Welcome to Uganda.

This is my first time in this East African nation known globally as the Pearl of Africa.

This place is a hotbed for biodiversity.

It sits on the Rift Valley, so it is extremely rich in flora and fauna.

It has parts of the Nile River Delta and shares some of Lake Victoria.

So you find just an incredible amount of wildlife here and stunning scenery like the one behind me.

You can find the big five here.

There's also one fifth of the world's primates, so you can find chimpanzees and some of the last remaining mountain gorillas in the world.

And on this trip, we're going to be discovering as much of the wildlife and the culture as we can.

I'm Alice Ford and we're back in Northern Norway.

This is the Garden Island, Kauai, Hawaii.

As you guys can see, it is absolutely beautiful down here.

The views are just already stunning.

We are on our way to Antarctica.

So right now we're having a traditional tea here.

Wow.

Im going to be spending about two weeks here in Uganda.

Basically road tripping most of the country's national parks, which means elephants, hippos, rhinos, zebra and of course, primates, including a visit to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Where I'll be trekking out to see the mountain gorillas.

I'll also be showing you just how much other wildlife and adventure there is to see here.

I started my trip in Los Angeles, heading first to Amsterdam, then a short stop in Kigali, Rwanda, before touching down in Entebbe, Uganda.

My first adventure took me out onto Lake Victoria.

This is the second largest freshwater lake in the world.

It shares water frontage with Tanzania and Kenya, providing food and life to so many of the people and animals in East Africa and beyond.

There are more than a thousand species of birds here in Uganda.

It's incredibly diverse, so if you don't come here for anything else, birds are a definite thing you have to come and see.

We're floating through the Mabamba Swamp.

This is a wetland area about an hour outside Entebbe, and we're here to spot the Shoebill stork, one of the most unique and beautiful birds here in Uganda.

This is a swamp, so it's a little bit too easy to get stuck out here.

But we've got Joseph at the helm.

He's not only our lookout looking for the Shoebill, but he is making sure we choose the correct route as well.

There's already been so much biodiversity out here.

We've seen tons of different bird species.

No shoebill yet, but we're still on the hunt.

Amazing.

So Joseph has just spotted our first Shoebill.

He said it's about 100 meters from here.

So now we're going to attempt to get closer The shoebill is also known as the whale bill or Shoebill stork, but it's actually in the Heron and Pelican family.

Now leading up to today, I had never heard of a Shoebill as their only found in a small range throughout Central Africa.

These massive creatures look prehistoric and are well known for their statue like behavior.

They tend to stand in one place for hours waiting for prey.

Their favorite is the lungfish.

So this bird is definitely not one you'd want to do a staring contest with.

Leaving Entebbe we passed through the bustling streets of Kampala and lots of small villages where farm stands littered the sides of the road and happy people wandered this way and that.

Our destination, the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary.

Rhinoceros.

They're one of the largest megafauna left on the planet.

And all over Africa, they've become critically endangered and in some places, even extinct.

Here in Uganda, the last wild rhino died in 1983.

But with the help of the government here, they're bringing this species back.

I'm at the Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch where they're doing just that.

There are over 40 rhinos here, and they started with just a few.

So it's an incredible story of conservation success.

And in the next few years, they'll be releasing some back into the wild here.

This sanctuary is under constant protection.

It's monitored 24 hours a day as the threat of poaching remains ever present.

Now, rhinos have long been one of Africa's most endangered species, highly sought after for their horns, primarily by markets in Asia, which have led to decades of relentless poaching.

Now Uganda was once home to two species of rhino, the black rhino and the northern white rhino.

But the last male northern white rhino died just a few years ago, extinguishing any hopes for the survival of that subspecies.

So today at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary efforts are focused on breeding the southern white rhino, the more docile of the two species.

It's so amazing being able to be this close to huge animals like this, just such a majestic animal.

And I've got a fun fact about these guys too.

Now, the first two rhinoceroses that they brought here to the reserve came from Kenya.

The second two came from the other animal kingdom in Disney World.

Right now we are floating down the longest river in the world, the Nile.

This little section is called the Victoria Nile.

