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drive is on track that is sometimes
impassable for supply trucks due to
weather conditions. We had many
trucks break down en route to the lodge
with various building supplies. These
trucks were then left unattended and
the materials disappeared.
• The mind-set of the Ugandan people.
The local people that we have most of
our dealings with are from a completely
different world and interaction between
us can be very challenging when it
comes to business issues. The pace of
life in Uganda is the opposite to that of
the UK and getting anything done fast
or with urgency is near-impossible.
• There is no infrastructure so therefore
no power, drainage or water system, and
everything has to be created. Mahogany
Springs is run by hydropower from the
fast moving river, this provides enough
power for us to run the entire lodge to a
level as if you were at home in the UK.
• Finding a trustworthy, reliable and more
than qualified management team to
run the lodge. After a further two years
of constant obstacles and challenges
to overcome, as well as having been
presented with the opportunity to give
up many times, we were finally ready
to open in April 2011. The lodge was
exactly as I had pictured it, built to an
exceptionally high standard of comfort
but now the challenge would be the
service; luckily, I found an exceptional
General Manager from Kenya who
had been running 5 star lodges in the
Maasai Mara and a head chef from
Nepal whose cooking was sublime.
I handle all the marketing, logistics,
bookings, payments and client
communication myself frommy desk here
in the UK and the management team run
the lodge on the ground.
Mahogany Springs has now been open
for two years and is widely recognised
in Uganda as a lodge that provides the
highest levels of service and comfort
to clients. We have featured in the
Independent, the New York Times andWall
Street Journal amongst others. We reached
number one spot on Trip Advisor for the
area within a year of opening and we are
enjoying extremely high occupancy levels.
The plan is to expand Mahogany Springs
by adding more rooms and then ideally
build another lodge in a different area
of Uganda.
You can fly to Entebbe direct from
London Heathrow with British Airways
in around eight hours and catch a
connecting flight to Mahogany Springs
which takes around 45 minutes. Those
who wish to come on a longer safari
around Uganda can travel by road. It’s
a very safe, beautiful country which is
currently booming. Meeting the gorillas
should be on everyone’s bucket list.
On a side note – I am asked by many
people who understand the challenges of
Uganda what it was that made me stick
with the project when so many give up.
I must admit I thought about giving up
many times but in the end I came to the
same conclusion “Nothing is a problem,
just another challenge”. I believe this
mind-set came about from an illness I
had. Whilst at university I was diagnosed
with a very rare and aggressive form
of cancer in my chest and given only a
30% chance of survival. I had a year of
chemotherapy followed by an operation
and I am now in my tenth year cancer
free. I do believe this experience changed
my attitude to life and undoubtedly
enhanced my determination.
If any OMTs wish to meet the gorillas
or discuss any business ideas, please get
in touch.
