Gorillas of the Mist - Literally

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Hey all,

First off I'll start by saying thanks to everyone who sends me emails to keep in-touch and let me know what's going on back home. They are quite appreciated as the duration of this trip stretches out into its eighth week.

I have been busy since I last posted, as I've been apart of Absolute Africa's Big Six tour heading from Uganda to Rwanda, and back down through to Zambia. Our mode of transport is a giant yellow truck. Think a school bus on steroids. There are 28 of us in total, ranging in age from 19 to 35 with the average being at around my own age of 26. About a third couples and the rest singles, with a good mixture of attitudes and sensibilities. Two weeks together now and we all get along very well, and I know I've made friendships already that will last a lifetime.

The life on the truck by comparison to the village is a holiday, although to the newcomers it may seem like alot of work. We have to take care of ourselves for the most part and are divided into chore groups of four. Each take turns cooking dinner and breakfast, cleaning up after meals or cleaning the truck after a drive day. The other task we have is putting up and taking down our respective tents which though tedious we have spiced up by making it into a giant race. Just under three minutes is our record. The campgrounds we stay in are pretty safe (although sometimes a little too far out of city centers) but overall the accommodations are fine.

We've done many spectacular things already, but since I'm a little crushed for time I'll just mention the most impressive. The mountain gorilla trek in Rwanda. For those of you who may remember this one was one of the features I planned my entire trip around, and it met and/or exceeded my wildest expectations. The trek began like something exactly out of Gorillas in the Mist or to a lesser extent Jurassic Park. We began in lush undergrowth, following a well worn path up to mist covered peaks above. The trek was not too long (only about an hour) but treacherous due to the muddy conditions and multitude of thorn bushes that would rip at your clothing and skin with equal vigor.

The troupe we were visiting had nine members, one silverback, two juveniles, one baby and five females and we were able to see them all. Our group of eight were allowed one hour with the troupe and we did our best to spend as much time as possible actually watching them with our eyes then through the viewfinders of our cameras. In many cases the gorillas were only feet away, serene and peaceful. Munching on vegetation or sleeping casually in a beds of grass. The juveniles were the most entertaining, wrestling each other right in front of us with the little baby trying to get in on the fun. The silverback (aka. Dad.) presided over most of it, and if the young'ins were getting a little too energetic they were stopped with a quick but firm grunt from Dad.

I was caught in one instance in a very awkward position at one point though. Spotting the juveniles playing in a tree arch over the path we were walking, I made a point of stopping under the arch for some prime photos. The guide's urgent calls to move, I ignored and was quickly surprised to find one of the juveniles toppling towards me. Jumping to the side he ran past and into the bush shortly followed by his sibling. Who landed less gracefully than the first and ended out taking out a small tree nearby. We ended out having a couple other close calls with the silverback who ran past us - missing by only feet - a few times and it was quite the adrenallin boost to have a beast of that size thunder past. I could type for hours about it though, I'll save the other stories for when I get back.

Another adventure was our white water rafting of the Nile. I've rafted the Kicking Horse in Canada before and this made the Kicking Horse look like a kiddie pool. On the last class 5 our raft was absolutely rocked by a giant wave, plunging us spinning and disoriented into the water. Though one of three wrecks that day it was by far our finest, and was the highlight of the entire day's videos. One of those events that was fun to watch AFTER it had happened.

We have also taken in many cultural sights, which are too many to name at this point. I'll go through and document them all later. The experience on the truck is considerably different from that of volunteering. Though we see many more things, it is much more detached from the African people than I would prefer. It is however just more motivation to come back!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Cheers,
Michael

P.S. Excuse any creative grammar or spelling as I write nearly a paragraph before the computer catches up and actually displays it for me. Wonders of technology!

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Comments

[Kelly Ash]

Glad to read about your adventures
Hey Mike, Glad things have been going well for you and you're really enjoying yourself! It will be great to see all of your pics when you get back. Like I've always said, I'm living vicariously through your adventures. All is well back here! Take care! Kelly & Addison