Meeting mountain gorillas face-to-face in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda was incredible - even if the gorillas were drunk and did fart... a lot!

1. Meeting Mountain Gorillas: My Most EPIC Experience Ever!
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Like most travellers I have a mental bucket list that I am constantly updating. As a travel blogger I have been very
fortunate to regularly check off items from that list. Take a look at my Top Travel Adventures of 2012 and my #1 travel
adventure of 2012 and you’ll see what I mean. But the #1 thing on my bucket list, remained, chewing away at me….until
recently.
It will probably come as no surprise to those of you that know me and even those of you who don’t – my blog is named
Monkeys and Mountains after all, that the # 1 t hing on my bucket list was t o observe Mount ain Gorillas in t he
wild. I had studied Western Lowland Gorillas during my Bachelor of Science in Primatology. I went on to work in
environmental education at a z oo and designed and taught primate environmental enrichment programs. But still I had
never seen a gorilla in the wild.
Bleep, bleep, bleep. That was the alarming sound I woke up to at 5:23 am. Normally I would have turned it off, and then
hidden under the covers, but not today. Today I pulled the covers aside and leapt out of bed, my feet hitting the cold
floor of Amahoro Guest House in Musanz e, Rwanda. Today was t he day I would be seeing Mount ain Gorillas in
t he wild!
Flash forward 30 minutes later and Omar my friendly guide at Amahoro Tours has picked me up and I’m now in a group
with six other gorilla enthusiasts. Our trek to the low stone wall marking Volcanoes National Park has begun.
Our guide

2. Our guide
repeatedly spoke
softly into his 2- way
radio, speaking in
his native tongue of
Kinyarwandan. I
didn’t understand
him, but I did notice
the worried look in
his eyes as he
exchanged glances
with our other guide
before brightly
announcing that the
trackers couldn’t find
the gorillas but not
to worry.
What ? No
gorillas? My
pulse quickened.
Don’t worry, he
assured us, the
gorillas are moving
fast in search of
bamboo shoots.
O n e o f th e th r e e s i l ve r b a cks th a t co m p r i s e th e S a b yi n yo tr o o p .
He repeatedly assured us that the trackers would find the gorillas, but even he sounded less and les convinced as we
waited just outside the park border to Volcanoes National Park. Half an hour later we were still waiting. Finally he got the
call we had been impatiently waiting for – the trackers had located the gorillas, but we would need to hurry to catch up
with them.
But

3. But
f irst ,
he
had
to
warn
us of
one
ot her
Dr u n k s i l ve r b a ck p l a yi n g wi th h i s b e l l y b u tto n .
t hing….bamboo shoot s make t he gorillas drunk! And there were not one, not two, but three silverbacks, including
Guhonda, the largest and oldest silverback in the entire Volcanoes National Park! We had t o be prepared
f or….drunk gorillas!
It turns out that a drunk gorilla might parade around a bit more, beating their chests, showing off how strong they
are, intimidating other males, or (gulp)…us. Doesn’t really sound all that different from drunk men does it?
We began to hike the steep muddy trail. I was full of adrenalin and could have raced up the hill, but we could only go as
fast as the slowest member in the group. In other words not nearly as fast as I would have liked given the fact that I
knew Mountain gorillas were waiting for us. 90 minutes later we reached the trackers. We dropped off our backpacks
and took out our cameras as we followed the trackers to the gorillas. I smelled them before I saw them. It wasn’t a bad
smell, but a distinctive gorilla smell.
A

4. A
Two o f th e S a b yi n yo tr o o p ’s s i l ve r b a cks .
branch snapped, i looked up and saw the behind of a huge male gorilla – one of the silverbacks who was obviously
suffering from stomach problems as evidenced by his backside. Then he was gone, disappearing into the bush,
despite his massive siz e! We moved quickly, deeper into the bamboo forest. Then out of nowhere, I saw
him….Guhonda, the largest and oldest silverback! I quickly started snapping pictures, but he was moving quicker than
we were and just as quickly he was gone too. The next 20 minutes are so consisted of playing hide and seek with the
gorillas. One second you would see them, the next second they had vanished!
Then

