1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Both camping in Uganda and visiting the Gorillas in their natural habitat.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

To make sure that they have the correct equipment for camping (wet clothes, torch, sealable wet bags etc) and to make sure that the group they are going to be with is on the same trip and not splitting up to go on separate excursions.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Well to a certain extent yes, but only because I chose to purchase items from individuals in the community and not from companies. In other ways I don't believe it did, for example, my purchase price paid for my trip didn't really benefit the community to a huge extent. My agent took a cut and the boss of the safari company took a huge cut, the cooks, assistants and local people actually doing the work were paid a meagre salary and only through the group giving a nice tip at the end of the holiday did it "reach" the local community. You had to be extremely conscious of where you spent your money to ensure it really truly benefited the locals. In addition, even the $500 per gorilla trip was not really reaching the local community due to alleged govt corruption.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Amazing experience other than after 10 days of my 14 day safari my group split and I was taken on an extension trip to Rwanda. I didn't realise at the time of booking that the entire group wasn't on the same trip....now when I had spent 10 days with the same people, I had gotten very attached to them, only to have to then continue my trip alone. I really didn't enjoy that part of it and found it lonely. Next time I would ask more questions at the time of booking to make sure I truly understood that the group were all on the same trip and not splitting off at points to complete various excursions.

Read the operator's response here:

Thank you for your feedback, we always appreciate feedback from clients in order that we can continually improve our services.

Throughout all of the safaris that we run we generate jobs for the local communities in each location whether that be for drivers, chefs, mechanics, guides, hotel staff or trackers. A percentage of gorilla permits included in the price of this safari also goes directly to the local communities and park staff. Aside from this, as a company we also donate a percentage of each safari sold to the conservation of endangered primates throughout the world. Salaries in Africa may not be on the same level as in Europe however all staff are paid in line with national rates. As this was a mobile camping safari it also minimises impact on the local environment in each location.

I hope this is of some help in clarifying how we help local people in each destination, the conservation of critically endangered primates and in minimising the impact of tourism on the local environment.