Mountain Gorillas If you are not a cavewoman like myself, and have actually seen the movies “Gorillas in the Mist” and “King Kong”, then you might be mildly terrified at the thought of seeing these gigantic “brothers from other mothers” in real life, and not behind the safety of your tv screen. I know I would, I was peer pressured into watching “chucky” as a wee ankle biter, and have never owned a doll since! However, if someone had just explained dolls are actually quite pleasant, things might have been different. Gorillas are actually quite the same, a bit hairier, but they are generally shy, and non-aggressive animals, who only attack if provoked. They will however, fight for possession of a female, as well as fight to defend their troop, so gentlemen, please don’t go trying to hold any of the ladies hands when you are out there, unless you weigh more than 600kg and stand over 6 feet tall! If you do happen to upset one, and want to come back later with the police to press charges for intended bodily harm, make sure you get a copy of his nose, as gorillas can be identified by their nose print which is unique to each individual. Perhaps that’s where the saying comes from, don’t stick your nose in other people’s business because they will be able to pinpoint it back directly to you. After all, we have to have some kind of link to gorillas, they have 98% of the same nuclear DNA as us, and are especially susceptible to human disease. In fact if you are coughing and spluttering on the day of the trek you could be denied access to the gorillas, so stock up on Berocca! Adult males are called silverbacks, because a saddle of gray or silver-colored hair develops on their backs with age. The reason for this has nothing to do with the fact that they have harems of 3–4 females! All jokes aside though, these magnificent Mountain Gorillas are critically endangered, and there are only about 700 left in the whole world. By visiting them, you in turn fund the protection of these amazingly human like, yet unique creatures. Best time of year: Jan and Feb, and June to September are the best times to go as they are the drier months, although you can expect rain at any time of the year as Uganda has a very equatorial climate. What to expect: Gorilla trekking is not as easy as a Sunday stroll. Everyone’s experience can be different. Some may hike for hours on end, and others might site a family within an hour of trekking. As the name possibly gives away, mountain gorillas live in the mountains, and therefore a lot of up-hill trekking can be expected. You don’t have to be a super hero like me to do it, but you do have to have a good level of strength and fitness. Make sure you wear long pants on the trek, there are nettle leaves which leave a nasty sting if touched. To check out tours with gorilla encounters please click here. back to top

Winter Escapade

This was my first time travelling with Kumuka. The tour was organised to the smallest detail with regards to travelling and restaurants... but still we were provided with enough information and free time to venture off on our own and visit places of individual interests! Friendly tour leader and driver. I've travelled over xmas period and the team made an incredible effort to make this a special time! Well-organised, relaxing tour with great accommodation and choice of restaurants! Will only travel kumuka in the future!

Lowinda Jaquire

Lowinda travelled to Europe on The Winter Escapade tour 

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Kumuka Travel Photography Competition Winners

The results have been released for the winners of the 2010 Kumuka Travel Photography competition. If you missed them, please click on to view the outcome.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Kumuka tours can be paid in any of the following currencies NZD, CAD, AUD, EUR, GBP and USD?

Boasting one of the best online booking platforms (for travel agents and clients alike) in the adventure travel industry, our facilities allow anyone anywhere anytime to pay for their tour in the currency of choice.

With fluctuating exchange rates it can be difficult to know when the best time is to purchase your travel arrangements. Well one thing is for sure, with the USD so cheap, historically speaking there cannot be a better time than now.

So jump online or visit your travel agency and take advantage of our multicurrency payment system and save! Simply chose the nation of your choice in the top left of any landing page.

*If you pay in a foreign currency, check with your bank for exchange rate and bank fee details to gain accurate costs in your local currency.

Book your Kumuka tour online now >

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Travel Tip of The Month

Budget for your Optional Activities

For the purpose of making tours that cater to all kinds of people, some activities have to be 'optional' . This enables those who wouldn’t be interested in bungy jumping or scuba diving to save their cash, but allowing those who have always dreamt of doing it, to do so.

Planning, and looking through the list of optional activities on the Kumuka website to prepare an activities budget, is one the best master plans you can have. Some may blow their spending money quickly, then find themselves selling their shoes to try and pay for a once in a lifetime activity still to come. However, if you look through the list and gain a rough idea of what activities you might want to do, you can then put the cash aside, and save yourself a lot of barefoot walking.

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Brendan's Blog

Fun on the Salt Flats

The most famous Bolivian Salt Flats (the Salar de Uyuni) are one of the most “out of this world” places on earth. It is just miles and miles of seemingly endless, perfectly flat, salt. It is one of the few places on earth where one can actually see the natural curvature of the earth’s surface from a land setting. Because of the freezing and thawing processes of the high altitude salt flats amazing hexagon shapes crack themselves into the thick layers of the salt. On the edge of salar there are pyramid shaped mounds of salt which are left to dry for later processing.

Further into the skating rink-like scenery sites a hotel made nearly entirely of salt, and then, here on this lake of salt 3600 meters above sea level, there is an island filled with tall cacti dating back to births of over a hundred years ago. Just about anywhere you go on these blinding salt flats you can see people sprawled out in all sorts of funny positions hoping to take advantage of the perspective gained by the flat earth; some of the photos taken here are priceless. In all, the Salar de Uyuni will leave you unforgettable moments to coincide with the amazingly fun pictures you get. Here is just a small sample:

To see the rest of the photos in this article please click here

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EUROPE EARLY BIRD DEALS

The Early Bird Deal for Europe continues till the 31st of January. Get 10% off your tour if you pay deposit only, or 15% off your tour if you book and pay in full within 7 days. Contact us for further information.

LATE DEALS

Check out the fantastic late deals on the following departures:

SA015 Altiplano Explorer
15 Days - Departs: 16 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Chile - Bolivia

SA011 Andes to Coast
21 Days - Departs: 30 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Bolivia - Peru

SA22 Coastal Express
14 Days - Departs: 30 Dec 10
Countries Visited: Bolivia - Chile

SA5 Essence of The Andes
35 Days - Departs: 09 Dec 10
Countries Visited: Peru - Bolivia - Chile

SA3 Inca Heights
21 Days - Departs: 09 Dec 10
Countries Visited: Peru - Bolivia

SA014 Latin Discoverer
35 Days - Departs: 16 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Chile - Bolivia - Peru

SA010 Latin Explorer
56 Days - Departs: 16 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Chile - Bolivia - Peru - Ecuador

SA013 Northern Adventure
42 Days - Departs: 30 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Bolivia - Peru - Ecuador

SA29N Patagonia High Road with 4 Day Navimag Cruise
51 Days - Departs: 09 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Chile - Argentina - Uruguay - Brazil

SA030 Patagonian Horizons
21 Days - Departs: 13 Dec 10
Countries Visited: Argentina - Chile

SA25N Pure Patagonia with 4 day Navimag Cruise
30 Days - Departs: 09 Jan 11
Countries Visited: Chile - Argentina

AF1307 The Southern Star
21 Days - Departs: 19 Dec 10
Countries Visited: South Africa - Namibia - Botswana - Zimbabwe

AF13R Victoria Falls to The Cape
21 Days - Departs: 12 Dec 10
Countries Visited: Zimbabwe - Botswana - Namibia - South Africa

For more great special offers and late deals click here >

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Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind

Seneca - Roman Philosopher

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Contact Us:

email: adventuretours@kumuka.com website: www.kumuka.com