Gorillas!

Last weekend we went to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and saw the gorillas. It's expensive to get a permit (although a lot cheaper in May than in June because it's the low season) and a lot of faff  and I was so worried all week that I wouldn't be able to go because of the malaria. Every day I was a bit stronger but the wardround 2 days before had left me exhausted so I wasn't very confident! On the Saturday we got Suboni to drive us down to a town called Kisoro where a driver from our camp met us and took us up to the camp. The camp was right in the mountains and the journey up was on a very bumpy dusty road. It was beautiful though with amazing views of the nearby volcanoes and the forest. The volcanoes were all distinct peaks but Bwindi forest is also very mountaineous and the road climbed up to 2200m where the lodge was on the top of a ridge. On the drive with Suboni we saw lots of baboons on the road and he said he once saw a gorilla by the road!

The camp was lovely. It was called Nkuringo Gorilla Camp and was quite small with about 10 other guests. They were so friendly and welcoming. Because we were in the middle of nowhere everyone stayed fullboard and they cooked amazing meals in a very small kitchen. In the evenings it got pretty cold so they made a campfire and they put a bucket full of hot coals in the dining area to warm it. They also put hot water bottles in our beds in the evenings which was amazing! We stayed 2 nights and each day got a packed lunch to take with  us. The boss was visiting from Entebbe and she was lovely. She was 8 months pregnant and petrified that she might go into labour up there. She told us about the problems they have with water and electricity. They have a tank for water but it's about to run out as the wet season is ending and then won't refill until September so they'll have to bring water up from the town 1 1/2 hours away. They had generator for electricity but they only produced a limited amount so they used gas lamps for lighting. It was a really special place to stay and the views were incredible- of the volcanoes, mountains, forest and across into the DRC, plus so many stars at night.

On the Sunday we got up early and went to the office to start our trek. There were 2 other men in our group- French men in their 50s plus a guide, 2 officials with guns and a porter we hired to carry our bag and help me with the walking! I told the guide I'd been ill and he was very kind and said we could go as slowly as I needed to. There are 5 areas Bwindi where you can trek gorillas, and you can trek them in the Virunga National Park too, from the Ugandan side or the Rwandan or Congo sides. There are now about 880 mountain gorillas in total, of which about 400 are in Bwindi. In 2006 there were 700 in total so they've obviously done a good job increasing numbers. Basically the gorillas you can see are conditioned to be used to humans. It takes about 3 years to get them ready and the trackers visit them everyday during that time and copy their actions etc until they are used to their presence. Once they are ready they are visited every day for 1 hour at a time but they are still wild and there's still a chance they might runaway or charge at you! The trackers go out first each day and follow the trail they leave from where they were seen the previous day until they find them, when they radio to the guide. You're not allowed to trek if you are ill as they are able to get human colds etc and can get very ill.

I've since found out that the area we were in is meant to be the hardest walk, glad I didn't know that beforehand! You start at the top of the ridge so it's a long walk down on a small path to the bottom. The path was good in places but sometimes got quite steep and rocky. It passed through a village and we saw lots of people walking up and down the path bare-foot to collect water from the river in the valley. It must be such a hard life. At the bottom we then climbed up a bit and walked along through the rainforest. It was hard-going and I kept forgetting to duck and hitting my head/ getting caught in branches. It was also getting quite hot. I was so glad we had a porter as he carried our bag and also helped us with the difficult bits where the path was slippery. The gorillas move about 1 km an hour as they stop to eat lots but they can be quite far away and I was really hoping they'd be close! We were lucky and had only walked for just over an hour when we got to them. We had to leave our walking poles and bags and we clambered down to where they were, but at first it was hard as they kept moving and we were no longer on a path, just a steep slope with dense forest. After a bit we got to a clearing where there were 2 massive silverbacks- the big males. One was the boss and the other the second in command. There were also 2 teenagers and we caught glimpses of others including a mother and tiny baby. We stayed there for an hour and it was incredible! The silverbacks were huge and the bigger one was very entertaining. He would eat and then lie down ad stretch, with the biggest beer belly ever visible! I don't know how they get so fat eating only leaves and berries! The teenagers were play-fighting for ages and then one camp really close to us (about 50cm away) and looked at us weirdly before climbing the tree we were standing next to. It was so cool, they look very human and their eyes in particular look very wise and intense. The other teenager then started doing yoga-type poses holding his feet before just sitting and staring at us. I was so excited that I'd made it and it was definitely worth all the money and stress!

The hour went really quickly and then we started the walk back. I'd been dreading it as I was already quite tired and it was very steep uphill. Malaria makes you feel so weak- like your batteries are just running out! I took it really slowly but still got very tired. I used my poles at first but then my arms started hurting (apparently arms usually hurt most in malaria) and the guide carried them and the porter pulled me up the steep bits by hand! It was also very hot which made it worse but Emma was very encouraging and patient. I was so happy to get to the top! I spent most of the afternoon in bed sleeping it off but I was very proud of myself!