This was our second to last drive. We were told it would take either 3 or 7 hours to get from Lake Bunyonyi to Bwindi. We were driving to Bwindi to see the highland mountain gorillas so it comes as no surprise that we had a drive up ascending mountainous terrain. The difference between 3 and 7 hours, we were told, depended on if a bridge had been wiped out by a landslide. We were told to call the hotel in the morning to check on the damage from the rain the night before. When we called in the morning they didn’t answer so we called a guy in Kampala who told us the road was okay. My assumption was he had no clue, but it was the only lead we had so we took it.
Whether the guy on the phone knew it or not, he was right. We reached the bridge that apparently crumples in the rain near the end of our journey and it was still intact enough for us to pass. Google Maps said we only had 20 kilometers left at that point. But 20 kilometers on these roads would be at least a full hour of Sue and Emily cheering Tom on from behind tightly secured seatbelts. Then about 5 kilometers after the bridge we saw a sign for the Bwindi Gorilla Lodge - our lodge. The sign told us to turn right. Google Maps told us to turn left. A steadfast Google Maps loyalist at this point, I was emphatic we should follow the map. Sue and Tom disagreed, and with the power of the majority, we turned right. Just as the sign promised, we reached Bwindi Gorilla Lodge in 5 kilometers. I told the staff at the lodge that their location was incorrect on Google Maps, but they seemed to both already know and not care.
There are only 700 highland mountain gorillas in the world and there are only two locations to see them: Bwindi Forest in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park, which straddles Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC. Highland mountain gorillas, like great white sharks, cannot survive in captivity, so no zoos for them. We chose to go to Bwindi because it had the highest number of gorilla groups (and was substantially cheaper than Rwanda, and didn’t have an active ebola outbreak like DRC).
Given the Google Maps misestimation, we arrived to Bwindi Lodge an hour earlier than expected still in time for morning tea, to Sue’s delight. Tom and Sue decided to use our bonus afternoon to on a guided walk to the neighboring pygmy village, while I stayed back lounging at the hotel. I could hear the pygmy's signing in the distance, their feet stomping and voices raised high. The hotel manager told us that the pygmy's like to party - in fact he said they sing and dance every evening. After our first night we could personally attest to this and gave Sue a pair of our ear plugs in anticipation of the pygmy party the second night
Whether the guy on the phone knew it or not, he was right. We reached the bridge that apparently crumples in the rain near the end of our journey and it was still intact enough for us to pass. Google Maps said we only had 20 kilometers left at that point. But 20 kilometers on these roads would be at least a full hour of Sue and Emily cheering Tom on from behind tightly secured seatbelts. Then about 5 kilometers after the bridge we saw a sign for the Bwindi Gorilla Lodge - our lodge. The sign told us to turn right. Google Maps told us to turn left. A steadfast Google Maps loyalist at this point, I was emphatic we should follow the map. Sue and Tom disagreed, and with the power of the majority, we turned right. Just as the sign promised, we reached Bwindi Gorilla Lodge in 5 kilometers. I told the staff at the lodge that their location was incorrect on Google Maps, but they seemed to both already know and not care.
There are only 700 highland mountain gorillas in the world and there are only two locations to see them: Bwindi Forest in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park, which straddles Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC. Highland mountain gorillas, like great white sharks, cannot survive in captivity, so no zoos for them. We chose to go to Bwindi because it had the highest number of gorilla groups (and was substantially cheaper than Rwanda, and didn’t have an active ebola outbreak like DRC).
Given the Google Maps misestimation, we arrived to Bwindi Lodge an hour earlier than expected still in time for morning tea, to Sue’s delight. Tom and Sue decided to use our bonus afternoon to on a guided walk to the neighboring pygmy village, while I stayed back lounging at the hotel. I could hear the pygmy's signing in the distance, their feet stomping and voices raised high. The hotel manager told us that the pygmy's like to party - in fact he said they sing and dance every evening. After our first night we could personally attest to this and gave Sue a pair of our ear plugs in anticipation of the pygmy party the second night
On the community walk, Sue and Tom visited a school and then the local pygmy tribe. The school sounded run down, children in tattered clothing, their uniforms dangling off their bodies. Four kids shared a thin cot to sleep in the evenings. Tom showed me pictures he took of a boy who was wearing brown pants and a brown sweater with clay-like dirt on his face standing camouflaged against a brown mud hut. The visual reminder of poverty and privilege made Sue cry and she donated money for new school uniforms.
Over dinner that night our minds went back to gorillas and we discussed our trekking plan, collectively wondering if the hike would actually be as grueling as had been suggested. We decided to request a “medium difficulty” hiking group - we wanted to feel like we put in effort, but Sue rightly so wasn’t overly keen on scrambling up the face of the mountainside for four arduous hours. I secretly feared that Sue was way more prepared than Tom and I. She had the gear: the safari pants with double knee pads, heavy duty bug spray, and gloves to shield her from protruding thorns. But most of all she hadn’t been slowly atrophying in a car for the last two months, subsisting largely on a french fry diet. I feared it would be Tom and me, not Sue, at the heavy breathing back of the pack.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is very much as it claims: impenetrable. The mist is the first guardian of the forest. Everything is cloaked in thick white clouds. Even from the lobby of our lodge we couldn’t see the forest that we knew was directly in front of us.
