Why tip gorilla guides and trackers in Uganda and Rwanda
Why tip gorilla guides and trackers in Uganda and Rwanda
Here are reasons as to why you should tip gorilla guides and trackers in Uganda and Rwanda, Tipping during the gorilla trekking safaris is a token of appreciation for a service done. Tipping may not be compulsory but in order to encourage the rangers guides and trackers to continue providing the right information about the mountain gorillas, these tips are part of the safari recipe.
In the 1980s, the status of the mountain gorillas was worrying and a census carried out then by the then team of Researcher under leadership of Naturalist Dian Fossey, they amounted to only 250 gorillas. This brought the plight of the mountain gorillas to the concern of both local and international conservation bodies. These only leftover mountain gorillas live in only Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.Congo but were at the rim of extinction them.
Most Popular Safaris
- 3 day Uganda gorilla trekking
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- 5 days gorilla trekking Rwanda
- 5 day Uganda gorillas & wildlife
- 3 day fly in gorilla habituation
- 5 day gorilla habituation and chimps
- 3 day Bwindi double trek via Kigali
- 5 days gorillas & game safari
Some of the issues pointed out by this time where human activities like seeing snares, killing the mountain gorillas for trophies and so much more. One of the ways to bring humans closer to the life of the mountain gorillas was habituating the wild gorillas to human presence. This however requires some ranger guide support and trackers to take off some time and be with the mountain gorillas.
During gorilla trekking, everybody would love to move with a knowledgeable and informed guide who is ready to answer almost all question one has about the mountain gorillas.
With such work, some funding is required and part of the ways of collecting this is by selling the gorilla trekking or habituation permits. This money includes the guide fee but this doesn’t directs reflect on the ranger’s account. When you tip the ranger guide and trackers, you directly appreciate them for the good service done to make gorilla trekking an interesting safari.
The rangers and trackers who lead gorilla trekking indulge you in to the unknown life of the mountain gorillas. No one would personally get into the inner depth of the life in Virunga area without the ranger guide’s help. They take off part of there time to investigate each gorilla family and note down the different trails that each has. This is the unknown truth that may not be documented any where.
Each day a group of ranger guiders and trackers wake up earlier than others to follow the mountain gorillas where they nested. They pass this information to the park warden and ranger guides leading tourists that day. The rangers follow the trails where the mountain gorillas are expected to be but this doesn’t guarantee that they are in that same location.
The mountain gorillas are very mobile because they need to look for food for the day. This is part of the explains why the time of locating the mountain gorillas is unknown.
For such reasons when you decide to tip the ranger guide do it generously according to your budget to encourage them keep digging deep into the life of the mountain gorillas,
Highlights For Why Tip During Gorilla Trekking
To directly Support the Gorilla trackers and ranger guides
Contribute to gorilla conservation campaign
Create personal relationship with the ranger guides and researchers
Token of Appreciation For Leading Gorilla trekking
To directly Support the Gorilla trackers and ranger guides
Gorilla ranger guides and trackers also need financial support despite the salaries they receive. They give up there personal life to keep researching about the mountain gorillas. They alter pass this information to the tourists.
The costs of gorilla trekking safaris are quite high so one wishes to get value for money. Taking this walk with an informed and knowledgeable ranger guide gives tourists confidence to walk about entire experience.
Sometimes tourists would like to directly support these rangers and tackers so after gorilla trekking, you may offer a token of appreciation.
Contribute to gorilla conservation campaign
When the ranger guides know the benefits of preserving the mountain gorillas that there presence will keep tourists coming who may offer them some tips the guard them jealously. They are ready to go into there communities and teach them the relevancy of having the mountain gorillas living in the surrounding.
With this information, the park may not spend a lot of money sensitizing the community to the relevancy of preserving the mountain gorillas. The tips tourists give to the ranger guides and trackers may ignite all this.
Create personal relationship with the ranger guides and researchers
Tipping may create a personal relationship between the tourists and the rangers or trackers. In case you are to return as researcher, you may find it more quicker to get information from these rangers and trackers including what you may not have asked about.
Those known to you are ready to take you around to get the information you are collecting. This creates trust between you the researcher and ranger guide or tracker giving you information. Data collection about the mountain gorillas made easy
Token of Appreciation For Leading Gorilla trekking
As mentioned above tipping is not compulsory but a token of appreciation. When the ranger guide leads you through the forest, leads you through the tangled vegetation, protects you from dangerous forest intruders and so much more, as a way to thank them, tipping can be one of what you may do.
No amount is set for tipping but when packing gorilla trekking gears, carry some limited cash for this. In Africa, credit cards are used by few people who understand how they operate. The procedures of collecting money from them is so long so the rangers may not be in position to take money off the credit cards.
Why Book A Porter During Gorilla Trekking
Apart from the ranger guides and trackers, porters are worth tipping too. They carry your bags through the trek so that you do not get so tired or slip and scatter your belongings in the wilderness. They may give you a push in case you get tired.