It goes right through Murchison Falls National Park.

This river has long been in my imagination because it inspires so many tales of adventures from centuries past.

It's full of hippos and crocodiles, numerous bird species, and tons of wildlife that we're out here to see this morning.

I spent an entire day on the Nile, which eventually goes all the way to Egypt and ends in the Mediterranean.

This river stretches more than 4000 miles and its basin, and goes through 11 countries in Africa.

And while it looks relaxing and inviting, you just never know what might be lurking just under the surface.

This is such a unique way to see the wildlife along the Nile River Delta, because we're able to just get really up close to lots of species.

The most prevalent that we're seeing is the baboon.

This is actually my first time ever seeing baboons.

There are six different species all throughout Africa.

They're incredibly social.

They usually sleep in the trees.

And as you can see, there are lots of different family members out here.

Little babies, lots of adults, super playful this morning in the early hours.

In the afternoon, the Nile brought me up close with my first Ugandan elephant, a species I have loved since childhood.

Now you may notice that this elephant's trunk is short.

According to our guide, at some point in his life, his trunk got stuck in a trap and it was severed.

Somehow this guy cheated death.

But eating enough for his age was clearly difficult.

And when our guide told us this story, my heart broke.

This elephant was waving his trunk at us.

They say they never forgot.

And I really felt like this guy was trying to show us just what some humans had done to him.

Nearby, giraffes were munching on the treetops and buffalo grazed near the shoreline.

The day on the Nile was by far one of my favorite experiences so far, and I was blown away by how many animals I saw.

I loved the relaxing nature and the ability to get so close with so little noise, and just observe the elephants, the birds, and the monkeys along the way.

The river delta here expands into thousands of acres of wetlands.

And this is an incredible place for birds.

There's more than 300 species of them.

We have seen eagles and crested cranes and countless other birds.

Right behind me is a tree full of one of the most beautiful bird's nest in the bird kingdom.

It's made by black headed weavers.

On it you'll see a bunch of yellow birds.

These are the male of the species, and they're just busily building their perfect nest right now.

Hippos are certainly one of the most dangerous animals here in Africa.

Yet even these formidable giants are facing a potential catastrophic decline.

Once widespread across the African continent and the entire Nile river system, hippos are now largely restricted to protected areas primarily found in regions from Sudan southward.

Today, they inhabit only 29 of Africa's 54 countries, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts to safeguard their populations.

For the last half hour or so, we've been attempting to spot a crocodile.

Surprisingly, these are one of the more difficult species to spot here along the river delta, but we've just spotted our first one just behind me.

He's just crawled into the water.

But one of the really cool things about the crocodile is that sometimes they sit on shore with their mouths wide open.

This is actually how they stay cool by keeping their mouths open, and they can actually stay underwater for 45 minutes, so they'll definitely wait longer than I will.

Further upstream, the Nile's tameness is met with the roar of Murchison Falls, the most powerful waterfall on the planet.

This is one of the best parks to do game drives in, because there's an incredible diversity of species.

With over 144 mammals.

And within seconds of hitting the dirt roads, a whole herd of elephants came into view.

And that was followed by buffalo and antelope.

There are 29 different species in Uganda, and each park has a unique variety of kinds.

Murchison Falls also has a ton of giraffes, and unlike a lot of species, giraffes wander in big family groups, so you will usually see males, females, and children all together.

And what a sight it was to see them grazing on the tree tops.

With the Nile River in the background.

After the game drive in Murchison.

It was a very long drive south towards a national park with a ton of primates.

Uganda is known as the primate capital of the world.

There are more than a dozen species in the country.

One of the best places to track one of its biggest primates is in the Kibale National Park, where you can spot chimpanzees.

And today I'm heading into the forest with a guide and a couple of rangers to see if we can find some.

Immidiately upon entering this troups territory I was rushed by two large male chimpanzees.

That ran by me at full speed.

So close, I could have touched them.

It was an alarming start, but the chaos soon subsided.

Now, to keep human interaction to a minimum, I had just one hour to observe and be among the chimps.

This is crazy.

We're literally surrounded by chimpanzees everywhere.

They're so loud.

