Best Practices When Planning A Gorilla Trek For safari The Elderly

Find best practices when planning a gorilla trek safari for the Elderly in Uganda and Rwanda. Gorilla trekking is for ages from 15 years and above including the elderly. The gorillas are an adorable species of primates to be in company with especially on holiday. Gorilla trekking requires you to physically take part in the walk to locate the mountain gorillas which is tiring at times especially when mountain gorillas are feeding from the slopes.

This doesn’t exclude the aged from having that precious moment on a gorilla trekking safari. It is possible to be part of the gorilla trekking team for the day whether trekking gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda.

You just need to be open about your age range, your physical capability, and your health condition so that special consideration can be done in advance of gorilla trekking.

Highlights Of Best Practices For Planning Gorilla Trek Safari For The Elderly

• Book a Gorilla Permit in advance
• Do not tailor a back-to-back itinerary for the elder to give them time to relax
• Book Accommodation with fewer Steps to climb
• Use a Safari vehicle with enough space when getting to the destination
• Consider the number of people the elder is traveling with for gorilla trekking
• Book a sedan chair or stretcher with porters in advance of gorilla trekking
• Pack the right gorilla trekking gears for the elder
• Encourage the tourists to do some simple physicals before gorilla trekking safari
• Go through the rules of gorilla trekking in advance

Book a Gorilla Permit in advance

The key to planning any gorilla trekking safari is securing a gorilla permit in advance. The gorilla permits are limited in number and get sold out quickly despite the high demand. When you inquire about gorilla trekking safari per the dates of your choice, our safari team checks availability and gets back to you.

No permit is reserved without payment as this is one way to show commitment to your gorilla trekking safari. Before securing the permit, we consider your inquiry as tentative for a period of time

It is best to inform our consultant about your age at this time so that when booking the gorilla permit area or family at the Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda development board this may be put into consideration.

Do not tailor a back-to-back Gorilla Safari itinerary for the elder to give them time to relax

Based on the age of a tourist, tailoring a back-to-back itinerary for a gorilla trekking tour will cost the tourists the fun of the entire experience. The terrain of the gorilla trekking area requires stretching some muscles which may not go well with an elder.

It’s best to give at least a day of rest for the tourist to allow them to rejuvenate after a tiring trek.  Driving on the bumpy dusty roads to the destination is also tiring too especially going to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This also depends on the available holiday days on your gorilla trekking safari in Africa.

Book Accommodation For Gorilla Trekking with fewer Steps to climb

Where you spend your days of gorilla trekking safari contributes a lot to your final safari feeling and experience. Book accommodation with rooms closer to the ground and easily accessed by an elder. Some accommodations in the gorilla trekking destinations have high stare cases for their upper rooms. These make it difficult for an aged person to make the gorilla trekking adventure a nightmare.

The accommodation for gorilla trekking in Uganda must be booked within or closer to the area where the gorilla permit is booked. This is to avoid waking up very early to panic and catch up with the gorilla trekking briefing.

Use a Comfortable Safari Vehicle With Enough Space When Getting To The Destination

Depending on your budget, using a comfortable and spacious safari vehicle when driving to either Volcanoes National park or Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a good choice.

A vehicle with enough window seats for the elderly and enough leg room makes the road trip enjoyable. For the case of Uganda gorilla trekking, driving for over 8 hours to get to Bwindi forest requires a more comfortable vehicle with 4×4 wheel drive.

Consider The Number Of People The Elder Is Travelling With For Gorilla Trekking

The more the merrier but overcrowding your safari may rob you of the fun of gorilla trekking. The aged are sometimes sensitive about certain issues especially when mixed with other ages. To avoid a miserable safari, consider a small number of people traveling with for gorilla trekking safari

Booking an elderly person on a scheduled gorilla trekking safari with people of different ages may be a recipe for disaster especially if there is no safari group leader.

Book A Sedan Chair Or Stretcher With Porters In Advance Of Gorilla Trekking

If you have difficulty in locomotion, it’s best to hire a sedan chair or stretcher with porters before starting your gorilla trekking safari. In case an elder is not in a position to maneuver the ragged volcanic terrain of the Virunga area, it’s best to secure support from porters at a friendly price in advance.

Sometimes the ground in the parks is very slippery and boggy even if the gorilla family given is not feeding far from the starting point. Based on the age and physical ability of the tourists, you need to consider extra support from porters or a walking stick at least.

Even some elders on safari find it difficult to get into the safari vehicles because of their high level from the ground so some mobile steps are required to get into the vehicle.

Pack The Right Gorilla Trekking Gears For The Elder

For gorilla trekking to succeed, you need the right attire and Equipment. Below are the gorilla trekking gears you need to plan for during gorilla trekking

• Travel Insurance
• Buying travel insurance before the safari saves you during times of uncertainty. You need to know what insurance coverage is.
• Tracking boots that are comfortable for an elder to wear during gorilla trekking makes the trip so fun. Hiking the slippery slopes and walking through the soggy mud gets challenging at times but with the right footwear, you overcome them.
• A foldable water bottle to carry drinking water in so as to quench thirst during gorilla trekking.
• Safari clothes especially long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt to protect the skin from wilderness bugs.
• Insect repellants to apply to your skin to keep away stinging insects.
• A pair of stockings to tack in your trousers and keep away biting insects that would walk into your trousers.
• A camera that is flash-less to keep memories of your gorilla trekking experience.
• Garden gloves to protect your palms from rough surfaces in the wilderness.
• Safari hat with a large brim and foldable so as to protect your hair from dripping water off the tree leaves and rain.
• A raincoat to cover you up from getting wet when it rains.
• Light backpack to keep your belonging while in the wilderness so that nothing is scattered when you tripe and fall.
• A pair of Binoculars to get a better view of far-ranging wild animals and birds
• First Aid kit with emergency medication just in case you get an accident or if you have a disease that may require urgent attention during gorilla trekking.
• An extra battery fully charged to exchange with when one runs low.
• Some snack bites to eat when you get hungry while trekking to locate the mountain gorillas.

Encourage the tourists to do some simple physicals before gorilla trekking safari

Prior to gorilla trekking, doing some simple physicals can stretch your muscles a bit and get them ready to hike the slopes. In the case of an aged person with less difficulty in the limbs, you may decide to take some strides step by step.

This is to help stretch the muscles more than the usual so that when in the forest for gorilla trekking, you do not get muscle pools.

Although the time of locating the mountain gorillas is not known, over delaying the rest of the group may cause some frustration among groupmates. Locating the gorillas takes about 2 hours to three-quarters of the day.

Go Through The Rules Of Gorilla Trekking In Advance

Understanding the rules of gorilla trekking in advance saves you the burden of becoming victims of violating any of them.

Some of the rules of Gorilla trekking include

• No feeding the gorillas because they are wild animals that must look for their own food.
• Never litter the forest because this alters the nature of the forest which feeds the mountain gorillas.
• Keep a distance of about 8 meters away from the mountain gorillas. In case they approach you to retreat slowly.
• Avoid spitting on the vegetation as this is food for the mountain gorillas.
• Try to keep your voices low when with the mountain gorillas or sudden movements.
• Anyone with a communicable infection like flu, covid-19, or diarrhea must not visit the mountain gorillas. These can easily be transmitted to the gorillas.
• Only one hour is permitted with the gorillas when you locate them.
• Burry all human feces in a hole about 30 centimeters deep and fill up beyond recognition.

For more information about planning a gorilla trekking safari for the elderly, please contact Encounter Africa Safaris and you will be assisted. Many elderly people have booked safaris with us and you can find their comments here.