Ngamba Island -- Question and Alternatives
 

I've just gotten an e-mail from Lily, the Executive Director of Ngamba Island. I had written her in anticipation of our visit to Ngamba Island at the end of this year, to talk to her about vaccinations, forest walks, etc.
Lily told me that, given the current age of the "baby" chimps, they are being integrated in with the adults and it is likely that there will be no forest walk opportunities by the time we are scheduled to go there. Lily says that unless more young chimps come to the island, we would not be able to do any forest walks, but would instead be able to do some sort of program interacting with one or more of the adults, assisting the keepers with feeding them or something like that.
This raises two questions:
(1) Is it still worth it to go out to Ngamba Island and stay the night? My personal view (perhaps not shared by my wife) is yes, because there is no better way to get chimp pictures, the island would entail a cool boat ride on Lake Victoria, and interacting with the adults might be fun, although certainly not as fun as rough-housing with the youngsters.
(2) If it's not worth it, what would some alternatives be in the Entebbe area? We basically have 36 hours from arrival to departure, and so we could stay in or near Entebbe, or even go to Kampala or head west along Lake Victoria and stay somewhere around there. Does anyone have any recommendations with what to do if we use the full 36 hours and don't go to Ngamba Island?
As always, I look forward to hearing your input. Thanks.
Chris

My opinion is that even if you just got to interact with one or more of the adults (Pasa? Nakuu? They'd be about five by the time you are there I think) then it is totally worth it. I'd personally pay all that $$ again just to chill with Pasa or Nakuu for awhile. They are delightful :D
maybe to sway your wife, show her the ngamba island link - she can see the profiles of the chimps:
http://www.ngambaisland.org/chimp_profiles_pasa.htm

Overnighting will give you ample time for good chimp photos that are very hard to get without these unique circumstances. The boat ride was ok, but not a selling point. I've done some feedings and it was fun to hand the bowls to the chimps. You can also visit a neighboring village on a nearby island. I did that and enjoyed it. You may want to arrange that in advance.

If I had 36 hours in Entebbe, I'd spend it at Ngamba, though I don't have experience doing other things in the area.

Thank you both for your responses. Ngamba Island was my wife's idea in the first place, so she was disappointed when we heard this news from Lily. Ultimately I will probably let her decide whether to stay with Ngamba Island or try to do something else in the vicinity of Entebbe, but I'll attempt to advocate in favor of Ngamba.
Chris

Good luck w/your decision Chris - let us know what you and your wife decide to do!
I'm also curious if you guys go to hear how the integration is going - I thought the head caregiver said they were trying to raise funds to purchase another island for the juvenile group and that they couldn't be integrated, so I'd love to hear how it all works out.

Please keep us posted on this. I am/was planning on going to Ngamba in summer of 2007.

Thanks

I agree with Maxwell and Lynn - Please go. You will be supporting a wonderful cause. Just because the chimps are older, doesn't mean they don't need our love and support! I plan to go one day = I'd love to stay a week as a volunteer. :-)

Sharon

Chris-
I'd vote for going too. It's such a peaceful, relaxing place to visit. And very small with only four tents that sit next to the water.

When we were there in '05, they were exremely worried that they were running out of space for the chimps,
so not having any new ones could be a positive sign for the chimp world.

You could still participate in the feedings and in the kitchen, helping prepare the food. The daily feedings do make for some great photo ops. Birds are prolific on the island too, so you may be able to get some good pics of them.

I really enjoyed my stay there and think it's a great way to wrap up a trip in the great lakes region.

Good luck with your decision.

Maxwell's understanding that "the head caregiver said they were trying to raise funds to purchase another island for the juvenile group and that they couldn't be integrated" was also what I thought. I got the info from the previous manager of the island, not the hands-on caregiver who interacts with the chimps.

In fact, I had been told that the one attempt at integrating the young and old was unsuccessful and resulted in injuries to at least one of the young ones. Therefore that process was halted. But maybe now they have new methods or now that the little ones are older, it will work better. Whatever they decide, I had the impression they would always do what's best for the chimps. The safety and well being of these animals was always their mission.

Chris--if you go and I hope you do--you will be a valuable source of information on the lastest happenings at Ngamba.

When did Lily say the chimps were leaving, we will be there in early October, will we miss them? Thanks

The chimps are not leaving, it's just that the "young" chimps are now old enough to be integrated into the main adult group and will therefore not be available for the forest walk program. Lily did not say when this process would be complete, but she said it was already underway. Just write her an e-mail (the address is on the Ngamba Island web site) and ask her about October.
By the way, we have decided to keep our plans "as is" and go to Ngamba regardless of the status of the forest walk program. So, when we return in mid-January 2007, we can update everyone on the situation there. Thanks to everyone for their comments on this.
Chris