There's a little baby behind us.

This is one of the most incredible wildlife experiences I've ever had.

Chimpanzees share more than 98% of our DNA, which is why so many have been taken into medical research.

Poaching and bushmeat are also big threats.

And according to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, more than 14,000 chimps have been lost to the illegal wildlife trade in just the last six years.

Consider Uganda has only around 5,000 in the entire country, if we dont slow the rate of this even this species could face extinction in the wild.

Habitat destruction is also a big threat to chimps, especially here in Uganda, where more and more of the forest are being cleared for farmland.

And since primates share so much of our DNA, theyre also highly susceptible to human diseases.

After the chimps, I headed to one of the area's cultural centers to learn about Ugandan coffee and get a lesson from the coffee Queen on how to roast, separate and smash coffee by hand.

And it was way more work than I anticipated.

I also stopped by to visit the banana man, a local maker of all things banana, gin, beer and juice, all made in the spirit of some Appalachian moonshiners.

My last activity today was also learning about the making and dyeing of the traditional baskets that are widespread all over Uganda.

Now, local women showed me some of the native plants that can not just dye fabrics and straw, but even be worn on your lips.

Do I look silly?

One of the best and most unique places to stay near Kibale National Park is the breathtaking Kyaninga Lodge.

This place sits on the rim of an ancient volcanic called Dara.

It is absolutely beautiful.

There's so much wildlife.

You have birds and monkeys.

And this lodge is not only sustainable, but it helps the local community too.

It's off grid, but you will never notice staying here because you have every amenity you could ever want.

And the views and the scenery are stunning too.

One of the most coveted species to see anywhere in Africa are definitely the large predators lions, leopards, hyenas and we haven't seen any of those yet so far on this trip.

But our best bet is going to be here in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

This park is famous for tree climbing lions, and they also have a pretty hefty population of leopards and hyenas, too.

Originally named, Kazinga National Park after that Kazinga a channel.

This park was established in 1952 and later renamed in 1954, in the honor of Queen Elizabeth the Second.

Today, this is one of Uganda's most popular national parks, and I was happy to see so many animals with tons of large elephant, crested cranes, buffalo and beautiful species of antelope.

The most amazing sighting, however, was that of a hunting leopard hoping to sneak up on a family of warthogs.

It was incredible to see this big cat out and about during the daylight hours.

The region once served as a grazing land for the Basongora, a pastoralist tribe and one of over 50 ethnic groups in Uganda.

However, in the early 1900s, outbreaks of diseases such as sleeping sickness, devastated much of the Basongora population.

Under colonial rule from 1900 to 1955.

The Basongora lost approximately 90% of their ancestral land to make way for what is now Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The park also protects several kilometers of the Kazinga channel which stretches between Lake Albert and Lake George.

With sandier and more accessible shoreline than the Nile.

The amount of wildlife here was plentiful.

A huge variety of birds, including fish eagles, cranes and pelicans, and buffalo, puma, hippos and crocodiles.

Then there were the Marabou storks that stand almost as tall as men, and the monitor lizards that blend in seamlessly with the riverbanks.

Today is a day I've been looking forward to for most of my life.

My parents were collectors of a lot of things, one of those being National Geographic magazines.

So for most of my life, I looked through the pages of photographs from all around the world.

And one of the photos that I just could never stop looking at was that of the mountain gorilla.

Which is why today is so special.

I'm here in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to track out to see some of the most endangered primates on Earth.

The mountain gorilla.

Getting to the gorillas isn't easy because as we've seen from the landscape here, it is incredibly mountainous and steep.

Sometimes you might trek for about 30 minutes, others, a couple of hours to reach them, At the recording of this video, there are 1063 mountain gorillas existing in the wild.

Most of them here within the Bwindi National Park.

Some of them across the border in Rwanda and into the DRC.

Now, mountain gorillas are actually a subspecies of the eastern lowland gorilla.

But even those gorillas number just 5000.

Both endangered.

But the mountain gorilla.

Critically endangered.

And on the IUCN Red list.

Now, these gorillas have faced poaching and habitat destruction for a really long time.

