodation were all excellent and, overall, I was thoroughly impressed. Would strongly recommend this company.
Jonathan Price, GB
Birding Trip to Uganda Jan23 to Feb7 2015.
I had a wonderful trip to Uganda with Deo and Robert. Deo organized the trip and was the driver (also guide) and Robert the guide. Robert is an amazing spotter and his knowledge of the birds is astounding.
We went on the Birdingpal fixed date tour from 24 January to 7 February 2014 with Deo and Robert as guides.
Deo was the mastermind of the trip. He was not only an excellent birder, but was unfailingly good-humoured and gracious, and made us feel at home on the trip. Our group of six had a mix of interests and personalities, but Deo made sure that everyone was happy and was getting what they wanted out of the tour.
I joined the fixed date birdingpal tour of 6 people from January 24 to February 7 2014. It was a truly memorable trip. Apart from all the birds and wildlife, Uganda is a beautiful country. The group gelled really well, and lots of fun was had along the way. Deo and Robert were not only great guides, they were great hosts. The value of the fixed date tour is extraordinarily good, as everything is supplied. You only need a little cash for guide tips, alcohol and snacks, plus souvenirs.
A magnificent trip took us to Uganda July 15 to July 29, 2014, expertly guided by Muhumuza Deogratius; Deo for short. We had intended to book our trip through a local Ugandan travel agent and were lucky to find Deo recommended on the www.birdingpal.org website. Deo responded to our inquiries immediately and to our satisfaction. He booked our travel route according to our wishes and the accommodations selected by him were all very pleasant, clean and located in beautiful and safe environments. Every detail of the planned itinerary in Uganda was provided as promised.
The communications with regard to the trip were excellent and the service was also of a very high standard and lived up to all expectations. The level of accommodation was also as expected but the food could be improved upon. The actual tour itself was absolutely fantastic with regard to the itinerary, diverse habitats and the time spent looking for birds. The bird knowledge of the two guides was outstanding.
By Ian MacEacheran GB
There were 5 trip members from UK which we organised with Deo through Birding Pal. Deo met us at Lake Victoria View guest house where we were familiarising ourselves with the Hotel garden Birds. A big smile from Deo soon got us on the right footing. From the outset and through the rest of the trip, communication, expert guiding and service lived up to the highest standard of hopefull expectation.
Deo was a true professional as well as being a great companion and friend during our three weeks in Uganda.
After a years research and contact with 13 companies , both large and small, I
decided on Uganda Luxury Eco Tours . This is a small local company which kept to my brief :
To see as many different birds as possible , visit a wide range of habitats and see
gorillas and chimpanzees in the wild . I was impressed with depth of their knowledge
of birds and where to see them. They always replied promptly to my endless questions
and I was impressed by their professional approach .
Deo Muhumuza , the owner of the company and an excellent birder , was my guide . He
was very ably assisted by Brian Tuhaise our driver , who is also a talented
freelance bird guide in his own right.
Although we have done a lot of birding abroad in the last thirty years, and have used the services of guides, this was the first trip we had undertaken which was just my wife and I plus a guide for three weeks. Ann has always wanted to see Shoebill, but most organised tours to Uganda include Gorilla trekking, and arthritic knees meant the terrain might not be suitable. In addition one of our main interests is waders, and I wanted to photograph them also, so we wanted a bit of flexibility in our itinerary to allow for missing specific species. To this end we engaged the services of Deogratius Muhumuza, of Uganda Eco-Tours (henceforth known as Deo). Deo is the owner of the company, and we specified that we wanted him to lead us, which was no problem. The result was a highly succesful trip, and we saw and photographed nearly all of our target species, those we missed being long shots or species that we can easily see elsewhere.
Why Uganda? I usually plan a trip with some objective in mind. For Jordan, it was to visit Petra. For Uganda, it was to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas can be found in the mountains shared by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda. There are only about 900 mountain gorillas left, with about half in Uganda. For the foreseeable future, the DRC is a no-go zone—at least for me. Trekking permits are cheaper in Uganda, plus it has more birds than Rwanda and there is an excellent chance of seeing chimpanzees.
