It begins like a storybook: a boy born on the banks of the Nile in Uganda, his first words in Swahili; a girl from the shores of Lake Ontario in Canada, her first words in Japanese. Two people from opposite sides of the world whose paths should never have crossed.
But in 1984, at Trent University in Canada, they did.
“We were probably drawn to each other because we’d both spent some childhood years ‘elsewhere’,” Pamela reflects on meeting Jonathan. While she had grown up with international influences, Johnny was born and raised in Uganda until political upheaval forced his family to leave. But Uganda never left him.
After university, marriage, and the birth of their children, the young family settled into life between Canada and England. Their plans had nothing to do with Africa. “We were planning an ecotourism project in Newfoundland,” Pamela recalls with a laugh. “Can you imagine? From Newfoundland’s icebergs to Uganda’s equator – life takes the most unexpected turns.”
In the early 90s, Johnny was in Ottawa working on their Newfoundland venture when he happened to walk past the Uganda High Commission. On impulse, he stepped inside.
“He popped in for a chat and when they found out he was Ugandan-born and busy doing tourism projects, they suggested he change his focus to Uganda,” Pamela explains. “They said he should come home and help rebuild tourism in Uganda, and invited him to Washington to meet Museveni. The rest is history!”
That chance encounter changed everything. Johnny began commuting between Toronto and Uganda, laying the groundwork for what would become Semliki Safari Lodge. In 1997, Pamela made the leap of faith, moving with three-year-old Annabelle and baby Fergus to a country she’d never visited, on Johnny’s promise that “she’d love it.”
“We had envisaged a small intimate ‘luxury camp’ in the bush…hard days and soft nights was our mantra,” Pamela remembers of their early vision. But the reality of creating a safari lodge in post-conflict Uganda presented challenges they hadn’t imagined.
“We were young and inexperienced, but full of passion and ideas. We learned as we went along,” she admits. What began as a single lodge quickly evolved as they realized guests wanted to see more of Uganda. The Uganda Safari Company was born out of necessity – they needed to get people to their remote lodge, and then help them explore beyond it.
Every property development came with adventures. “When we did Apoka, we had such a deep love for the wilderness of Kidepo,” Pamela remembers. “The first time we went, roads were impassable so we flew in a Cessna. It had been raining a lot and the plane got stuck in the mud. We had to push it out of the deep sticky ruts so we could take off and come home.”
Building in such remote locations required ingenuity. “Rain was also a factor as we were building: the bridge near the site collapsed and we had a truck load of building material that absolutely had to get to the site. The team had to offload the truck and carry the materials across the swollen river, sometimes on their heads. It was downright biblical.”
For Annabelle and Fergus, growing up in Uganda meant an extraordinary childhood filled with adventures most children only read about in books.
“I remember as a kid when my dad would be upcountry he would come back with big cooler boxes full of mangos,” Annabelle recalls. “They were teeny tiny mangos and very fibrous but as sweet as they come, and my brother and I would just sit outside on the grass sucking on these mangoes getting sticky and covered in juice.”
Fergus’s memories are equally vivid. “I remember begging to go out on night drives every evening but always falling asleep in the back of the land cruiser – no matter how tired I was I never wanted to miss out on an activity in the bush.”
School holidays meant time at the lodges, where both children absorbed the family business through osmosis. “We didn’t realize we were learning,” Annabelle laughs. “We thought we were just having fun helping Mom arrange flowers for the tables or going on game drives with Dad. But we were actually getting the best education in hospitality and conservation possible.”
For Johnny, the connection to Uganda’s wilderness runs deep. “The first time I went to Mugiri forest, I heard my first wild chimpanzees,” he recalls. “The sound was so primeval, so loud and so extraordinary it blew my mind with excitement.”
The family has their special places they return to again and again: “The sand cliffs of Semliki, buffalo bay at Honey Bear and the exquisite sunsets over the Ruwenzori, Fergus Rock in Kidepo and the amazing view over the Narus Valley,” Johnny shares.
For Annabelle, it’s room 4 at Semliki that holds a special place in her heart. “I have the best nights sleep of my life there. There is something about the sounds of the colobus monkeys at night that bring me straight back to childhood and make me feel at home.”
After gaining international experience, both Annabelle and Fergus have been drawn back to the family business. In 2018, Annabelle and her husband James returned to manage Clouds for two years.
“Coming back to Clouds as a manager rather than as ‘the boss’s daughter’ was both terrifying and wonderful,” Annabelle shares. “Many of the staff had known me since I was a child, and now we were working together as colleagues.”
For James, who grew up in Canada, Uganda was a revelation. “My first visit blew away many preconceived ideas I had formed about the region,” he explains. “The lushness and vibrancy of the country still amazes me to this day.”
For Fergus, the journey has come full circle in a different way. “Something that I always loved as a youngster was sharing these places with others – inviting out friends from school or family from abroad. Now I get to do this for my job and share these incredible places that I grew up in with the world.”
What began with a single lodge has grown into a collection spanning Uganda’s most spectacular wilderness areas:
1997: Semliki opens in the Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve
2005: Apoka opens in Kidepo Valley National Park
2008: Clouds opens in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
2023: Honey Bear and Papa’s Camp open
2024: The River Station opens
2025: Kulu Ora scheduled to open December 2025
Today, nearly 30 years after that chance encounter at the Uganda High Commission, the Wright family still calls Uganda home. Johnny still prefers being in the bush “in his ripped shorts, binoculars in hand, squinting at the horizon.” Pamela continues to oversee the design of each property while serving as Honorary Consul for Canada.
As Annabelle, James, and Fergus take on leadership roles, the family legacy enters a new phase. “I am so thrilled to be working with my kids, and with a team of Ugandans who have been part of this story for decades,” Pamela shares. “It really is a family.”
For Annabelle, the future is deeply personal. “I want to give my kids the same upbringing in the bush that I had. My parents started such a special thing and I think it would be a terrible shame not to preserve it for the next generation.”
Fergus sees conservation as central to the family’s future. “The WildPlaces Conservation Foundation has given me a huge amount of hope for the future of Uganda’s Wildlife,” he shares. “Papa’s Camp is a testament to the power of tourism as a force for conservation. A few years ago you would have had to search for days to find any animals, but now the difference is astounding with tens of thousands of Uganda Kob, and lion spotted every day!”
This multi-generational commitment to Uganda’s wild places remains at the heart of everything WildPlaces does. What began with a chance encounter has grown into a lifelong love affair with Uganda – its landscapes, its wildlife, and most importantly, its people.
The story that started with a boy from the Nile and a girl from Lake Ontario continues to unfold, now with new characters and new chapters, but always with the same deep connection to Uganda’s extraordinary wild places.
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