ATTA Encounter Leads to a Walk with Gorillas

By Nancy Dorrans

I first heard about the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) in March 2014 while skiing in Killington, Vermont. I was attending the North American Snow Sports Journalists’ Association (NASJA) event as a guest.

I’d been in the travel business for years, and at that time I was considering branching out on my own as an independent travel advisor. While skiing with a representative from Discover New England—a marketing organization established in 1992 by the six New England state tourism offices—she mentioned they were co-sponsoring an upcoming ATTA networking event in New York City. “You should try to make it… Carolann Ouellette will be there!”

Carolann was then Maine’s tourism representative and is now the Director of the Maine Office of Tourism. I wanted to meet her. This chance encounter on the slopes of Vermont proved serendipitous. So, I went.

Co-sponsors Men’s Journal magazine held the ATTA event in their mid-town publishing house. Also where Rolling Stone Magazine is published. The hallway to the bathroom was plastered with framed covers of old Rolling Stone magazines…

I was in awe and in the midst of so many adventurous, budding and experienced travel entrepreneurs…What a welcome into the Adventure Travel tribe. I joined!

Seredipidious Encounters

Every year, ATTA brings together reps from the adventure travel industry at adventurous destinations to talk shop and inspire. Since joining ATTA in 2014, I’ve been around the world! I’ve attended two ATTA World Summits in Tuscany and Hokkaido, Japan and regional “Elevate” events in Sangueny Fjords National Park, Quebec; Lake George, NY; Eugene, Oregon; right here in Portland; in Asheville, NC; and this year in Denver, CO. Last spring was the first European Elevate event held in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Guess what? I was there, too!

In Tuscany I met Mandip Singh Soin, founder and managing director of Ibex Expeditions based in New Delhi. Since then, Mandip has become a dear friend. During the pandemic he led a small group of us on a worldwide guided meditation program. We started with a 21-day challenge and kept it going over a year.

Mandip and I were reunited in Sapporo, Japan in September of 2023. I ran into him on his way to dinner with a couple, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka and her husband Lawrence from Uganda. He invited me to join.  

Dr. Gladys is a veterinarian to the wild primates in Uganda. For over 20 years, their organization CTPH (Conservation Through Public Health) has worked to “promote biodiversity conservation by enabling people, gorillas and other wildlife to coexist through improving their health and livelihoods in and around Africa’s protected areas.” Over dinner I learned more about their work and knew I wanted to go. They said, “You must come!”

Last spring at the ATTA Elevate event in Ashville, I met with Alex Guma Tibanyendera, the Ugandan founder of Gorilla Walking Safaris. Alex knows Dr. Gladys. More serendipity!

Uganda Bound

And so, along with two friends, I will be on my way to Uganda when this article hits the streets! Alex has set up an amazing itinerary for us.

Highlights include: Murchison Falls National Park – Observing Chimpanzees – Kazinga Channel Safari – Tree Climbing Lions – Nature Walks – Bird Watching – Bush Breakfasts & Sun Downers – Nile River Expedition – Authentic Local Experiences – Mountain Gorillas Trek.

I’m excited to see the lively and active chimpanzee families in the wild and to connect with the local people. I’m told we’ll see a wide variety of amazing wild animals, birds, and then…

On Sunday, June 25th we will embark on our much anticipated Mountain Gorilla Trekking Experience in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest. Led by  Dr. Gladys & her team! We will be briefed at the starting point, ascend, and descend into the forest in search of the great giants of Bwindi. It can take up to six hours of hiking and once we locate a gorilla family, we are only allowed one precious hour with them. I’m so excited!!

I’ll be back next month with more first-hand experience and photos to share from our journey.

‘Hidden Uganda’

In the meantime, if you’re interested, a new documentary “Hidden Uganda” offers an in-depth look at Uganda’s lesser-known attractions. From vibrant street food scenes in Entebbe to white-water rafting on the Nile and the gorilla trekking (guided by Dr. Gladys) in the country’s lush forests, the documentary highlights Uganda’s unique tourism offerings.

ATTA deserves a nod for helping me along on this journey and for all the amazing connections it has sent my way. Thank you, ATTA!

Don’t delay…NOW is someday