Porters are ordinary people who you can hire before starting your gorilla trekking expedition at the ranger station.
When you meet the mountain gorillas, you would like to take the best without disturbance. Porters hold these bags for you and you are left free to enjoy that full hour with the gorillas without worrying of what would happen to your bags when you put it aside.
The money they earn from this service is used to pay school fees for their children, health care, daily home consumption and much more. A part from the hiring fees you give the porters, you can also tip them for the service rendered.
Since they come from the community and one of the threats to mountain gorilla existence are the communities, those tipped can spread the conservation gospel to their communities.
How Much Do You Tip During Gorilla Trekking Safari
Tipping is a token of appreciation so no specific amount is set for it. When you tip generously, you support the livelihood of several local people. They depend on some of the money acquired from tips to survive.
What Time Do You Locate The mountain Gorillas
Locating the mountain gorillas has no standard time but may take between 2 hours to three quarters of the day. some level of patience is necessary to get through with gorilla trekking.
Mountain gorillas are mobile primates that have to look for foliage everywhere to satisfy there there bodies. They conquer a certain area and feed from there until exhausting its foliage. The dominant silverback has the mandate of seeking new feeding ground for the family.
When a gorilla family loses one of its members, they are in a somber mood. They go into hiding which may cause a long time to locate them.
Incase the gorilla family is attacked by a wild family and they loose, the entire family may be broken as some of there members are hijacked, those that remain to have to move to other locations. Even gorilla families have internal fights too which may break the family.
Severe rains push the mountain gorillas to the slopes incase the rivers over flood and submerge there food. They are forced to relocate to the slopes. Having some level of fitness helps you survive to the top of the slopes to enjoy having that moment with the mountain gorillas.
The pace of the gorilla trekkers contributes to the time of locating the mountain gorillas. The ranger guides follow the pace of the slowest trekker. The slower you walk the longer the time of locating the mountain gorillas.
How To Book Gorilla Trekking Permits In Uganda And Rwanda
Know the date when you wish to do gorilla trekking helps in specifying the day to check availability from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board gorilla permit listing.
Having a rough of estimate of the number of people you expect to join the gorilla trekking safari is fantastic.
Know the age limit for gorilla trekking is 15 years and above. Children below this age may engage in other activities like chimpanzee trekking, game drives, boat trips and others.
Our safari consultant will check availability and get back to you with the prevailing status as per that day. Remember gorilla permit status changes any time because of the high demand for them worldwide.
Incase availability is positive, we encourage our clients to purchase there permit as soon as possible. This is because they easily get finished they are on first come first served basis.
After securing the gorilla trekking permit, you need to avail some personal details like your full names as those on the passport, date of birth, nationality and other details.
Some of these details are included on your certificate of accomplishing your gorilla trekking safari.
On the day of gorilla trekking, have to attend briefing at the ranger station or ORTPN so that you get instructions to follow for the entire adventure.
Having packed the right gorilla trekking gears, follow the guidelines of the ranger guide because they know the behavior of the mountain gorillas as per that moment. In case you deviate from the ranger guide’s directives, you may cause a stampede in the forest.
When In The Best Time to Do Gorilla Trekking In Uganda And Rwanda
Gorilla trekking is an all-year-round experience because mountain gorillas do not move solitary like most wild animals do. They live in families whose cause for movement is sometimes determined by the dominant silverback.
When you secure your gorilla trekking permit be rest assured of seeing the mountain gorillas in the wilderness. There is no probability because the ranger guides rise up earlier than the rest to search where the mountain gorillas might have spent the night. They communicate to headquarters so that ranger guides assigned to lead a particular gorilla family follows a certain trail.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda is done in the tropical rain forest area which receives rain at any time. During the dry seasons that is June to September and December to January, there is less water flooding from the dense network of rivers. When the sunrays get to the ground through the leaves they reduce on the level of moisture from the ground.
In the wet seasons the forest is moist because of limited sunray penetration through the dense large leaves.
Carry some rainproof gears that can protect you from getting wet in case it rains. Make sure you wear safari boots that can withstand the humid and boggy conditions in the forest. The texture of the soil is soft, volcanic slippery making it impassable some times.
Which Country Is Best For Gorilla Trekking Of Uganda And Rwanda
The moment of meeting the mountain gorillas is extra ordinarily beautiful no matter where you locate them. That one hour is precious knowing that you are among the only left over mountain gorillas in the world.
The difference between which country of Uganda and Rwanda is best for gorilla trekking can only be felt when you visit both countries.
In Uganda, the cost of gorilla trekking permits is $700 while in Rwanda the gorilla trekking permit cost $1500 per person.
Rwanda has so far 13 gorilla families opened for tourist viewing whereas Uganda has 19 gorilla families.
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