Peter Oloya – A Journey from Adversity to Artistry

The journey of Volcanoes Safaris over the last twenty-five years has been full of challenges and setbacks, self-doubt and angst, elation and achievement. It’s been a privilege to have been on such a unique and fulfilling journey. The time has flown by. It is a miracle that we have survived. It feels like magic realism in action!

In December 2021, the supporters and mentors of the company were ushered into the august rooms of the Linnean Society in Burlington House in Piccadilly. Until then I had never thought of Volcanoes Safaris as a company, but as a way of life, akin to Hinduism, the religion into which I was born, or better still what we call a ‘time pass’ in Punjabi.

So, how did this long and complex journey of becoming pioneers of gorilla and chimpanzee ecotourism and building lodges on the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC, begin? This is my attempt at navigating my past, in an effort to answer this question!

The Batwa of Gahinga: Honouring our Forefathers’ (2021) documents the history and journey of the Batwa community in Mgahinga National Park and the building of the Gahinga Batwa Village.

‘Safeguarding the Chimps of Kyambura’ (2021) tells the story of the Kyambura Ecotourism Project and the background to the conservation and community projects which protect the Kyambura ecosystem.

‘Explorers and Conservationists of the Virunga Volcanoes’ (2017) gives a synoptic overview of the exploration and conservation of the Virunga Volcanoes from the 1860s to the death of Dian Fossey in 1985.

2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the announcement in 1972 by then President Idi Amin of the expulsion of the Asians from Uganda. To mark the event, the Trustees of Arundells, Edward Heath's home in Salisbury, arranged an exhibition and panel discussion to mark the event. The expulsion happened while Edward Heath was Prime Minister of the U.K.