Starstruck On Silverback Mountain ; the Awesome Gorillas of Uganda Find Penny Smith in Their Midst. And If You Think That Was a Bad Pun, Just Wait Till You Read On... We Wander so Close We Could Touch the Chimps. They'reabit Scary - Like Hoodies in Fur Coats

Mail on Sunday › November 15, 2009

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Summary

WHAT do you call three Doric columns on a foggy day? Pillars in the mist. OK, it's not good, but jokes like this while away the hours on the journey back to Kampala airport after a trip to Uganda.

The country is stuffed with wildlife. Not only does it have half the world's mountain gorillas, it also has chimpanzees ripping up the forest, tree-climbing lions, leopards, elephants and so many hippos in the rivers that sailing through them is like being in an enormous bowl of grey olives. Uganda may not be as advanced in tourism as its eastern neighbour, Kenya, but therein lies its charm.

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Starstruck On Silverback Mountain ; the Awesome Gorillas of Uganda Find Penny Smith in Their Midst. And If You Think That Was a Bad Pun, Just Wait Till You Read On... We Wander so Close We Could Touch the Chimps. They'reabit Scary - Like Hoodies in Fur Coats

The roads are bouncy and there are few five-star hotels outside the capital, Kampala .

And although the locals think we're barking mad wanting to spend money hanging out with primates, the people are some of the nicest I have ever met.

Yes, I know. At this point you'll be muttering the two words that every Ugandan is expecting you to say: Idi Amin. The former dictator has cast a long shadow over the country and yet, surprisingly, he has not been in charge of it for two decades.

Also a surprise is just how green everything seems as you first approach Uganda. A...

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