The guide spotted the problem straight away. “You’re older than the rest,”
he said bluntly, not meaning to offend, just looking out for me, when he
suggested I join the “easier” trek.
So even though I opted for the shorter, flatter trek, as
opposed to the longer, steeper climb, I almost died! That’s a little dramatic!
Okay, my heart and lungs almost exploded! My thigh muscles were on fire! (Still
too dramatic?)
We climb and climb and climb as we set out in the “impenetrable”
lush rainforest of the Bwindi/Mgahinga National Park in Kisoro, Uganda.
Straight away I am panting and puffing, struggling to breathe, my heart racing,
drenched in sweat, my tee shirt soaked, my glasses fogging up, as I lean on the
long walking stick for support, my backpack weighing heavy, trailing behind my
fellow hikers.
I have seriously overestimated my fitness level. I’m used to
walking the dogs in the flat woodlands near our home in rural Kent or strolling
around National Trust gardens. But this uphill hiking is shocking my system
into overdrive!
A seven-man support team; four guides, one porter and two
police guards with rifles to fire shots to scare off elephants, if we should
stumble across them, accompany our small group of four trekkers from the
Absolute Africa tour. The men are so patient, kind and helpful in guiding us on
this quest to see the Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat.
We started this once-in-a-lifetime day at 5 am. A quick
breakfast at 5.30, we set out at 6 am for a two hour drive through the most
idyllic beautiful country of velvet hills, a brown and green patchwork of intricate
hillside farming with fields of bananas, potatoes, yams, wheat, maize, corn,
string beans on bunches of sticks and bushes of flowering peas carved into the
steep inclines.
We drive through flourishing villages, alive with morning
activity, men and women off to work, smiling and waving, and children
resplendent in their school uniforms rushing at the van, laughing and
squealing. My heart expands with joy and pure bliss to experience such warmth
and friendship as we sneak a glimpse into the lives of these hardy, peaceful, mountain
people.
These fertile hills and valleys of rich soil grow the food
basket of southern Uganda, a region which in recent years has also come to
embrace eco-tourism with an array of delightful lodges for visitors from around
the world who come to view the magnificent mountain gorillas up close and
personal. The new conservation industry provides purposeful employment for the
locals, keeping their youth at home in this natural paradise, rather than
seeking work in far-off cities.
We climb forever (or so it seems to me) after numerous stops
for me to catch my breath, before our lead guide, Onesmus tells us we are about
to descend into the valley. We ease ourselves downward through slippery, muddy
tracks finding footholds on rocks.
I am using my walking stick to keep steady and the gloves
allow me to grab the branches and bushes as we go deeper into the valley in
search of the family of eight gorillas foraging there. One guide is using a
machete to clear a path. Luckily none of
us has been stung by fire ants or stinging nettles!
And on the bright side, the weather in the rainforest is
perfect for trekking today. Many people brave this trek in drizzle or even
torrential downpours. But my big green raincoat is still tucked away in my
backpack and the humid air is not unbearably hot and steamy.
Suddenly we hear a deep guttural roar and Onesmus says it’s
the Silverback. We are close. It’s unbelievable! Is this possible? Our little
group of tourists, a couple from Scotland, a young woman from Australia and
me from the UK, are about to witness the endangered Mountain Gorilla, the largest
of all the apes, in the wild.
We see the massive Silverback. He’s drinking from a stream
and a cheeky juvenile is playing nearby. And then a mother carrying her baby
joins him. Onesmus says the male baby is one year old and still suckling from
mum.
We watch in awe, just metres away. The Big Guy is cool. He’s
seen curious humans before and as long as we stay a respectable distance from
his family he will tolerate us, without threatening displays.
They move to a shady spot to sit and munch on branches and
leaves. The adults are so relaxed that, as their fibrous meals hit their big
bellies, they release long slow farts! We all giggle at this surprising,
comical sound!
The others have zoom lenses and are capturing brilliant
close-ups but I am using my Iphone and snapping a few good poses as these magnificent gorillas look into the camera with their deep,
soulful eyes.
We can hear the juvenile whimpering in the bushes. Onesmus
explains that his mother has just weaned him as he’s now four years old and he
is protesting. He wants to feed from her. It will take some time before he
accepts he’s now destined for a 98 per cent herbivorous diet of branches and
leaves, with a few fire ants and insects thrown in for a little protein boost!
The baby decides to climb up the tree, exploring the top
branches, practising his gymnastics and stretching his long arms to swing
through the branches, but he misjudges and falls right in his mother’s lap! We
gasp as he lands with a thud. He sits up, unhurt, but I swear he looks a little
embarrassed!
And then mum leans across to groom the Silverback, carefully
picking off fleas and nits. This is such an intimate social behaviour to
witness. Apparently such a favour is reciprocal as Onesmus explains, the Big
Guy will also groom her and delight in eating the bugs he finds!
Before we set off on the trek, we enjoyed a talk about the
Mountain Gorillas in one of the National Park’s immaculate huts and learnt that
there are only three apes on Planet Earth; gorillas, chimpanzees and humans!
The gorillas’ social behaviour, bonding to the family group
and devoted parenting seem to be so close to our own. In fact we share 97 per
cent of our genetics with our ‘grand cousins’.
Tragically, the Mountain Gorilla, the largest of the apes,
was pushed to the edge of extinction through hunting for food and trophies. In
1991, this 331 square kilometre National Park, a World Heritage Site, began to
work desperately to increase the numbers.
The park is home to more than half of the remaining gorilla
population, with others living in reserves in neighbouring Rwanda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Onesmus explained that the National Park was gazetted in
1991 and tourism started in 1993. In 1996, the gorilla numbers were as low as 320
and when they were counted in 2011, the number had risen to 400.
The gorillas are slow breeders. Each female starts to have
babies at the age of eight, usually only one baby, occasionally twins. The baby
breastfeeds for four years before she weans the youngster and gets pregnant
again.
The males mature and grow their trademark silver hair on
their mighty backs around the age of four, when they start to mate. A dominant
Alpha Male will head up each family group. The gorillas live for 45 to 50 years.
How fascinating to learn about these wonderful great apes
and to know that dedicated conservation work and responsible eco-tourism is
succeeding in saving the endangered species. The money we paid for the trek
goes towards the vital conservation work.
I can’t believe I survived the return trek, clawing my way
up through the thick overgrown valley, helped by the attentive and patient
guides, one gripping my hand, the other pushing my fat behind! Once we hit the
home stretch we stopped for a lunch - stale cheese sandwiches, a fistful of
crisps and swig of water for me!
Our Gorilla Trek was four and a half hours and cost £460 and
worth every penny and every aching muscle.
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