Gorillas, Lakes, and Relaxation

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It’s hard to believe it’s all ready been eight weeks since we arrived in Uganda. After six weeks apart, the twelve of us are all back together again in Mbarara. I’ll walk you through the last part of the week…

Wednesday was our final day in Rugazi; Dayna, Joline, Jillian, Tenielle, and I departed in the afternoon to meet up with the rest of our U of S team back in the city of Mbarara. It was a bittersweet goodbye – we were excited for the weekend ahead of us, but so sad to be saying farewell to our Ugandan friends. Our time in Rugazi was a truly memorable experience, and will forever be in our hearts. The Ugandan students saw us onto a public taxi, and we waved goodbye and shed some tears as the van pulled away. We drove along the highway, becoming increasingly squished as the van filled with passengers, reflecting on our time in rural Uganda, and wondering what the next six weeks will bring.

We arrived in the city late afternoon, reuniting with our friends for a night before we went separate ways again the next day. The five of us who arrived back from Rugazi left Thursday morning to spend a night at Lake Mburo Park. Dayna, Tenielle and Jillian went on a game drive through the park, while Joline and I went horseback riding through the park – an intimate experience that allowed us to get close to the animals. Our horses were healthy and strong, and it was an all around beautiful three hours. We finished at seven, the others picked us up at the stables and we all headed lakeside to our campsite. Our tents were pitched and supper was ready – our cook, Sunday, made us a delicious feast, which we enjoyed by the fire while listening to the sounds of the animals. We had some debate as to whether we were hearing warthogs or hippos – Tenielle was sure that hippo sounds would be more “wet”, but Sunday assured her that we were definitely hearing hippos. We had a drink around the fire before heading to our tents; we were to be up early at 6:00am for our morning game drive. We got to see more of the same animals as the previous afternoon – zebra, impala, waterbuck, and giraffes. We returned around 9:00am to the campsite, where we had another great meal before loading up the gear into the van. From Lake Mburo, we headed south towards Lake Bunyonyi, where we would drop off Jillian and Tenielle to join up with the rest of the group. Dayna, Joline, and I carried on towards Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The road into the forest was steep and winding, and we were afforded great views. We drove higher and higher until we arrived at the Broadbill Overland Camp where we were spending the night. It was a unique place, with good food, large tarpaulin tents that had toilets and hot water showers. We had supper, a yummy four course meal, before going to our tents to get a good night sleep before our gorilla trek the next morning. We were up early, after Silas woke us (having all slept through our alarms) for breakfast, before driving to the gathering site for the trekkers. We were given a brief orientation before being split into groups of eight for the trek.

We drove another twenty minutes to the trailhead, our excitement mounting. This is the moment we have been waiting for! We arrived, grabbed our walking sticks, denied the use of a porter to carry our bags and help us up and down the mountain (a cost of $15 US), and embarked on our journey into the jungle.

The journey did not last long. Trekkers can usually expect to hike for anywhere between one to eight hours; we were granted a fifteen minute one. When the guide announced that we were getting close, the three of us thought it was a joke – until the other trekkers told us to be quiet. I still wasn’t entirely convinced, until the moment Dayna pointed and said “A gorilla!” Lo and behold, we had reached our assigned family within a quarter of an hour. Indeed, the walk was treacherous, but short lived. No matter – there were gorillas!!! The Silverback Mountain Gorillas (so named because, A. they live in the mountains, and B. the males grow silver fur on their lower backs as they mature). The Mountain Gorillas reside in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo alone; there are 880 members of this species in existence. So, for us to be in their presence for the brief hour we were was a truly unique, once in a lifetime experience. Trekking is controversial, however I did my research and overall, the gorillas have fared better since the tourist endeavors began in the early 90s. The habituation of a few families brings in a plethora of money, which helps with conservation and protection of the gorillas themselves, as well as the beautiful forests they inhabit.

Our hour was incredible. All in all we witnessed ten individuals of the family of seventeen, ranging in age from infants to the twenty five year old head silverback. We were fortunate to be assigned a family with two silverbacks; normally, when males mature they either challenge the head for dominance, or they leave the family to tempt other females into joining them to begin families of their own. In some scenarios, such as with this family, silverbacks decide they are fine living peacefully and don’t need to challenge their leader. Additionally, another fourteen-year-old male was in the group, the first individual we came within close proximity of. This particular individual was a sassy one, and charged various members of the trekking group on three occasions. The first time, he passed by us close enough to touch, before stopping in front of the guide and hammering his fists upon the ground. I read in my books not to back away when they run, but instinctively I took a few steps back. Though it was exciting, my favorite moment was when the head silverback made a hooting noise, which our guide told us was to inform his family that we were in their presence. In a few seconds, a female, her infant, and a “toddler” emerged from the brush to join the male. They sat and posed for us for upwards of five minutes, staring at us with their wizened black faces.

We enjoyed every minute of our hour immensely. The jungle was magical, the gorillas even more so. It was a day we will remember forever, and for me it will be the highlight of our nature experience here in Uganda. We are very fortunate, blessed, and privileged to be afforded these experiences.

Once our hour was up, we hauled our butts back up the mountain. It was just enough to make us break a sweat, and I could only imagine how intense the trek would be if we’d ventured hours into the Impenetrable Forest, as we’d expected to. Silas drove us back to the orientation spot, where we partook in our “gorilla trekker graduation ceremony” and received our certificates. From there, we departed for Lake Bunyonyi where we were to meet up with the rest of the group.

Bunyonyi is very charming, with numerous islands sprinkled throughout the lake which is the second deepest in Africa. There are beautiful views of the terraced farms on the hills of the islands, and quaint cabin and tourist accommodations along the shore. We enjoyed a boat tour the afternoon we arrived, which was fun although the group threatened to deposit me at Punishment Island. This horrible little place is where they used to send women who engaged in pre marital sex. Niiiiice. I was glad they didn’t, as the island possesses a tree, a bit of grass, and some birds. The lake was a nice way to get together after six weeks apart, relaxing and pretty.

The next day nine of us rented out canoe type boats, and spent an hour putzing around the lake. After our canoe ride, we lingered on the dock before loading up the vans and making the drive back to Mbarara.

All in all it was an incredible four days. It was nice to get out and see some more of the country and feel the therapeutic effects of nature. We are energized for the remaining three weeks of work we have. It is difficult to believe how little time we have left; time is so tricky.

Our experience thus far has been so wonderful, and we are so lucky to be here. We’re learning much, about ourselves, each other, global health care, and about the world. Travelling is one of the most effective ways to decrease ignorance and create globally social responsible citizens. I hope we all keep these lessons with us for our lives, letting them infiltrate the way we work and the way we exist.

Time is dwindling. Before we know it we will be on our way back home, and our time in Uganda will become memory. I hope everyone reading this is happy and well.



Love from us all,





Carrie

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