Travel Beyond Robb Report Article Jan 2013 Congo

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3. wooden walkways wind from each room to a main lodge,
where elaborate multicourse meals incorporate fruits and
vegetables from the camp's organic garden.
Odzala's six-night packages ($5,885 per person) ensure a
well-rounded wildlife experience by requiring three nights
each at Lango and Ngaga.But the gorillasat Ngaga are clearly
the main draw.The experience at the lodge is enhanced by
Wilderness'spartnership with primatologists who have been
researching Odzala-Kokouas gorilla troops for more than a
decade.The experts created guidelines for viewing the ani-
mals, which include limiting time spent with them to just
one hour per day. Sometimes,
however,nature breaks the rules.
On my trip's final morning,
shortly after heading out from
N gaga, we track the silverback
Neptuno and his troop of18.We
find the primates in a canopy of
trees, chomping on leaves high
among the branches.After almost
an hour, the gorillasdescend into
the forest, and, delighted by our
unfettered sighting,we start back
for the lodge. But as we make
our way through the tall brush,
we are stopped in our tracks by
the piercing sound of the silver-
back'shigh-pitched howl. Nearby,
a frantic shaking of leavesgrows
closer and closer.Suddenly com-
ing into view, the 400-pound
beast barrels toward us,swinging
forward on his knuckles with an
unbelievable force that seems to
shake the earth.
Luckily,Odzala'sheadresearcher
had warned us the night before that gorillasoften charge,but
only to display dominance. The trick was not to panic and
run. Indeed, just seconds before pummeling through us
altogether, Neptuno stops.With nostrils flaring and eyes
unblinking, the silverbackbeats his chest with the samepah-
pah-pah we heard the day before.Then, his superiority con-
firmed, he slowlymakes his way back to his group. It is only
at that moment, when I remember to breathe, that I raise
my camera and snap a photo. -JACKIE CARADONIO
• TRAVEL •
what you are going to get.That is the exciting part!"
To be sure, Odzala-a two-lodge camp in northeastern
Congo that the Botswana-based safari operator Wilderness
opened lastAugust-serves up an authentic nature experi-
ence. Set within the roughly 5,OOO-square-mileOdzala-
Kokoua National Park, the camp comprises Ngaga, which
borders the home range of six gorilla groups, and Lango,
located at the edge of a dense forest about two and a half
hours away by car.The camp is the only one of its kind in
the rain forest of central Africa, which is the lone territory
of the critically endangered western lowland gorilla.
Odzala-Kokoua's wildlife-
which also includes forest ele-
phants, bongos, buffalo, and 11
species of primates aside from
the gorillas-is unaccustomed
to people. At times this can
mean extraordinary sights, such
as chimpanzees shrieking and
pounding the ground at what
might be their first encounter
with human beings. Other times
it can mean following tracks
for hours before finding gorillas
that are hidden behind giant
arrowroot plants.
"We are not hosting activi-
ties," saysBruce Simpson, CEO
of Wilderness Collection, an
elite group of environmentally
focused Wilderness. properties
that include Odzala' and loca-
tions in Kenya, Botswana, and
the Seychelles. "You don't sit
in a car watching animals until
someone decides it's time to
move on. We're selling an experience at Odzala, and
whether it's tracking gorillas or treading a river, when you
finally see those animals,it's damn exciting."
While guests at Odzala might work for their sightings,
they can expect a more leisurely experience at the camp's
two lodges.Plunge pools and soaking tubs would be anath-
ema to Wilderness Collection's adherence to authenticity,
but certain luxuries remain. Ngaga and Lango each feature
six elevated raffia-covered huts with zip-up doors and
wraparound observation decks from which guests can
view buffalo sunning themselvesby a forest swamp or colo-
bus monkeys swinging from the trees. At Lango, elevated
The viewfrom an observation deck at Ngaga, which has partnered with primatologists to offer guests an inside look at the local wildlife.
Odzala, www.wilderness-collection.com; available through TravelBeyond,
952.475.9975, www.travelbeyond.com
56 ROBB REPORT JANUARY 2013