Uganda wildlife holiday
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
The lodges we use are constructed of local materials with all staff being employed from the surrounding region with home cooked food, also sourced locally and also uses solar power to heat the water.
For every one of our group departures we provide clients with an in depth information pack on how to travel responsibly offering advice on travelling in country. This ranges from cultural sensitivities, to environmental awareness with an emphasis on showing respect to your hosts ensuring that each traveller sets a precedent and adheres to a strict code of conduct.
When spending time with wildlife, please keep your voices low. You will then also be able to observe the great bird life and other wildlife in the forest. Keep a safe distance from wildlife. Your guide will be on hand to advise – listen to your guides advice at all times. Do not eat or drink whilst you are near wildlife. Eating or drinking inevitably will increase the risk of food/drink morsels/droplets falling, which could increase the risk of transmission of diseases.
Please remember that although much of the wildlife is semi-habituated, they are still wild animals. You should always strictly adhere to the guidelines explained to you by the ranger before you embark on the trek. Providing you do so, you will be minimising any potential threats. It goes without saying, but DO NOT touch any wildlife of any sort. The guides and rangers will give you a full briefing on the rules of conduct before you embark on the trek and it’s very important you adhere to them. It is us who are being given a privileged insight into the natural world and we should treat all wildlife with respect!
Community
The guides we use on this tour are from the surrounding region and money raised from this tour helps support the training and education of the guides themselves.
Each of our tours also includes a year’s membership to the Jane Goodall Institute. The objectives of the Institute are to increase primate habitat conservation, increase the awareness of, support for and training in issues related to our relationship with each other, the environment and other animals, expand non-invasive research programmes on chimpanzees and other primates and to promote activities that ensure the well being of chimpanzees, other primates and animal welfare, particularly by supporting sanctuaries in Africa for orphan chimpanzees illegally taken from the wild. Steppes Discovery supports long term research in Kibale in Uganda and annual membership is included with all programmes in Uganda.
There is also a donation of U$100 per person on each trip towards the Partnership Trust, a separate non-profit organisation which undertakes community and conservation activities. These activities have included research on the chimp population of Kyambura Gorge, carried out by US researcher Nicole Simmons as part of the Trusts’ conservation activities has established that this chimpanzee population is half that of 20 years ago and severely threatened. The Kyambura Gorge Eco-tourism Partnership project will also promote the protection of these chimpanzees and create a buffer zone between the Gorge and the local communities. Other conservation and community activities funded by the Trust include road construction and improvements that help local people take their produce to markets and carry water to their homes and contributing towards connection water supplies in Bunyaruguru, Uganda.
1of10
Listen to the podcast below:
