"Gorillas in the mist " a Province du Bas-Congo Travel Page by Vaughanie

Just as moving from Kenya to Uganda brought a drastic change to the landscape and people, so did going from Uganda to DR Congo. Less so with the scenery although as beautiful and lush as Uganda was, the Congo took it that little bit further.
We would only be going over the boarder for the day and this was solely to see the gorillas. As soon as we crossed, we were picked up by our guides and followed around everywhere with a man with a big gun – our protection for the day. People stopped to stare at us – not to wave and smile at us like they would in Kenya and Uganda – just stare, and it was a little nervy. Of course people have been kidnapped and murdered on these gorilla tours and the home office haven’t encouraged travel there recently, but we were assured we would be fine.
We split into smaller groups of about 8 and started our walk into the rainforest with about 6 guides plus our man with the gun. The slog into the forest was hard- it was another hot and humid day and a lot of the time the guides are cutting new tracks out of the forest – slashing a path as we go. You constantly trip and lose your footing on the shrubs and trees. I was beginning to wonder if we would ever find them as there is no guarantee that you will – they take you to the spot where they were last seen and start wondering round from there following their tracks.
Then all of a sudden it went quiet and everyone stopped. The gorillas were close. Then before I knew it, I looked through the trees and there he was - my first gorilla in the flesh. Huge, dark and moody looking. Sitting so much closer than I ever imagined we would get and there he was looking at us looking at him. They tell you now to make eye contact but you so want to. You see them looking at you, thinking. You can see their brains working almost – they are as curious as we are.
My joy didn’t last long as soon enough, the curiosity got the better of him and over he wandered to us. He climbed high onto a piece of bamboo and started swinging a bit too close to us for my liking. He was reaching out his arms to touch us and quite frankly, I was scared ***less. These guys are up to 200Kg in weight and they look pretty mean. Of course they are wild animals and unpredictable but the guides are excellent. They visit them 1-2 times a day and know them all as though they are family. They communicate with them and the gorillas know how far they can push the boundaries. You feel a bit guilty for invading their space but you are assured that the money you spend on going to see them is used effectively for their protection. I do hope so as the threat to these guys is still very real and the thought of them becoming extinct is ***
We were lucky enough to spend about 90 minutes with them and the whole experience was unforgettable. The babies were especially cute – one in particular kept blowing raspberries at us! King Kong himself, the Alpha make was very daunting. He was an absolute beast and he needs to be to take care of the whole group. He has a silver back and makes his presence known. He wasn’t concerned with us at all – I guess he knows we know he’s boss so he doesn’t have to. We followed him for a bit though towards the end of the visit and to be honest, we got a bit to close for my liking but I’m glad we had a proper look at him. Watching him and the other males beating their chests were unreal.
It is one thing watching wildlife programs of these magnificant animals, it really is another seeing them in the flesh. I think this will be something I will remember forever