Gorillas, Batwas and learning about the patriarchy in Uganda

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oday was gorilla day, the original reason we’d come to Uganda, although we have found many more reasons since we arrived. I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect to get so close to gorillas that I could smell their farts, or be surrounded by a tribe of Batwas, or finally meet a female Ugandan driver. The latter being the most unlikely. It is one of the best days of my life, though not as good as my wedding day (hi Glyn!).

When we’d arrived in Uganda , Didan had said he could try and arrange a private gorilla trek. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up, as gorilla trekking already is an amazing and privileged experience, but to do it without other tourists would be quite mind blowing. Last night, Zedius told us that Didan had sorted a special arrangement and I was beside myself with joy.

We rose at 5.30, I’m sure Glyn will tell everyone that I’d left my alarm on from last Sunday when we were flying and so was woken at 5am. But it gave us extra time to wake up. I’d fallen asleep to the distant sound of a party and it was still going on when we left just after 7am, those people have some stamina!

Glyn had booked our tour with Mambo Gorilla Safaris last year and been in contact with the owner Didan. It was Didan that picked us up from the airport and upon seeing my full frame camera and 600mm lens, suggested we update the itinerary for more animals, thus we’d added in extra chimp trekking and golden monkeys. But now Zedius had time off as Didan himself was escorting us today.

I don’t know why we were treated so well, other than Didan asked if he could have some of the gorilla photos that I took today. A bit of imposter syndrome kicked in, but I’ve been practicing photography for around 12 years now, had countless lessons and spent a fortune on kit. I should know what I’m doing by now. Enough to get a few decent shots. Plus there’s Glyn’s too.

We started off at some project to help local kids that gets I think 30% of his profits. Plus quite a lot of English people sponsored the kids or give donations. He was only passing there to get another jeep, but had forgotten the keys, so we stayed in the current one.

Then it was a 2 hour drive to Ruhija within Bwindi impenetrable Forest National Park. Even though it is a park, lots of people work and farm here, they live alongside the monkeys, gorillas, bush elephants and other animals. Didan drives there every week and only ever saw a gorilla on the roadside 5 times. Today’s was his 6th! We all got a quick look at the gorilla peeking up from the undergrowth on the descent side of the mountain road. This was only the beginning of our good fortune today.

The next stop was some land at the end of a long tack, described by Didan as a magical place. It was where he has some men building lodges, overlooking a tea plantation and forests. A thick mist swirled over the trees, with mountains all around. Yes, it is magical. Add to that, the builders get visited at least once a week by local gorillas. One of the lodges will be fully accessible, so that people who are unable to trek, could stay there and potentially see the gorillas roaming below, without a permit too.

Btw, Ugandans get to go gorilla trekking too and it is a lot cheaper for them. If you work for a Safari company and have a good boss, you may get a freebie!

Didan went off to talk to some of the men and we weren’t sure what to do, many of the builders stopped what they were doing to stare at us quite intently. A few said hello, but it was a little awkward. I walked further along and took pictures of the scenery. The mist kept moving, so it was forever changing. Glyn and I didn’t really know what was happening today, so just went with it.

We also met a sculptor who was creating a life-sized gorilla statue at the site. So far he had created a metal frame over which he would mould the sculpture. Apparently there’s one at the entrance of where we
are staying.

Next was a village of the Batwa people. These nomads used to live in the forest alongside the animals. They only knew how to hunt and lived mostly on bushmeat. But in the 1990’s, when the Ugandan government declared that the parks were for wildlife only, the Batwas were pushed to the edge of the forest, given some land to farm and a bit of money. Only no one taught them how to farm or invest the money, so they suffered.

Now some are training to work in the forest to conserve wildlife and are getting educated. Others, like the ones we met today, appeared to live off tourists by selling souvenirs and giving demonstrations of how they make fire and their dances.

