Gorillas in the mist

To walk in the footsteps of legendary primatologist Dian Fossey, who gave her life for the gorillas of Rwanda, is a privilege. But, believe me, it is a privilege that has to be earned.

The reward is an experience that is at first unimaginable and, subsequently, unforgettable. Nothing I have ever done – or will do – will compare to spending an hour in the “living room” of a family of 30 gorillas, 10,000 feet up in the Virunga Mountains.

My gorilla-trecking day began at 4am when I and fellow CWB volunteers Rob and Amardeep met our driver who drove us though the lightening sky to our destination at Volcanoes National Park, about 70 miles north of Kigali.

There we were met by a man with the enviably grand name of Magnifique. Before we started we were given a few do's and don'ts: don't point at the gorillas, they may think it is a poachers gun. Don't use flash photography. Always appear relaxed and confident, not afraid. And my personal favourite … if a 400lb gorilla charges you don't run away. Er right.

And with that we began a torturous one-hour drive along a road hardly worthy of the name. It was more like a landslide that had been left and called a road. Only a 4×4 could possibly have negotiated it. And then only slowly.

At the foot of Mount Karisimbi we were handed over to our guide, two porters and two trackers armed with rifles, I was uncertain whether to feel reassured or not.

There are eight gorillas families and only 64 licences are issued each day to tourists. Some families are easier to reach than others. We had chosen to visit the Susa family, the highest located and the most inaccessible group. They were the ones studied by Dian Fossey for 18 years until, in 1985 she got between the poachers and the gorillas and paid the ultimate price. Her life's work is celebrated in “Gorillas in the Mist”, which was filmed in Rwanda.

We were warned that the going would get tough and so it proved. Within minutes of starting the climb the altitude had me gulping in lungfuls of thin air and at several points along the unrelenting, two-hour uphill march my 67-year old legs were begging for relief.

It came when we reached the perimeter of the forest home of the Susa group and our adventure really began. Our guide wielded his machete as he carved a route through knotted bamboo vines and stinging nettle. We were all thoroughly exhausted by this point but we knew we were close to our prize.

Forty minutes in and we were met by two more armed trackers whose job is to locate the ever-moving gorillas and radio back to the approaching tourist groups. We were asked to leave behind everything but our cameras.

It is difficult to put into words the elation I felt when our guide pointed out that the first wild mountain gorilla, clinging to a bamboo branch 20 feet up. The camera was clicking straight away even though it wasn't a particularly good shot. I was thinking that this may be the only gorilla I would see and I wasn't going to miss the opportunity.

How wrong I was. All around us we could hear the cracking of bamboo and the occasional drumming noise of a young male gorilla beating its chest in a show of dominance.

We were led into and among the Susa family, uninvited, inquisitive intruders who were nevertheless made welcome by these most hospitable and sociable primates.   

For the next glorious, unparalleled hour we “lived” among them, an unforgettable hour of delightful chaos as the family put on a performance for their English visitors. They tumbled out of bushes behind us, rolled over on their backs, munched on bamboo, pretended to fight and even charged or so it seemed…

There is nothing quite like staring straight into the eyes of a fully grown wild mountain gorilla, or a barrell-headed silverback. And we were doing that from only four or five feet away. This was no Chester zoo visit!

Our hour ended to soon, of course, but we have the photographs, the video and the memories. It was an expensive and exhausting day trip but worth every one of those half million Rwandan Francs and every blister. I will always be grateful that volunteering with Cricket Without Boundaries gave me this wonderful opportunity.