We began our gorilla trek at 8:30am. We hiked in a group of 8 with two trackers and two men in front with machetes who cleared the unwelcoming forest for us as we walked. This is the second time the impenetrable forest earned it’s title. We followed the path for the majority of the walk, but as we approached the gorillas we diverted from the path into the untamed, and yes impenetrable, bush. Vines from fallen tree branches covered the ground woven together into intricate traps for our feet. We walked past a procession of stinging nettles and I could feel a safari ant pinch its way down my shirt
Our porters stayed behind once we left the official path and it was just us and our guide. (Everyone in our group, except for Tom, had a porter to hold our bags and our hands when terrain got tough). I was impressed with Sue’s ability to climb the vertical sections through the uncleared brush without a helping hand. In total it only took us about 45 minutes to reach the gorillas, with only 15 minutes of off-roading.
The first gorilla we saw was the silver back. He was massive - an absolute giant. His shoulders were broad, his head hunched and his arched back streaked with a pad of old silver hair. He is 27 years old and his name’s Meshaya, meaning “strong jaw”. I could see the strength in his face. He was sitting under a tree and pulling down fat branches to eat. He skinned the leaves off the bark and tossed them aside haphazardly before continuing to eat the nutrient-rich branches. He felt way more intimidating than the chimpanzees, but at the same time he was so calm and easy going.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is very much as it claims: impenetrable. The mist is the first guardian of the forest. Everything is cloaked in thick white clouds. Even from the lobby of our lodge we couldn’t see the forest that we knew was directly in front of us.
We began our gorilla trek at 8:30am. We hiked in a group of 8 with two trackers and two men in front with machetes who cleared the unwelcoming forest for us as we walked. This is the second time the impenetrable forest earned it’s title. We followed the path for the majority of the walk, but as we approached the gorillas we diverted from the path into the untamed, and yes impenetrable, bush. Vines from fallen tree branches covered the ground woven together into intricate traps for our feet. We walked past a procession of stinging nettles and I could feel a safari ant pinch its way down my shirt
Our porters stayed behind once we left the official path and it was just us and our guide. (Everyone in our group, except for Tom, had a porter to hold our bags and our hands when terrain got tough). I was impressed with Sue’s ability to climb the vertical sections through the uncleared brush without a helping hand. In total it only took us about 45 minutes to reach the gorillas, with only 15 minutes of off-roading.
The first gorilla we saw was the silver back. He was massive - an absolute giant. His shoulders were broad, his head hunched and his arched back streaked with a pad of old silver hair. He is 27 years old and his name’s Meshaya, meaning “strong jaw”. I could see the strength in his face. He was sitting under a tree and pulling down fat branches to eat. He skinned the leaves off the bark and tossed them aside haphazardly before continuing to eat the nutrient-rich branches. He felt way more intimidating than the chimpanzees, but at the same time he was so calm and easy going.
We followed the silver back to the rest of his group. He was acutely aware of our presence and was protecting them from us. There were two moms in the group and three children, including an 8 and 4 month old baby. The 4 month old tried so hard to be a gorilla but he was so small, he couldn’t swing from the branches or climb up the tree or do anything but attempt to be a gorilla and fall over while trying.
The gorillas were slowly making their way over to a neighboring group, stopping to eat along the way. The two groups used to be a single unit until a second male became dominant enough to take over his own group and they split. The women choose their group for themselves and their children. Even though they’re now separate, the groups remain friends.
The gorillas were much harder to see than the chimpanzees, even when we were only 4 feet away from them. The forest was so dense you could barely see anything through the thick bush. They also moved around less than the chimps, once they found a comfortable seat they were content just sitting and eating their way through the surrounding tree branches. They were sedated and content, slow and contemplative. Sue asked which we’d rather be, a chimp or a gorilla. Both Tom and Sue said they’re rather be gorillas. I’d rather be a chimp.
The gorillas were slowly making their way over to a neighboring group, stopping to eat along the way. The two groups used to be a single unit until a second male became dominant enough to take over his own group and they split. The women choose their group for themselves and their children. Even though they’re now separate, the groups remain friends.
The gorillas were much harder to see than the chimpanzees, even when we were only 4 feet away from them. The forest was so dense you could barely see anything through the thick bush. They also moved around less than the chimps, once they found a comfortable seat they were content just sitting and eating their way through the surrounding tree branches. They were sedated and content, slow and contemplative. Sue asked which we’d rather be, a chimp or a gorilla. Both Tom and Sue said they’re rather be gorillas. I’d rather be a chimp.
Back at the lodge we recapped the experience over beers and exchanged photos and videos with our lodge mates. We lamented the fact that our hike only took 45 minutes, and wasn’t as strenuous as we had hoped. I lamented the fact that I had eaten a massive protein heavy breakfast thinking I was stocking up for 4+ hours of physical exertion but instead was just left with a stomach ache. Next time I hope the gorillas make us work a little harder for our reward.