We arrived to hear uplifting singing in a church, and further up the hill, lots of muddy children shouted hello and followed us. Didan knows a lot of them and is working to help them get better lives. At the top, we met the Chairman, an older, wiry bloke who can carry up to 100 kg on his head. Didan says these people are very strong. There were around 80 people in the village and according to Google only around 3,500 of them left in Uganda. They do interbreed a lot because if an outsider wants to marry one of them, they would have to come and live in the village.

Pretty much all of the village was gathering at the top of the hill. There was a bench where Glyn, myself and Didan were seated as most of the people started to dance and the others watched. The tiniest kids started first, jumping up and down excitedly. But the adults were no less energetic, all smiling at us, getting closer and closer until they were just about upon us. It was quite exhilarating but rather a lot for just two people. We bought some souvenirs; gorilla carvings and a mat. Didan seemed to be bartering the vendor down, which didn’t seem right, but he says their language sounds like fighting to other people. He agreed a price of 85,000 Ugandan Shillings, but I gave her 100,000.

A lot of the village, mostly the children walked back with us down to the jeep, shouting “hello” at us for most of the way, a few said “give me money”. I really needed a wee, but no way was I going to risk going behind a bush as I would have been followed. Didan drove us a little down the road and both Glyn and I hid behind the jeep to pee.

Our gorilla trekking guide had been calling Didan and was ready to get started. It was about 11.45am and not raining, considering how much rain there has been up this mountain, we were super lucky it has stopped mostly all day. Philip, our guide was waiting for us down a side track next to a closed concrete building. Unlike our other animal treks, this was surprisingly informal. No prep talk, no introductions, no rangers with guns, no preamble. Philip just walked into the jungle and we followed. After a few minutes, I did ask him his name.

This jungle was exactly like the ones you see when there’s African Jungles in the movies. Lots of vines, ferns and bent out of shape mossy trees. It was damp and loud with insects, birds and occasional toads. The thick foliage on the tall trees kept it dark and mysterious. There were no paths, we just pushed through, getting caught on vines and brambles, breaking dead logs and clambering over ferns. At times I was on my hands and knees as the foliage was so thick, we had to somehow climb over it without limbs falling through.

It didn’t take long to be completely dirty with an array of plant life stuck in my hair. When you see these Hollywood movies where the lead actors are in skimpy shorts and crop tops, wandering through a jungle, please know this is utter nonsense. Dress like that trekking in a jungle, your arms and legs will soon be ripped to shreds. After a while Philip gave us the basic talk: when we get to the gorillas, keep your voice low, don’t use a flash and if they charge, do not run.

Now Philip was phoning trackers that we never met and after an hour or so, we suddenly came upon them, gorillas in the trees above us, O.M.G. They were stuffing their faces and totally ignored us. The head gorilla gave us a bit of a sideways glance and carried on chomping. There was a tiny baby up there too, and nearby it’s mum. I thought she maybe pregnant, but Philip said it was just down to a lot of food. I noticed then that other gorillas had rather large bellies.

I’m not sure how many there were, as they were all around, up above us, most partially hidden by leaves. The sounds were cracking of dead wood as they moved along, plus a few occasional grunts. Then the head gorilla fell out of the tree! It was a total accident, the gorilla was not hurt, except perhaps his pride, I think like I had many times already, leaned on a dead branch. However, Philip received a call that the vet was coming for another gorilla and we had to leave asap. This was because the gorilla would have to be darted and injected which would cause havoc with the other gorillas and rangers were needed to chase them away.

So we sat a distance away, in the jungle with the ants biting us until I remembered I’d bought some Smidge with me, as recommended by Kitto. I’d mainly bought it for mosquitoes, but it also repels other biting insects and thankfully it worked. We must have been there around 2 hours, just enjoying being in a real jungle. At home I listen to jungle sounds to help me sleep, and the real thing had the same effect. Philip had picked big leaves to use as mats to sit on, but I still got a wet bum. I wished I’d had my macro lens, as there was amazing fungi and bugs around me. But I was already carrying enough for this type of trek.

