Mountain Gorillas

I am currently Jinja, Uganda, making my way back to Kenya after travelling to the far reaches of south western Uganda to track the mountain gorillas. We camped in Kisoro, which is near the borders with Congo and Rwanda, and was the site of the refugee camp for the Rwandans that fled during the acts of genocide in the late 90's.

The group of gorillas that we tracked was the Nkuringo group, located in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The hike to get to the gorillas was not that difficult: it was an hour and a half walk, all downhill, with a few wet areas that were slick. The group is lead by a guide and 2 armed guards (to protect you from other people, not the gorillas) who escort you through the jungle. Ahead of the group are the trackers, who called the guide on the radio when they found the group of gorillas. When we came upon the gorillas, it was the most amazing and magical feeling. They were only about 15 to 20 feet away, and there were 6 gorillas just lazing about. There were 3 younger gorillas that were climbing trees, through fruit at the older ones and just having a good time. You are only allowed to visit the gorillas for an hour, and it was looking like we were not going to get a look at one of the silverbacks. After about 50 minutes, however, one of the silverbacks (there are 2 in the Nkuringo group), emerged rather hastily from the tall grasses. There are a few rules when the silverback happens upon the scene: (1) don't stare him in the eyes, (2) no sudden movements, (3) no loud noises and (4) if he charges you stand still and act casual. So when he came out, our whole group got very anxious, hoping not to upset him and provoke a charge. We must have made him comfortable, as he just sat there and occasionally looked at us, keeping us in line. The entire experience was amazing, and I was able to get some great pictures. The climb up, however, was brutal as it was during the heat of the day. I slept well that night, to say the least.

Yesterday was an equally good day. Our group volunteered at a school in the Jinja area, helping to clean out a classroom and begin to paint the walls. The effort was coordinated by Soft Power Education, which relies on the donations and volunteers from the safari trucks that pass through Jinja to make a difference. It was a really great day.

Today we head back to Kenya. We visit a few national parks on our way back to Nairobi. It should be a relaxing few days, since we only have a few hundred kilometers to cover in 5 days.