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MOUNTAIN GORILLA TRACK VAN DELZEN '03

Seeing the gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest was the highlight of my trip to Africa. This is considered the second most extreme experience one can have in your lifetime (number one being to hike Mount Kilimanjaro -- which is never going to happen for me!).

What's upsetting to me is that because Jeff was so violently ill, that we didn't get to do this extraordinary experience together. It saddens me immensely. But as I see it, it's a reason to go back some day! He'll be doing it alone, though, as this was the hardest thing I've EVER done physically in my life. And I work out all the time!

To begin, if you haven't read the "Gorilla" link under "Animal Facts," go ahead now. I'm just going to write about my experience of the hike and what it was like to see them, not about the gorillas themselves.

In Bwindi, there are two groups of gorillas known as the "M" and "H" groups. In order to see the gorillas, it's necessary to have a special permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (our travel agent obtained this for us). Only six permits are available per day for each group, and the proceeds help to protect these endangered mountain gorillas.

Because of the incident in 1998 when several tourists were kidnapped and killed by army guerillas crossing into Uganda from neighboring Rwanda, demand for permits has declined substantially. The Ugandan government now provides well-armed guards to accompany each group, not for protection from the gorillas, but from guerillas (Bwindi borders both the countries of Rwanda and Congo). During my hike, soldiers carrying AK-47s and three extra magazines of ammunition were stationed at the head and rear of the group. I wasn't scared at all!

With our driver and the Volcanoes Bwindi Camp manager, I began by going to the ranger's office to check in and begin the proceedings of getting Jeff's money back. If you're sick, you're entitled to a full refund. They are very tough to obtain, though, and the ranger even came and checked on Jeff to make sure he wasn't faking it. We were able to get the refund with no problems after that.

I then picked out a walking stick, hired a porter (David) to carry my heavy backpack, and waited for my group to assemble. I got to talking to the other drivers who were there, and other people were sick that had stayed at Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park. In fact, the Canadian couple who we had drinks with one night were part of this unlucky group! Our group ended up consisting of six hikers, six porters, a guide, two trackers, and a lot of army personnel. We drove to our drop off point with all the hikers and our guide in one vehicle, and everyone else in another vehicle.

I had heard from other hikers we had met in Queen Elizabeth Park and the couple from the night before, that the group to be in was the "M" group as it was an easier hike. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be able to do it. I got lucky as it was the group I was in! We had met a couple the next day who had been in the "H" group, and they had done an EIGHT hour, torturous hike!

It seems the "H" group of gorillas had split and were fighting, so they were very agitated and on the move constantly. The people in this group hiked two hours to the spot where they had been last seen, then hiked four hours to end up where they had started, and then hiked another two hours before they finally caught up with them. I'm so blessed I wasn't in this group, as I would have NEVER made it!

The trek to see the mountain gorillas begins by hiking into the mountains to where the gorillas had spent the previous night. The "M" group of gorillas that I was to see weren't even in the park! My guide said, "They don't know the boundaries." Each day, the gorillas abandon their makeshift nests and move on in search of food. Ahead of our group, two trackers were sent to attempt to pick up the trail from the previous night's resting place. We were lucky as they hadn't moved much from where they had slept, and within 30 minutes the trackers radioed our guide with the exact location.

After a safety briefing, we began. The hike started out easy for about 15 minutes, then I had to stop and rest as my asthma had kicked in. I went for another five minutes before I had to stop again. The rule is that whoever is the slowest is put in the front, and the rest of the group goes to their pace. Well, that was me. I could only go for about 3-5 minutes before I had to stop as it felt like my lungs were going to explode. This was an extremely difficult hike, and it was made all the more challenging by the 5,000 to 7,000 feet of altitude.

Soon the dense vegetation and going up and down the steep and slippery slopes was getting to me. At one point about 30 minutes into it, I was truly ready to quit. One of the hikers talked me out of it, and said we could rest as long as it took me to feel better (I was on the verge of throwing up). After about 10 minutes, I was ready to go another five minutes. Another person from our group, came up and taught me how to be a more proficient hiker (walk on the full foot, not on the toes; take lots of small steps; walk sideways up the hills; lean heavily on your walking stick). This helped a lot!

After about 45 minutes of hiking, my porter again came up the line so I could get my water out of my backpack (I bet he was sick of me at this point!). He was extremely nice, though, and asked if he could give me a "hand." I said okay but I wasn't sure what that meant. Once I was ready, he held my hand to pull and balance me all the way up the mountain. This was a TREMENDOUS help! I didn't stop as often, and I could do more with him literally pulling me up the mountain. Thank God for David!

The hike should have only took about 45 minutes, but at my pace it took over two hours. Everyone in the group didn't care because they could really enjoy the scenery and beauty of the jungle. In fact, some of the hikers in our group told me they were glad we went the pace we did because it was also their pace, and they would have been in the front otherwise. That made me feel better!

Once we FINALLY were within a certain distance of the gorillas, we had to leave everything with our porters except for our camera gear. Since I was in the front of the group behind the guide, I was the first to see the gorillas. I literally stopped in my tracks with awe when I first saw them and everyone bounced into me! Something out of the Three Stooges!

After we spent an hour with the gorillas, we met back up with our porters and walked about ten minutes down the mountain. We then sat down and ate our lunches that we had brought with us. I had no appetite as all of my food had gotten soggy (yuck) and to tell you the truth, I had a mild case of what had made Jeff so sick.

It took about an hour to walk down the mountain after this, as it was extremely slippery going down and you had to really watch your footing. I was so exhausted, that I took a nap for the rest of the afternoon!

I'll now journal along with the pictures I took of the gorillas. So click on the picture links above!


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