Gorillas2

Two members of our Nathab group got so exhausted trekking to see the gorillas the first day (Saturday) that they decided not to trek the second day.  This turned out to be a boon for the rest of us because the remaining seven of us plus our tour leader were able to trek together (remember, maximum of eight people in a trekking group).  Before today’s trek we were entertained by a school group.  They performed different songs and dances from the group yesterday.   At one point, they got everyone to get up and dance with them.  

The gorilla family we were assigned today was a large family consisting of 17 members, including four babies ranging in age from two years to four years.   Given this bit of information we were raring to go.  To get to our trek starting point, we had a short drive.  The trek up the mountain was not as tough as yesterday’s but there were a few places with 70 degree inclines.  

After about 90 minutes of trekking we came upon the gorilla family.  The first thing we saw of them were two of the babies playing on a tree.  As we prepared to observe them, that is getting our cameras out of our daypacks, the two scampered down the tree and into the bush.  Our trek guide bushwhacked a path of us (it’s not called the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for nothing) to where the gorillas were located on the ground.  There on the ground were the two youngest ones wrestling each other and rolling around.  That was the start of a wonderful hour of watching a large family of gorillas. Most of the adults were just laying around (unlike the adults yesterday who spent the time we were with them eating) while the young ones played non-stop.  On occasion, when the young ones’ rough housing caused them to crash into the silverback, he would yell at them.  Like most human toddlers, they just ignored him and continued their play.  One game the young liked to play was to climb up some vines and then come crashing down, sometimes not completely on purpose.  Watching this family was truly a wonderful experience.  We got a bonus of seeing a chameleon during our trek back to our vehicles. 

After our trek and lunch, we went on a birdwatching walk with a local expert. We were initially skeptical, as the walk was along the main road through the village rather than in the forest, but we ended up seeing 25 new species, including several that are only seen in small corner of Uganda where the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located.

We regret that the Uganda portion of our trip is coming to its close (tomorrow is a travel day).  We had an amazing adventure - we saw a wide variety of wildlife, spent time with a great group of people, stayed at very nice lodges, and tasted some great food.  As for birds, we saw 171 species and we have photos of 141 of them — not too bad.