A tumbling gorilla on one of the best days ever

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Uganda Day 7
Gorillas….sorry…..GORILLAS!!!

Last night’s dinner was really good and we were told we needed to leave at 6 so breakfast was arranged for 5:40. Zed then had a call from Didan and suddenly we didn’t leave until 7 so another lie-in until 5:30!
The reason for this was pretty amazing. But more of that anon..
Claire still had last week’s alarm set so she very kindly woke us up at 5. Apparently lying half awake is good and helps you to wake up when the real alarm goes off….hmmmm….
Breakfast was good as usual and then Didan, the boss turned up as he would be our driver for today. We have learnt to just go with the flow as things don’t always happen in the right order but they do happen at some point.
Today’s plan included seeing gorillas and meeting pygmies and in that order we thought. We drove for a couple of hours and ended up at a building site that Didan is turning into lodges. It has the most amazing views and at the time there was mist in the forest below us. What a fantastic place to stay, especially as gorillas come there. He is even building a place for wheelchair access so the disabled can get to hopefully see gorillas too. His company gives 30% of their profits to a charity that helps children go to school so we are definitely doing some good being here.
On the way we saw a young gorilla at the side of the road. It scarpered pretty quick but it was a good sign.
We stayed there a while as the builders stared at us. Surely tney should have been working! Didan had been hoping that we would be the first ones to stay there but the rainy weather meant they have been unable to finish in time. Apparently we can come and stay there for free one day!
We then moved on to our Batwa experience, or pygmies as we more commonly know them. There are 87 of them in this village and most of them came out to greet us including many small children who only really knew the word hello. A.couple had learnt ‘give me money’ as well. To be honest they needed it as they were obviously very poor. Their clothes were pretty much rags and very dirty.
They are bushmen but had to move out of the forest (JUNGLE!!) once the gorilla trekking started qnd the national parks were designated as being for animals only. They are also having to change their ways from hunting and change their diet too. Not sure they’ll become vegans though!
Their leader is called the chairman and can carry 100kg on his head. I’d be straight up for another hernia op if I hadn’t been flattened first. Lots of people carry things on their heads here which is something you don’t see back home. From sticks to hoes and shopping bags everything is well balanced and transported.
Anyway, we went to the top of the village, up muddy paths and accompanied by many children and a few adults. There was a bench for us to sit on and then at least half the village sang and danced for us after a demonstration of how they make fire by rubbing sticks together. It was incredibly emergetic and all done for just the two of us. We bought some crafts from them which Didan seemed to be bargaining for. It felt a bit wrong to be negotiating with people who have virtually nothing so we gave extra.
There was a church at the bottom of the village from where some really upbeat music was emanating. If churches back home had that sort of exhuberance instead of the usual dirges they might get more people in!
Note: I thought pygmies were small but most of the adults were of average height I thought. I expected them to be a lot shorter.
Claire needed a wee but didn’t want to do it in the bushes at the village as she would have had quite a bit of company! We stopped down the road so she could go behind the car, as did I in case you’re interested.
And so to gorillas….Didan had arranged for us to go on a private trip! Just the two of us and a ranger!
So we were dropped off at a small building where there was no briefing, no chance to book a porter and no option of a walking stick. We had packed light and weren’t planning on using a porter anyway. We met our ranger Philip and off we set into the jungle, yes, the jungle. It looks like a jungle, it smells like a jungle and it sounds like a jungle so it’s a jungle okay!
It was hard going, very steep at times with all sorts of obstacles. You started off thinking you could hold hold onto things but most things either broke or were hanging vines. There was mud, trailing vines to trip you up and ants. Biting ants. We had our trousers tucked into our socks but they were getting up our sleeves, down our backs and biting. Philip said the bites wouldn’t harm us and just stop itching after 30 minutes but it was very uncomfortable.
And then there were gorillas. Right by us up in a tree. Phillip macheted away some vines so we could get some clearer shots and then….one of the big males fell out of the tree. Yep, all the way to the ground. We couldn’t see if he was okay or not, but Philip then said we needed to move away quickly, but we would come back.
When we were a bit of distance away Philip explained that one of the other gorillas, not the fallee who was fine, was hurt and needed the vet. This would involve darting them so they would sleep for 30 minutes, the vet would inject them and then get away. During this time a few others would have to keep the other gorillas away who would get angry and we didn’t want to be caught up in that.
So we sat on a seat of leaves in the jungle for almost two hours whilst the gorilla was being helped. We talked about Philip’s love of Arsenal (not Man Utd thankfully), swapped whatsapp numbers and chatted but mainly just listened to the sounds of the jungle. Claire listens to the sounds of the jungle to help her sleep sometimes and this was just the same. She also remembered that she had some Smidge with her, as recommended by Kitto, so we tried it to see if it would keep the ants away, and it did! Relief at last!
I also paid for my organic veg box which will be deliverd a week on Thursday…..while standing in the middle of the jungle….
And then we could go back and something we had been saving for for over a year and dreaming about for much longer came true. The gorillas were much better placed now and the alpha male sat just a few metres from us. A mum and baby had some tender moments just on the branches above us and it was all just amazing. There were more than ten around us just getting on with their day, chomping away. One looked pregnant but had apparently just eaten too much. Occasionally one would glance at us but mostly we were ignored and able to take pictures and just stand and admire them.
But boy can gorillas fart! Even Claire was jealous, particularly at the pungent smell that accompanied every rumble. Far from silent but definitely deadly was the order of the day.
I don’t know how long we were there but we then followed the family a bit of the way and somehow tney went past the building we had started from. We reluctantly left this gorilla family alone and were just metres away from none-machete land. We were given certificates and then Didan picked us up to take us back to his lodge. He said some gorillas had come to his lodge while we’d been away but that wouldn’t have been as much of a story to tell now would it?
We had lunch at just before 5……Didan had expected us back hours before but the medical emergency had extended things somewhat.
Zed and a lady called Charity joined us and Charity came back in the car with us. She drove the last 8km too, meaning she was the first woman driver we had seen here. Claire asked her whether women rode motorbikes (the main personal mode of transportation) and she said people would think you had lost your mind if you did. Equality will be a bit slow getting here I’m afraid.
And then we planted the first tree at the new accommodation. It was a banana tree that will have a plaque with our names on and photos of the planting in the reception. What an honour!! It is the gorilla’s favourite tree and should be fruiting in under 3 years. It really is very tempting to come back….
If gorillas come to that lodge you wouldn’t need to buy a permit which looks like it will be out of our price range next year anyway.
On the way back we saw a pangolin, a dead green snake and a few monkeys as well as took in some amazing views.
It really has been a fantastic day, one of our best days ever, and one that we will be boring people with for years, even if you’ve read our blogs!

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