And then we were allowed to return. The mum and baby were in a far better position than before and being very intimate, it was touching to see. The head male was in the ground and Philip guided us around him to view him from the front. He looked at us occasionally but really wasn’t that interested. He was too busy eating and farting. They were all farting a lot. There was even a bit of sharting up in the trees and rather eye watering in the humidity. Luckily I’m used to that kind of thing, being married to Glyn.

We moved away from the male to watch other gorillas for around an hour. Then they began to descend to the ground and away from us, foraging for dropped fruit. We followed them for a short time, until Philip said that they were making nests, ready for an afternoon nap, so we should go. As luck would have it, the gorillas had brought us back to the original concrete hut where we had started!

After giving us our certificates, and saying goodbye, Philip told us to go back up the track. At the top, Didan was waiting for us, along with a local welder who had never seen gorillas. Another gorilla family had turned up at the building site just after we’d left and there’d been a lot of excitement about it.

Our trek had finished at 4pm, a lot later than everyone had predicted. Didan had a packed lunch for us that we ate in a garden near the building site. Here we met Zedius and Charity, a young lady who works for Didan and is a social worker and teacher at the school that Didan supports.

New trees are to be planted around the lodges as that bit of the mountain is rather bald. Glyn and I were asked to plant the first banana tree, it will have a plaque with our names on! I don’t know why, but it is an honour, we had a little ceremony and many photos taken. We’d planted it not very straight and one of the guys had to sort that out. Banana trees are a fave with gorillas too. Plus if we return, we can have a free night there, I would love that, it’s very beautiful.

Then the long drive back began, and we stopped a few times to see monkeys, a pangolin and a dead green snake on the road. Didan was driving, but when we reached the small town, he left us and Charity took the wheel. This was the first time I’d seen a woman drive in Uganda and I asked her about it.

Yes women drivers are rare, there’s probably only 3 female Safari drivers in the country. They do not drive motorcycles as they will be labelled as crazy. Even wearing trousers is considered by some as a bit bonkers; Charity was in jeggings. She explained that the patriarchy is very strong here and she really doesn’t see it improving much in the foreseeable, she said the sense of culture was stronger than the sense of being fair, that everyone is for themselves. If a woman complains about domestic violence, then the man could just tell her to go, he’ll just get another wife, as it’s not about love but making babies and domestic service. Why would the people in power (men) change a system that benefits them?

There’s an island on the lake that not so long ago, unmarried mothers were dumped on and left to die, along with their offspring. That no longer happens, they just get outcast from their families, they may get a job as a maid, but surviving on your own as a woman, especially as many are not educated, is very hard. The orphanages are full and there’s quite a few street kids as a result.

I said that at least she is inspiring, to all the young girls who see her driving and doing good work. She replied by saying seeing women driving when she was a kid inspired her. And she is educating girls, doing more teaching rather than social work. I don’t think she feels much hope, but each girl she teaches will most likely have a better life and they in turn may help others. Small drops eventually make a big ocean, but it must seem so overwhelming.

I also asked about hair. The majority of women I’ve seen in the countryside have shaven heads and I asked if this was the local style, or was it just easier to manage in this climate. Neither, it’s because it’s cheaper. Hair cleaning products are expensive and hair braiding incredibly time consuming and expensive. It made sense, most of the Batwa women I’d seen were almost bald and the women I had seen with hair were working in the towns. Charity has a hat on, but there’s a lot of braided hair under it. I remember Zedius saying his wife always worries about her hair and I thought it excessive, but now I know the costs involved, I realise how privileged I am not to have to worry about dirt in my hair because washing it is so cheap.

I enjoyed talking to Charity but the journey soon ended and we were back at Lake Bunyoni View. She got us a lamp as the electric was off, it goes off a lot when it rains. She said this was intentional as some locals fear electrical fires.

We were absolutely knackered after a once in a lifetime type of day.

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