More Monkey Business
Before talking about DRC and Genocide, let’s finish up with the primates… well I guess it’s all about primates so let’s say the four-legged primates. The Uganda side of the Volcanoes NP is called Mgahinga NP. This same park continues into DRC so it is a three-country park system – the gorillas know nothing about international borders and they carry no passports! In fact, one group from DRC is now in Rwanda and the single family from Mgahinga is now in Rwanda, too. My permit for Mt. Gahinga trekking had been canceled (no problem since I picked one up in Volcanoes) so I was not one of the lucky eight visitors per day to see them. Instead, I did a steep three hour trek up the mountain to see Golden Monkeys.
The monkeys were very entertaining, but they made horrible models for photos since they like to swing and run constantly. I realized I was in Uganda again when on the hike and the guide couldn’t communicate well, he smoked a cigarette (big no-no) and he took a nap while we waitedonly to find him after we set off without him after waiting a half hour! The trackers had difficulty locating the monkeys so we did a lot of useless hiking beyond the exercise and good fun and the hike down only took one hour. I also noticed that the farms in this part of Uganda while better organized than in the area around Kampala were not quite as pristine as the ones in Rwanda. Plus the roads really suck in Uganda. In Rwanda, the roads are very good and many are paved. We get to the border on a nice road and cross it to a horrible unpaved road in Uganda… welcome back!!! I will say that the area is just as stunning as in Rwanda and of course the people are as friendly as I found in other parts.
If I had to do this portion over again, I would have skipped Mgahinga and spent an extra day each in Volcanoes and Bwindi. It was quite cool in Mgahinga due to the altitude. On the 6th we drove five difficult hours through the “Switzerland of Africa” through very steep, terraced farmland before reaching Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP. We saw some Mountain Monkeys on the way, but it was mainly the views, people and forest that entertained me. We reached the Volcanoes Safari lodge at Bwindi early enough for a walk along the river where I watched Black and White Colobus eating and swinging. The lodge looks over the river gorge across to hillsides that are covered with the most beautiful forest I have ever seen. I ate dinner with Jerome and Yvelyn from Paris who showed me pictures of their flat which faces the Eiffel Tower.
Although Bwindi has the largest number of gorillas (320 out of the 700+), there are only three groups which have been habituated. I learned that habituation is a three year process involving a team that makes contact with a wild group and for the first year it is pretty hairy (pun intended). The gorillas often run at the team and it can be dangerous. They stick with it everyday until things get calmer. Another year goes by before the gorillas are very cool about their human counterparts. Another year involves people beyond the initial team making visits in small groups. Finally, the gorillas will accept the eight strangers each day without causing harm (well, accept for the occasional human toss!). The teams that do habituation are truly courageous because they have to stand their ground against Bubba and company when they mean real business. One of the best parts is that the adult gorillas eventually have the youngsters get close to the humans to test whether or not the humans mean harm. On a side note, poaching still is a problem here and when you take a baby (you can’t poach an adult gorilla – it will kill you!), you have to kill the silverback or it will fight to death over the baby. Sadly, there was a poaching not to long ago involving a silverback death. People poach gorillas to supply private “zoos” even though there are no highland gorillas that survive in captivity. A horrible situation and overall I am very glad that there is such a concerted effort to save these animals from stupid and greedy humans.
So, only twenty-four lucky people get to see gorillas each day in Uganda. It takes an hour to coordinate the hike even though we are pre-assigned to the three teams. This is compared to Rwanda’s fifty-six which only took a few minutes. Paul points out how disorganized Uganda is – EXACTLY! We had a few good laughs over the differences between Ugandans and Rwandans and I was happy a local acknowledges some things that have driven me nuts.
We drive forty-five minutes to the start of the hike with our guide, Chris, and Marian and Raphael from Holland. We get to the site and Chris says “there’s the trackers and I see gorillas”. Oh my, they’re next to the road! So we do a one minute hike (Fiorillo Family – eat your hearts out!!!!) to get below the Habinyanja family of gorillas – twenty-two in total including two silverbacks (uh-oh!), females, blackbacks, a bunch of kids and a three month old.
Bwindi has no bamboo where the gorillas roam, but it is truly impenetrable with the thick undergrowth. The area is not very steep, but the viewing was a bit more difficult than Volcanoes. It had rained all night and into the morning, but once again it stopped soon after viewing time began. I brought the video camera as well as the good camera and the show unfolded nicely. The smaller silverback hung out near us for most of the hour. The best viewing was a few youngsters eating and playing on top of some plants. They were absolutely hilarious. The highlight was having a mother come out and walk right by with the three month old and proceed to sit only a few meters in front of us. I hate saying this again without being able to show you, but I have some absolutely wonderful photos of them. I looked at one at the internet cafe last night and a crowd of people were oohing and aahing over something that looked like it could make the cover of National Geographic. Once I get to a good connection, I have a plan for getting cheap copies uploaded for viewing. When our hour was up and we climbed back up to the road, the big silverback and another ape were sitting there to see us off. The guides struggled to get us to walk away. We got back to the headquarters by 11:30 AM and you know what happened later that day on my hike to the falls.
It is now two days since my last gorilla encounter and I can tell you that I will definitely do it again and I encourage everyone coming to Africa to go to Rwanda or Uganda for this unbelievable experience. I hope DRC will calm down over the next few years and that amazing country will open up for some good tourism including safe gorilla treking. I am quite sure this is THE wildlife experience on Earth. I would like to thank Volcanoes Safari, Paul, the guides and trackers, all of the conservation folks that made it their lives to save the highland gorillas from extinction including Diann Fossey and the fun people who did the hikes with me. It has been the thrill of a lifetime. Something I have dreamed about for 20+ years. Something I made the top priority for Africa and something that so far exceeded my every dream. How often can that happen??? Looking into the eyes of a gorilla that is only a meter or two away is the greatest non-human contact with life that one can ever experience. Period! Now I am ready to meet an alien!
Tags: Travel
vagabondrick
Wow, I’m in for a visit to the gorillas at some point in my life! I’m pumped by all you have seen and written about.
So, is meeting people from all over the world just about the greatest thing ever? An apartment overlooking the Eiffel Tower!!!!! You mention all these people so briefly and every time I wonder what are they like, what brought them to this same destination as you and what are the many things you must talk about.
These gorillas, it is so wonderful that people commit their lives to protecting them. The picture of you in the forground and the silverback behind you….I want that one framed for myself as it captures your true happiness as well as the amazement of what you are doing. Have fun, be safe. I love you.Julie