We trekked for 2,5 hours, at which stage we began to see evidence of freshly chewed bamboo shoots. "They are close," the ranger said. Shortly afterwards he told us to get our cameras ready as we were about to see them. I was filled with nervous excitement - not too sure what to expect. The ranger then pulled aside some thick bush and there he was ... the massive Silverback.
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I was shocked at just how
close we were - the Silverback was lying on his back playing with his
feet, less than one meter away. He didn't seem fussed that there were
visitors and ignored our presence. His family were resting in the shade
nearby - 5 females, 2 juveniles and 3 babies - one of which was one month
old. We were stunned and speechless!
The babies were absolutely gorgeous and had us mesmerized by their playful
antics and inquisitiveness. Two of them frolicked in front of me and came
right up to me, touching my shoelace. I really wanted to put my hand out
and play with them, but sadly I was instructed to step back. The juveniles
were very protective of their siblings and would put on a display of
bravado (thumping their chests) to let us know that we needed to back off.
The females busied themselves by fussing over the silverback, looking
after the babies and chilling in the shade.
One hour is simply not enough - you could literally spend a day observing
these wonderful creatures. Martin and I felt privileged to be able to
experience the mountain gorillas and enjoying a very brief insight into
their lives.
'No one who looks into a gorilla's eyes - intelligent, gentle, vulnerable
- can remain unchanged, for the gap between ape and human vanishes, we
know that the gorilla still lives within us.' George Schaller, father of
gorilla conservation
) Mother and new-born (1 month old) |
) Close up of baby |
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The Cost Factor (ouch!)
We opted to venture into the DRC for our Gorilla trek. We had heard that it is considerably less expensive than the US$360 that Uganda and Rwanda want for the hours experience. After paying all the bills the DRC was not cheaper! Here's a summary:
Booking
Fee: US$20
Transport to park: US$100 (rip off as the trip takes 45min)
Gorilla permit: US$500 (US$250 pp)
DRC Visa: US$60
Ugandan Visa: US$60
Total: US$720