5. Then
IT
Ka m p a n g a , th e m o th e r m o u n ta i n g o r i l l a wh o m e l te d m y h e a r t.
happened. By IT I’m ref erring t o one of t he most magical moment s of my ent ire lif e! A female gorilla (who I
later found out is named Kampanga) stopped long enough to look up and acknowledge us before going back to
searching for bamboo shoots, but she moved slowly carefully…Perhaps it’s because Kampanga had a baby on her
back! YES A GORILLA BABY!
And

6. And
not
just
any
baby,
but a
baby
who
Ka m p a n g a a n d h e r a d o r a b l e s o n o r d a u g h te r ( th e tr a cke r s d i d n ’t kn o w ye t) .
seemed t o know how cut e he was! He played it up for us as we snapped photo after photo. We stared. He stared
back with his massive curiosity filled brown eyes. Kampanga decided to move on, coming closer and closer to us. I was
in her way and she gingerly took her hand and brushed my leg, as if to say Excuse me. OMG, I had just been
t ouched by a mount ain gorilla! And a very polit e one at t hat ! It took every ounce of willpower not to reach out and
touch the baby on her back who was literally just inches from me. I was so close that had I extended my arm half way I
would have touched him.
After

7. After
He ’s a s ta r a n d h e kn o ws i t!
passing, she let out a low grunt, which I interpreted as Thank you in gorilla language. She proceeded to climb up a tree,
her baby’s expression changing from one of curiosity to that of fear, his eyes growing even bigger as his clutch around
her fur tightened….Then they were gone. Words cannot begin to express how I felt….elated….diz z y with excitment…
thankful….beyond grateful for the opportunity….Words are simply not enough. Even now as i write this, several weeks
later, my breath has quickened. It was truly one of the most memorable moments of my entire life!
Our time with the gorillas had not yet come to an end yet though. We moved on and caught a glimpse through the
bamboo forest of Big Ben. Big Ben is famous in his own right, for despite being a juvenile gorilla. He is bald! The
Gorilla Doctors have examined him and he is perfectly healthy…but bald. Poor guy! Wonder if that impacts his
chances with the ladies?
We passed Karema, another female who is easily identifiable by her missing fingers, caught in a snare. Snares are not
common in Rwanda any more due to some impressive initiatives by the Rwandan government (to be discussed more in
an upcoming post), but that wasn’t always the case.
Next

8. Next
we
G u h o n d a ta ki n g i t e a s y, p e r h a p s h i s b a m b o o b u z z h a d ki cke d i n ?
stumbled upon Guhonda again, the park’s largest silverback. He was settled down, perhaps his bamboo shoot buz z
kicking in. PFIFFFFF PFIGGGGHHH. Yes t hat is t he sound of a silverback having gas! Somet hing t hat gorillas
have a lot of . Given the fact that Mountain gorillas are predominantly herbivores, this shouldn’t come as a surprise,
but still I found it entertaining.
As a FYI gorilla gas doesn’t stink

9. As a FYI gorilla gas doesn’t stink
when you’re standing 3 meters away.
All too soon, our hour was up. It was
time to go. To leave the gorillas in
peace. To be gorillas again without a
group of tourists snapping pictures,
oohhing and ahhing…. or poking fun
at their flatulence. I was the last one
to leave and did so only at the urging
of our guide. I waved goodbye to
Guhonda and mouthed a silent Thank
you and until next time….
Know Bef ore You Go Gorilla
Trekking in Volcanoes National
Park in Rwanda:
It’s not cheap. A one hour permit
will set you back $750 – but it’s
worth every penny!
Amahoro Tours can purchase
your gorilla permit for you.
Book as far in advance as
possible. There is a maximum of
80 people a day and spots fill up
quickly, the exception being in
May, when I went, during rainy
season.
Once you arrive at Volcanoes
National Park, your guide will ask
you how far you want to hike and
then try to find a gorilla troop to
match your abilities.
Porters are also available to help
you and carry your back pack.
Phot ography t ip: Flash is not
allowed. Set your ISO settings at
1600 or 3200 so that the gorilla’s
Me p o s i n g wi th G u h o n d a ( we l l
faces show up. I got this
excellent tip from a guy on my
tour who got it from a professional photographer on his previous tour.
ki n d a ) ….h e d i d h a ve b a d g a s a fte r a l l !
You can see more primates (including chimps) in Nyungwe National Park in the south part of Rwanda. I highly
recommend it.