The Gorillas - Congo
Whne we were planning this trip through Africa we had decided that our budget meant that we would be unable to do the mountain gorilla trek, it's about $250 for the permit and then there are visas to be paid on top of that. However, things change. We'd been on the truck a while and everyone was talking about the trek and how much they were looking forward to it. One of the other people on the truck is doing this leg of the tour for the second year in a row just to see the gorillas again. I felt that there must have been something that we hadn't understood about the significance of these animals. I knew there were very few left and my trip to london zoo before i left made me feel that the animals were special - you just have to look into their eyes to understand what I mean.
As usual it was me that was the more easily sold on the idea of spending money. Listening to others talk about it made me jealous and it made me realise that this was a unique opportunity that we would probably never have again. The animals numbers were on the increase but the volatility of the area meant the continued conservation efforts were always difficult. Not many people are lucky enough to see these animals and we were going to be so close it seemed silly to me that for the sake of money (which I'll worry about later) we were going to miss out. Jenny took a bit more convincing. It is alot of money, and she felt quite attached to the money in her bank account. Nevertheless, after talking to the people who had done the trek previously she was persuaded. A decision made easier by offer to pay as her birthday present.
The gorillas live in a specific region of southern uganda and the surrounding areas in Rwanda and the Congo. There are national parks in all three countries which allow tourists to watch the animals in the wild. At the time of our trek the best place to see the gorillas was going to be in the Congo - not none as the safest place in the world, especially as the papers were talking of a Rwandan invasion being imminent. However, despite the speculation of trouble we were assured that the situation on the ground was still relatively stable.
After travelling through Uganda to the town of Kisoro we were set to go the following day.
We had to be away early to get a matatu to the Congolese border. The matatus in Uganda seem to be just as bad as the ones in Kenya, this particular one having a rather a alrge crack in the windscreen. The border itself was virtually desserted. It was one gate and a small shack with a couple of guards - completely different from the Kenya/Ugandan border. We walked across a no mans land and then we were in the Congo. We were greeted by a couple of guys with AK47s who wanted to see our passports and Yellow Fever certs. They got what they wanted.
We made our way to the trek companies hut and got a lecture from on the employees using hi-tech visual aids. Well it was a painted plate with the conmgo and it's wildlife on it, but hey this is Africa!! We jumped in the back of a pick-up and set off to the national park. As we drove alonmg bumpy dirt roads through small villages made up of mud huts I felt like we were in a movie or news report. The people we saw from that truck were some of the poorest people in Africa and the kind of images before us were like those that i've only ever seen on TV. When we reached the national park, after climbing a very steep track in the trucks, we were given another lecture this time by the wardens. It was pretty obvious stuff and soon we were split into two groups, a fast group and a slow one, and we set out into the jungle escorted by our armed guards.
Jenny and I were both in the fast group but the pace was reasonable. After about an hour and a half of walking, on tracks and off them, we found our family of mountain gorillas. The guides told us to take off our packs and move through the undergrowth quietly. As we rounded a bush we were faced with a real life mountaibn gorilla. It sounds cliched but the majesty of these animals is truly amazing. Over the following hour (your time with the gorillas is limited to only 1 hour) we were saw 6 different gorillas - a male silverback, 2 females, 2 smaller gorillas and a baby. We were treated to a display by one the smaller gorillas who seemed to be a real exhibitionist. He popped out of the bushes only a few feet from us and posed so considerately on his back. One of the highlights had to be when he jumped up and beat his chest. I think everyone in the group had to smile. One of the most memorable momebnts had to be watching the silverback picking his nose, examining the bogey and then eating it. It not have been all that majestic, but it seemed to make him all the more human somehow.
Just a noe for those planning to do the trip, take loads of film and spare camera batteries. In just the one hour jenny and took over 100 photos!
The hour seemed to fly by and we had start back to the base camp all too soon. On the way back the guides almost broke into a run. However, the fast pace saved us from a soaking as just after we got back to base it started to really hammer down with rain. As we sat in the hut with a beer we had to laugh at the slow group who hadn't got back yet and were still out in the jungle - not funny for them but we all had a good chuckle. After about an hour and half the slow group appeared. They were rather wet.
We loaded up onto the pick-ups again and made our way back to border which was only little busier than it had been that morning. We crossed back into uganda passing a line of UN aid trucks on the way. After another matatus ride we were back at camp. The day was one I will never forget and this rushed account can't do it justice. If there is anyway you can go and see the mountain gorillas do it. It's expensive but I think it was worth every cent.
Mark
10/12/04
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