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Published: July 11th 2009
It’s not all work, work, work here, of course! I’ve treated myself to two amazing trips while I’ve been here, the first to go Gorilla tracking in Bwindi, over in the west of the country, and the second, last weekend, up to Murchison Falls, around six hours north-west of Kampala.
The Afro-alpine landscape of Bwindi (sometimes known by the wonderfully romantic title ‘Bwindi Impenetrable Forest’) is very different from Bujagali, and although the distance is little more than from London to Manchester, even in a private vehicle the journey took us fifteen (yes, really!) hours. Much of the road on the way is still unsurfaced, and the last two hours of the journey took us crawling in pitch darkness up a narrow and precipitous mountain dirt track to the Nkuringo campsite, a comfortable tent and a typically warm Ugandan welcome from Asigario, our host. And the icing on the cake: at this altitude, there are no mozzies!
Waking before dawn and scrambling out of the tent we were greeted with a glorious view over the volcanic Virunga mountain range which straddles the Rwandan and DRC borders, and the first streaks of sunrise over the forest. After a quick omelette
in the thatched wooden restaurant I, together with friends Lucy and Dave, plus four companions from the USA and Canada, headed down into the forest for our pre-trek briefing.
Caleb, our guide, advised that it could take anything from fifteen minutes to six hours to find the gorillas, and warned that there was a chance we wouldn’t see them at all. Anyone with a cold or other airborne virus is forbidden from tracking: if transferred to the gorillas such diseases could wipe out the entire group. I was also happy to learn that, as well as enabling the protection of the gorillas and their habitats, a large percentage of our fee goes directly into the local community, both as wages for guides and trackers, and as funding for schools and healthcare projects which also help to educate the community about the benefits of habitat preservation.
Suitably prepared and equipped with walking sticks, hats, water, boots, long trousers and of course cameras, we headed down a steep path past the village of Ntungamo towards the forest. The land around the forest is intensively cultivated by subsistence farmers and despite the incredibly steep slopes I was amazed on our descent
to see steps of land planted with maize, beans, potatoes and fruit trees. They are a testament to the incredible tenacity and industriousness of the local people - not to mention their thighs of steel!
At the bottom of the valley the undergrowth thickened and we were greeted by our team of trackers. Soon they were hacking a path into shady, dense forest and the excitement mounted as Caleb told us that the gorillas were just 200m away! And suddenly, there he was: our first glimpse of a gorilla, a young silverback relaxing against a tree, eyeing us mildly and chewing contentedly on a handful of leaves. A few metres away, a rustle of bushes revealed a mother and her tiny twins, scuffling and browsing in dappled sunlight. From behind us, a sudden crackling of twigs immediately behind us and Caleb called urgently, ‘Over here!’ before the dominant silverback emerged and strode down the path we’d cleared, cast us a quick look and disappeared on some urgent gorilla business.
We spent an hour with the gorillas, trying to balance getting a few photos (they’re notoriously difficult to capture due to their love of shady spots) with just enjoying
their company. In total we saw 12 of the 18 members of the group and it felt like a great privilege to be allowed into their territory. The gentle, steady, human-like gaze when they meet your eyes is mesmerising. The enthusiasm and knowledge of the guides, and their obvious love of the animals and their environment, as well as the emphasis on ensuring benefits to the local community, made me feel this is as sustainable as tourism can be. Emerging into blazing sunlight and climbing the steep path back up to Ntungamo, our whole group was on a high.
After a very welcome bush shower (a bag with a tap, filled with water heated over the fire and slung from a wooden support in a slatted enclosure with mountain views) we decided to check out how the other half lives and visit the Clouds Gorilla Lodge down the road for a spectacularly expensive beer and free power supply to charge up cameras and transfer some photos.
The lodge is certainly an exclusive location: at $500 per person per night I wonder how it will fare during the economic downturn! It’s very beautiful and the staff couldn’t have been
more welcoming, but a peek at the guestbook revealed we were the only guests that week. The campsite, with its exhilarating views, simple but filling food, tents with bedding and mattresses, cheap beers, decent loos, entertainment from a local youth group and a campfire every night, set us back around UGS 50,000 ($25) each a night.
More to follow soon, including tales of crocs, hippo, a herd of elephants and great company at Murchison Falls!
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Rob
non-member comment
Gare au Gorill-ill-ill-ill-ille
Dear Bekka - my computer has been on the blink, my work hates blogs and there you are. I have just read all your entries to date (15/7/09 far too late at night) and I am moved in all sorts of ways. I read about those people who move away for education and think to myself how sad that from such a wonderful continent (albeit not Uganda, which seems more peaceful than nearly everything) people come to the UK for refuge and betterment and I end up trying to stick them in prison for taking other people's phones. And I read about how people farm vertically and I think how useless we are to endlessly exist in cities where we produce nothing and break the backs of the world's farmers. And then, I read about your Gorilla Adventures, and am transfixed by memories of Attenborough, Brassens, Willard Price, and wish I was looking in their eyes too.