Tracy’s Take: What I Was Nervous About

Barton’s wife, and the other half of the trip that started this company.

I’m not the safari expert. I’m the person who went first, worried about the things you’re probably worried about.

Barton will tell you about logistics and permits. I want to answer the questions I had before we went — the ones I wasn’t sure I could ask.

The gorilla trek was not as hard as I expected

I thought it was going to be a really rough trek. It wasn’t that hard.

What made the difference was having a helper assigned to me. Whenever I needed a hand up a hill or over a large step, he was there. He carried my backpack. I never had to ask.

If you’re nervous about whether you can physically do it — you almost certainly can.

Yes, about bathrooms

This was my single biggest worry before we left, and nobody talks about it.

On game drives you’re in a vehicle for hours with no facilities. It turned out to be fine. The guides were understanding and helpful, and I learned to use a women’s urination device to go discreetly into an empty bottle in the vehicle. It sounds awful written down. In practice it was a non-issue after the first time.

On the gorilla trek, when I needed to go, my helper found a safe, discreet spot, checked the area, and made sure I had privacy.

If this is the thing quietly worrying you — it is handled, and you won’t be the first person to ask.

The two things I was gladdest I packed

A women’s urination device. Number one, without question. See above.

Anti-diarrhea tablets, taken preventatively. I started them before there was a problem rather than waiting for one, and I never had a day of traveler’s diarrhea on the entire trip. Between those two things, I could use a bathroom anywhere and I was never caught out. Ask your doctor what’s right for you, but do ask.

I never felt unsafe

They took care of us. They made sure we saw the animals, and I was never in danger.

There was one moment. A chimpanzee came running toward me and brushed my side as it passed. Our guide heard the chimps’ calls, knew what was about to happen, and got me standing and out of the way just in time.

That’s the part I’d want you to take from it. It wasn’t luck. He was listening to sounds I didn’t know meant anything, and he knew what to do before I knew anything was happening.

Kibera

We asked to visit Kibera, the large informal settlement in Nairobi. I was genuinely anxious about it. I expected it to be dangerous, and unpleasant.

I was wrong on every count. A local man showed us around. He was warm and completely in control, and he made sure we knew how to be respectful — what to do, how to behave — so we could actually meet people rather than stare at them. The people we met were friendly, welcoming, and happy.

Barton ended up playing soccer with the kids beside the railway line that runs through it. It’s one of the parts of the trip I think about most.

Sewing with the Batwa

I sew and alter clothes at home — it’s what I do.

Near Bwindi we visited a Batwa community, and I saw women sewing on old foot-pedal machines. I asked if I could try one. They let me.

We spent the evening with them — played with the children, ate with the community, and talked with the women late into the night. The next day, after the gorilla trek, we passed a wedding being set up and asked if we could attend. It turned out the same women were going. So we drove them.

They gave me a dress to wear. We ate with the wedding party and the family leaders, danced with them and with the children, and they welcomed us as guests.

None of that was on the itinerary. We asked, and the answer was yes.

What surprised me most

How simply people live — how much they live without — and how happy and positive they are anyway. I keep coming back to that.

Food cooked on the ground at the side of the road and sold right there. And what people carry on a motorcycle: bundles of bananas, furniture, a couch. An actual couch.

None of it is in a guidebook and all of it is the part I describe when people ask what it was like.

If you’re wondering whether you can do this

You can.

There are so many different accommodations for different people’s abilities and different desires — different types of safaris, different places to sleep, different activities. There are options for everyone.

You can most definitely do it, and it is so worth it.

— Tracy

If you have a question you’d rather ask a woman who’s been, send it to us and I’ll answer it myself.