Love and Gorillas

April 21, 2023

Love and Gorillas

Uganda is home to a subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla, which can only be found in the mountains of East and Central Africa. I was lucky enough to visit Southwestern Uganda to observe them in their natural habitat. Like most adventures in Africa, the experience was even more interesting than I originally anticipated.

My friend Meghan and I woke up early for our 6am departure from our lodge at Lake Mutanda. Thankfully we had arranged for transport as we repeatedly stated on our 1.5 hour long voyage through some of the most breathtaking landscapes I have ever experienced. Our very capable driver navigated the dirt roads over potholes, through a rushing creek and back roads that we would have easily gotten lost on. Instead of stressing, we marveled at the scenery and laughed as he made it through the rushing creek (more like a river) and along edges with very steep drop offs.

Our starting point

One of the amazing views at sunrise

We arrived at the Rushaga gate of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park just in time for a group of musical performers from the nearby village to greet us with welcoming songs and traditional dance. A short while later an elderly couple arrived, and Meghan and I both looked at one another in doubt when we saw the shoes that the woman had on for trekking. It reminded me of my Grand Canyon days, when I would see a woman coming down the trail in heels and a purse. As we prepared to leave, the rangers from Uganda Wildlife Authority gave us a briefing and then placed us into groups. It was decided that we were going to spend the day with the elderly couple and another younger couple to find the Busingye group of gorillas. We were relieved when we saw the woman change her shoes, yet were still doubtful about her and her husband's ability to do the trek. This is when we heard the rangers mention the "African Helicopter," and realized that there was a large group of men there ready to carry the husband up the mountain on a platform type chair with metal bars/handles attached to each side. We finally started off with the six of us, the armed rangers, and the group of men who quickly went ahead up the hill with the man on the "African Helicopter." None of us were sure how long it would take to find the gorillas (or how long it would take us to catch up with the African helicopter).

The infamous African Helicopter and crew

As we walked together through the forest we began to learn about one another. The woman shared that she and her husband were from Australia and visiting Uganda to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The other couple, a Ugandan woman and German man, shared that they were engaged to be married in October and were in Uganda to introduce him to her family for the first time. Naturally, I asked what the secret to a long marriage was, both for my benefit and for the couple early in their relationship. She replied that it was important to grow together, not apart. Over the years people go through many changes as individuals, but as long as you grow together you will make it through. She added how important it was to just support each other, in your passions and in life over all. Such simple words of advice, but so very wise as well. It was inspiring to see the tender love between them, their sense of adventure, and the joy they still had as a couple.

Mama gorilla

We didn't have to hike for too long when our ranger led us through the brush, literally using his hooked machete to cut a trail, to finally catch a glimpse of our first gorilla. We quickly realized that in addition to their physical attributes, gorillas have other similarities to humans. It was a female with two toddlers swinging in the trees, bothering each other and her. As she sat there looking exhausted and irritated, Meghan who is the mother of two children, one of which is not quite two years old yet, whispered, "I can totally relate to her current state. She is me in gorilla form!" Later on we saw her again, with one of the toddlers being carried on her back, and she let us know just how irritated she was by charging at us with her giant teeth bared. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to be ogled at by a bunch of humans, and the last thing we wanted was to get in the way of a mom protecting her babies.

We were lucky to find the rest of the family in a tree, consisting of a silver back, which we learned did not mean he was the dominant male, just old. And a few females, one holding a very small baby on her front. They sat there enjoying their morning snack, and releasing a surprising amount of gas (especially the mama with the brand new baby). They finally made their way down the tree and through the brush to another spot in the forest. We tried following them, admittedly with a bit of apprehension (wondering if it really was okay to be THAT close to them), until we ended up in a stream of safari ants and then quickly made our way to another area. Those things are ferocious and will latch on with their pinchers, making it very hard to remove them, but somehow don't bother the gorillas (I think they find them to be a delicious snack). We were able to spend about an hour with the gorillas (trying to avoid safari ants) before heading back to the starting point.

It truly was a once in a lifetime experience, a magical day enriched by the stories and laughter shared among us.