The title is really all the explanation needed, but here is a little more info on our gorilla hike today:
We seemed very fit, and were put into a group of overall 8 people who had to walk a very long time. Down, up, down, up, down, up, and some more down...
First we felt flattered, but I soon was worried that I, the youngest of the group, would have to make everyone break for me, when my breath was coming in short stabs. The weather was lovely however and after some time, our ranger was kind enough to stop. We also had to guys for security with us, with very large guns, but very friendly smiles. They specifically told us that the guns were needed and that we didn't need to be worried. I am guessing that man tourists looked more than a little afraid before. After five weeks in Rwanda, guns don't worry me too much anymore though. (Is that good or bad?) At the time of our break, probably 45-60 min into our hike, the scouts had still not located the gorilla family we were trying to find. That was worrysome. The scouts had however found traces of the family having passed by in the morning and Ossy, our ranger, was 60% confident that we would find them now.
The only person ever to visit the gorillas in a skirt. Best-dressed, even in the djungle.
Gorillas do not move a lot during the day, at most 5km. So when the scouts leave them the afternoon before, they should usually be easy to locate. But they wanted to create some extra suspense for us, it seems. I was certainly relieved when the scouts had finally located them and it was only another 30min to walk - steep uphill of course.
Short introduction to being with the gorillas. Stay 7m away from them and move slowly backwards in case they approach you. That was the only important rule and the one everyone seemed hard to keep up. Some for photos, some due to surprise attacks as we will see...
We climb downhill a bit more and I need someone to point them out to me. They are very quiet and dark-haired, meaning they blend well into the surrounding landscape of dark earth and shady trees. They are chilling in the underbrush when we get closer, the silverback as well as some of his ladies with children. A few of the women were out and about roaming, since they don't have children at the moment.
They are definitely big, but not as big as I thought. And they look so fluffy! (Didn't get close enough to confirm...) The younger ones are playing a lot and practicing being grown-ups (like humans). They climb, scream and hit their chest. The male ones have very big chests/bellies, not from drinking beer however, but to produce the sounds when hitting their chests. That's at least what I assume, forgot to ask. I did ask what they eat: Leaves and berries with milky stuff inside. And they take 10 years to grow up, which is a fifth of their lifespan. Sometimes there are two silberacks in a group, but one is always dominant.
And now: Pictures! They are so cute, but I didn't have enough space in the backpack to take a small one back.
We seemed very fit, and were put into a group of overall 8 people who had to walk a very long time. Down, up, down, up, down, up, and some more down...
First we felt flattered, but I soon was worried that I, the youngest of the group, would have to make everyone break for me, when my breath was coming in short stabs. The weather was lovely however and after some time, our ranger was kind enough to stop. We also had to guys for security with us, with very large guns, but very friendly smiles. They specifically told us that the guns were needed and that we didn't need to be worried. I am guessing that man tourists looked more than a little afraid before. After five weeks in Rwanda, guns don't worry me too much anymore though. (Is that good or bad?) At the time of our break, probably 45-60 min into our hike, the scouts had still not located the gorilla family we were trying to find. That was worrysome. The scouts had however found traces of the family having passed by in the morning and Ossy, our ranger, was 60% confident that we would find them now.
The only person ever to visit the gorillas in a skirt. Best-dressed, even in the djungle.
Gorillas do not move a lot during the day, at most 5km. So when the scouts leave them the afternoon before, they should usually be easy to locate. But they wanted to create some extra suspense for us, it seems. I was certainly relieved when the scouts had finally located them and it was only another 30min to walk - steep uphill of course.
Short introduction to being with the gorillas. Stay 7m away from them and move slowly backwards in case they approach you. That was the only important rule and the one everyone seemed hard to keep up. Some for photos, some due to surprise attacks as we will see...
We climb downhill a bit more and I need someone to point them out to me. They are very quiet and dark-haired, meaning they blend well into the surrounding landscape of dark earth and shady trees. They are chilling in the underbrush when we get closer, the silverback as well as some of his ladies with children. A few of the women were out and about roaming, since they don't have children at the moment.
They are definitely big, but not as big as I thought. And they look so fluffy! (Didn't get close enough to confirm...) The younger ones are playing a lot and practicing being grown-ups (like humans). They climb, scream and hit their chest. The male ones have very big chests/bellies, not from drinking beer however, but to produce the sounds when hitting their chests. That's at least what I assume, forgot to ask. I did ask what they eat: Leaves and berries with milky stuff inside. And they take 10 years to grow up, which is a fifth of their lifespan. Sometimes there are two silberacks in a group, but one is always dominant.
And now: Pictures! They are so cute, but I didn't have enough space in the backpack to take a small one back.
Of course tourists cannot help to be obnoxious (how do you spell that?) and saw them more through their lense than anything else. Luckily, we both didn't have more than a cellphone camera, which made watching them real life even more interesting.
Not pictured: Forest elephants and climbing lions. The rangers might have been kidding, but we did see elephant dung. That'll be our next safari...
Hard to photograph: The absurd amounts of sweat dripping off our faces.
Spent the rest of the day relaxing. Just like the gorillas.
This night, The Fog crept up on us. We might perish here after all...
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