Now at Bwindi Lodge within the Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. Thankfully this lodge has light bulbs, albeit solar powered, water warm out of taps though still only plugs in lounge area….
Arrived yesterday with jungle stretched out before us, enjoyed a lovely lunch (being the only guests here!) then set off on an almost three hour walk to see how tea and coffee are grown and harvested, gin produced from bananas and meet the Batwa people (Pygmy) who have been ‘encouraged’ (for want of a better description!) out of the jungle (by the government armed with guns!) as ‘us tourists’ want to view the gorillas that Pygmys have hunted aside for hundreds of years, now ‘forced’ to live amongst the towns folk and enjoy health facilities, clothes (!) and schooling ….
Not convinced they are actually happy with this deal (somewhat lost in translation of guide!) but with intermarriage now accepted between them and locals, me thinks short stature won’t be around for much longer (and as guide so eloquently put it, ‘similar size to you, but much slimmer’ … rude!)
How utterly cute were the children of the area – rushing to meet the white visitors and inquisitively grasping for any form of common language between us … before long we shared ‘counting’ as others joined in the game and quite a mass gathered … with smiles as broad as ‘our Gordon’s’, we laughed with them to then sadly need to wave goodbye, bless them x
This morning was an early 5:45am start to head off for Gorilla trekking!!! Met by the chief Ranger, we were briefed on the three groups that were habituated (familiar with man) in this area, a total of just over 800 survive in the world, split between Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo. A census of numbers is completed every 5 years (by basically studying the gorilla nests, counting fresh dung piles and watching for new babies within the groups), next census is meant to be this year but with wars presently occurring in the Congo and most gorillas there fearful of contact with people (as often slaughtered) within that evidently dangerous area of Africa, the census is likely not to happen …
We were introduced to our group Ranger who explained that their Trekkers had set off two hours prior in search of the Gorilla group we would be seeking (Gordon, our driver – familiar with most people en route due to his endless chat, giggle and kindness of giving food and water to most he meets (quite the currency out here it seems!), tipped the chief Ranger off that we were not keen to embark on the possible 7 hour hike and managed to wangle us the short route! tut tut ……).
We met our Porters, chaps from local village who carry bags and assist one in climbing the incredibly steep jungle mountain terrain for their sincerely appreciated wage of a minimum of $15/£10 or, should one wish to be carried on a ‘chair’, $250/£200! – I have to say, we thought the other South African couple a tad stingey asking if one porter could carry two bags which looked more like bulging Christmas hampers! – needless to say, a reply was expressed most politely ‘one bag/one porter!’
After what can only be described as an endurance test through a tea plantation, brambling vines, nettles and trees – slashed at with the Rangers machete – up hill and down sheer drop – Porters offering a welcome arm or a (well in my case!) gentle nudge around the waist (!), fanning my tomato faced appearance with vine leaves with a look on their faces of shock that such a shade of red was a face colour (!) – we eventually (after just over 2 hours in a heat which resulted in wet faces all round) found the Trekkers who had located the Gorillas and we were instructed to take on water, a small lunch and partake in a ‘bush toilet’ before leaving belongings, save our cameras, with the Porters and head off the remaining 5 min hike with our armed guards, Trekkers and Ranger (Porters sadly not permitted near Gorillas – hopefully because this would intimidate the Gorillas with too many people but likely because they haven’t paid for a pass!) .
What we then encountered defies words – these creatures, so like us with their mannerisms and ‘musical’ bodily air emissions (sorry!?) and kind eyes, left us speechless – a massive Silverback around 24 years old, a few of mothers around 13 years old, a black back (older male, next to take over group) and baby around 2 years old – seems life expectancy approximately 40 years (seems all males eventually become Silverbacks at around 13 years old) – we just watched and quietly followed them briefly for the permitted hour, then sadly had to leave them to their free state and complete our trek back to the awaiting ‘Gordon’ vehicle – after 5 hours, never more a welcome sight (good job it was the ‘short’ walk!!!).
Apparently 24 passes are issued a day to tourists but with problems in neighbouring Kenya just now, numbers have been down. This place remains somewhat touristless, incredibly special and once the fatigue, headache from the heat exhaustion has passed with a refreshing shower enjoyed, we reflect on our day’s adventure feeling so very privileged and honoured ….
Tomorrow a six hour drive to Rwanda so for now, goodnight from five Gorilla amazed travellers ….
