13 August, 2017
6:00am. Our group gathered in front of our hostel and clambered into the people carrier that would transport us from Kisoro up into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
It was pitch black as we began the 2 hour journey up the winding, bumpy, dusty roads.
After arriving at the Rushaga entrance of the park along with all of the other vehicles, we were gathered in a large hut at the park headquarters to learn more about the incredible creatures we were here to see.
One of the most infamous endangered animals, there are less than 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the world. They all live in the mountains of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC, and do not survive in captivity.
The system in place in Bwindi runs like clockwork. Whilst we were learning more about the gorillas and having an in-depth safety briefing, our trackers were already up in the mountains finding the gorilla families we would be trekking with.
There were six groups of us in this area of the park that day, all comprising of the maximum 8 group members. As there were six of us from our overlanding group, we were paired with a couple of girls who had travelled up from Rwanda. One of the girls in our group also paid for a porter to help her and carry her bag, which is a great way that the Bwindi team help to enable more people to take part in strenuous hikes like this.
After the briefing we met our guide, Obed who seemed just as excited as us to get going! While there is no guarantee you will see gorillas, his optimism was contagious. Obed explained that we would be trekking with his favourite group, the Busingye gorilla family. They are made up of the silverback, Busingye, plus 6 blackbacks and 3 infants.
This is one of the newest habituated groups in Bwindi, after they split from their former group in 2012. They had been found slightly further across the park so we hopped back into our vehicle for a quick drive to the trailhead.
9:45am. Some gorilla groups in Bwindi can be found in as little as 30 minutes, but ours were a 2 hour hike up the steep mountainside and into the seriously impenetrable jungle. There's a reason the park was named the Impenetrable Forest!
We had been joined by two additional guides, Wensi and Mario who carried machetes (for cutting clearings) and rifles (to scare away any dangerous animals such as bush elephants).
The first part of our trek was up a steep dirt track, passing local people herding goats and tending to crops. The local communities benefit greatly from the permit fees tourists pay to trek here and they all seemed happy to welcome us.
The portion of permit fees passed on to local communities can help them to regenerate their crops in event of wildlife damage (looking at you, bush elephants), and reduce the impact of human-wildlife conflict. The money also helps to provide good salaries to the rangers and guides, which enables them to make a better living tracking gorillas to lead groups rather than tracking them for poaching.
As we delved deeper and deeper into the forest, we found our two trackers. They called us down a steep slope full of thick overgrowth. Just as the bushes became almost as high as us, we had finally made it.
Ahead of us in the clearing was our beautiful silverback, Busingye.
Busingye, however, was not quite as happy to see us. Within the first 10 minutes of noticing us he started to make show displays of dominance, shouting and mock charging.
We had been warned this might happen and were told that we must not back down if charged. Thank God for Julie stood behind me who placed a hand on my back as my natural instincts kicked in and I took a step backwards.
It's very hard to stay put when a 30 stone mass of muscle is flying towards you!
We followed Busingye further into the bush, and eventually he sat still for a while munching on some branches.
We were able to sneak a peak at a couple of the infants in his group too.
During our briefing, we were told that we would only spend a maximum of an hour with the gorillas. We all had visions of sitting in a forest clearing watching infants play together and look at us curiously, but the reality was very different!
After spending the first hour climbing through thick undergrowth, trying to keep up with Busingye going up and up the steep valley, the guides decided to give us some extra time to try and catch a better view.
Eventually Busingye slowed down and climbed a tree to get a better look at us. Ever seen a 400lb creature sitting in a flimsy looking tree? Me either!
We sat down near to the trees that the gorillas were in whilst we had our lunch. Our hostel had packed us a nice lunchbox for us to take with us which had been much appreciated after 3 hours of strenuous jungle trekking.
After we had finished eating, Busingye decided he was bored of watching us. He slid down the tree like a fireman would slide down a pole and shouted at the rest of his group to start moving back down the valley.
As we gathered closer to get one final look at the departing group, Busingye decided to show us one final time who was boss.
We were crouched on the ground in a clearing so we could see the full size of the giant silverback. He turned back to us and roared with all his might, baring his long, sharp teeth that were dripping with red berry juice.
He treated us to a chest beat before charging us one more time, stopping about 2 meters in front of our group where Claire & I were perched at the front.
I think my heart almost stopped in that moment!
Our guides shouted back at him, and he backed down, following his family back into the forest and away from intrusion.
1:45pm. Our guides laughed as we told them how scared we had been. It turns out that Busingye is often like this, and that's why they find him the most exciting silverback to track!
Busingye had kindly led us closer to a track that would lead us out of the park. We laughed and joked as our group of 14 walked back through the forest.
As we exited the park borders and neared the farms we passed on the way up, our guides sat us down to mark the end of the trek.
They presented each of us with a certificate of trek completion and we took some group pictures, completely elated after the most fantastic day.
We were also treated to the sight of a Jackson's 3-horned chameleon who was hanging out on the tree next to the path. He was completely unafraid of us, and even allowed the guides to place him on our arms for a closer look.
3:50pm. We finally arrived back to where our vehicle was parked, near a small shop where members of the local community had gathered.
They sang and danced to traditional songs, whilst we took a moment to enjoy a nice cold drink. I bought a gorgeous hand-carved wooden silverback so that I could always remember this amazing day.
4:30pm. After climbing back into the people carrier we started the 2 hour journey back to Kisoro, unable to wipe the smiles from our faces. Most of us slept.
When we got back to Rafiki Guesthouse, we were greeted by the other two trekking groups from our overlanding group. It turned out they had all returned hours earlier and we had experienced a much more strenuous trek!
But that was OK by us.
We had well and truly earned our time with Busingye and his family, and that day in Bwindi National Park will live with me forever.
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