Today was probably the best day of the trip so far. Although it didn’t involve any anesthesia, the experience was once in a lifetime and something I will not forget. The day started off bright and early at 615. We had to initially drive to the main office. Chaos is definitely the word to describe the early morning. There are no set groups, so your driver is supposed to negotiate what group you get. We really wanted to be with the Susa and Faye using her many contacts was able to get us on the Susa group. Our guide started off his intro to the gorillas by telling us that we were virtually VIP because so many people wanted to be on this group.
Just a little history about the Susa group. They are the largest group of gorillas that the tourist are allowed to see. Currently, they have 39 members. In a group, there are babies (1-3 yo), adolescents (4-7 yo), childbearing females (8+), and silverback males (12+). The Susa currently have 3 silverback males. Of the silverbacks, one is the well defined leader, one is second in charge and being trained to be leader, and the last silverback is sort of left out. A gorilla group is very hierarchal in that the leader really makes all the decisions for all 39 members. Its quite impressive. Also in the group are two sets of twins, one set are adolescents and one set are 10 months olds. The 10 month old twins are absolutely adorable and playful. They are pictured above. Gorillas are actually very peaceful. They mainly eat trees, routs, and fruits. They are accustomed to humans and are not threatened at all. That being said, there are a few rules to follow.
The hike was probably 6-7 miles long in duration and unfortunately only about half a mile of this was on level ground. The first half of the hike up the mountain was through fields and people’s farms. This was quite beautiful. The second half of the hike up the mountain was through the jungle with brush above my head. Needless to say by the end of this part, my shins were sore from constantly hitting against the brush.
At the top of the mountain we reached the gorillas. We dropped our bags/hiking sticks off and hiked another 200 meters to the gorillas. This was unbelievably cool. We were able to see all 3 silverbacks. The second in charge was the gorilla that I got the most pictures of. The ones that I will remember the most are the two twin 10 month olds.
The attached Youtube video is of the two twins playing on their mother’s back. I got so many pictures of them with their mom and playing in the tress/on mom. So stinking cute. About halfway through our time with them, the leader got up and moved. I was standing very near the second in charge and then he started to move. I was caught a little off guard and the guide had to pull me up and out of the way. The second silverback walked right past me and his family and twins followed. So many good pictures. We then followed the group through the brush. Our guide with the machete would either make a path or we would just follow the lead silverback gorilla.
The leader's 200 kg body actually created quite a nice path to follow. One other picture (below) was of two silverbacks sitting next to each other. The guide said that they were planning where to go next. You could see the hierarchy. The leader chooses, the second said something and then they left and the group followed. There was no path, we were climbing over tall brush. So much fun. Babies traveled on their mom’s back. Amazing experience.
On the way down, a group of about 10 kids followed us down the mountain. They were fascinated by the Muzungu, white people. They wanted to get close, but then they would get scared and fun away. We got back just as it started to rain. Booyah. This was one of those once in a lifetime experiences. I am truly thankful that I was able to go on this hike and I hope that these pictures show how cool it really was.
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