And even on this trail, as we're in this thick forest, we can see the habitat loss encroachin closer and closer.

Getting close now.

Our guides said they have started hearing the gorillas.

So it won't be long now.

I see some.

They're up on the hill.

We're going to get closer.

Moments later, I was stashing my bags in the bush and standing just feet away from a silverback in his troop.

This is one of about 50 gorilla families here in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Behind me is the silverback.

He is the leader of the family.

He makes all the decisions.

He tells the family or the troop as they're called, how far they'll travel each day, where they will stay, where they will back down at night.

And also is the protector of the family.

So this troop of gorillas has been habituated to people for many, many years, which is why we're able to get so close.

Wearing masks around the gorillas is a necessity because, like they also share more than 98% of our DNA and are extremely susceptible to human diseases.

Something unlike the chimps, though, is how peaceful and gentle the gorillas are.

While the silverback, who was sleeping for most of my visit, can get a little ornery from time to time.

Most often these creatures are quite mellow.

Now, mountain gorillas are omnivorous.

They do eat ants and other bugs, but their diet is mostly made up of leaves, shoots, and the stems of bamboo.

To see these gorillas, you are required to obtain a permit from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority.

These run around $800 per person and while seemingly expensive, it is necessary to help save this species.

This fee not only goes to the park, its rangers, doctors and the local community.

Each with a different stake in making sure these primates stay protected.

Now, mountain gorillas may be one of the most endangered primate species, but they're also the only great ape species whose numbers in the wild are growing.

In 1981, numbers were down to 282 individuals.

So today at around a thousand, we know that the work being done here and around the world is working.

The last few days in Uganda were a mix of culture, relaxation and unique adventures.

I first headed to another national park where the pygmies once lived, to learn about this long forgotten culture.

The Mgahinga Gorilla National Park shares a border with Rwanda and also has a small population of mountain gorillas.

It was once the homeland for the Batwa tribe.

The Batwa, like many indigenous tribes, were sadly forcibly removed from the Ghinga and Bwindi Impenetrable Forests when they became national parks in 1991.

While gorilla populations in these areas rebounded.

These hunter gatherers, one of the oldest indigenous tribes in the entire continent, became displaced within their own country.

They received no compensation and were ostracized for years.

They finally turned to tourism to help earn a small wage.

And the Batwa man took me through the forest where they once lived.

Reenacting some of their old traditions with a surprising flair for theatrics.

I was shown how they once hunted, trapped animals and made fire.

Traditions that they are keeping alive by showing foreigners, like myself.

This area is where the pygmies used to live here, in the national park.

And I'm sitting in one of the platforms where typically teenage boys within the tribe would sit with a bow and arrow, making sure that no animals were intruding on the village here.

Now, if an animal came, they would sound an alarm and their parents and elders would come running from their hunts back to protect the village.

This area is also where they called home.

So they also slept here, ate here and had all village life.

Now they make all their own tools, bow and arrows, spears.

And these are the traditional huts where they would sleep.

Now at night to protect themselves from animals.

They would put a spear in the doorway just like this.

And the parents usually slept together in here.

While children had their own huts.

(Singing in the Batwa language) The last stop was the Lake Mburo National Park in southern Uganda.

This park only has leopards and hyenas for predators.

So something incredibly unique you can do here is horseback ride among the giraffes.

It took a few hours to get out in the grasslands to find them.

But once we did, I could not have been happier.

It was an amazing way to end my 12 days here in Uganda.

All I wanted to do was ride among some giraffes and look at that.

African dreams come true.

This is the perfect way to end my trip here to Uganda.

The people here have melted my heart.

But it's not just that.

This place is full of unique adventures, and it's so much more than just gorillas.

Even though they were fantastic.

We've had so many amazing adventures from horseback riding to the savanna with giraffes and zebras, to floating down the Nile with hippos and elephants and crocodiles.

I have loved every minute of this.

The culture, the wildlife, and all of the fantastic safari lodges that I've stayed in that are keeping the environment at the forefront completely sustainable.

I've loved every minute and I hope you have to.

Thank you guys so much for joining me.

As always, I'm Alice Ford and I'll see you in the next one.