Guest post written by Nissy Adventure
Nissy Adventure is married couple that are travelling the world the world together. Nathan and Issy (Nissy) are chasing their dreams. And since they have decided to travel instead of settling down they have visited 34 countries and have planned their travel trips for the next 5 years.
The price to see the mountain gorillas is increasing year by year. But if you ever get a chance to see them…then do it! There is only one thing we regret about this adventure, and that is not having a decent camera! On October 6th 2013, we trekked the Ugandan forest in search for the mountain Gorillas, paying a whopping £380…
The Journey there
It was an early start to the day and the drive to the mountains was long and bumpy. We were all squished in the back of an rusty old car with cracked windows and seats which looked like it had experienced a lion attack. To be honest, we were surprised the car even made it up the long and windy roads through the mountains. Prepare for many holes in the road!
Photo by Nissy Adventures: www.nissyadventures.com
Starting the trek to the Nkuringo Gorilla family
We arrived at a high point in the mountains at 2700m, where we then had a quick briefing from our guide Shabba, who informed us we were seeking the Nkuringo mountain Gorilla family – This family consist of 13 members, including two silverbacks. We were excited to get going, and began our trek at 9 am with sticks to help us walk through the jungle.
The beginning of the track was extremely steep and the temperature was quite chilly. However the views were beautiful and you could see miles and miles of rain forest. The guide kept repeating to us that we would walk until 3 pm, and then we would have to head back, even if we had not found the Gorillas. We were nervous…We had spent a lot of money on this trek and we did not want to leave without seeing them.
After an hour of walking on wet ground and safari ants biting our ankles making us scream, Shabbas radio began to crackle. He smiled and informed us that there was good news! The Gorillas have been spotted and they were half an hour away!
The next half an hours walk felt like forever and we had to walk up steep hills, march through streams and was savaged by more red safari ants. We then approached a clearing in the jungle, and that’s when we saw them. All thirteen of the Nkuringo Gorilla family….Safari ant bites forgotten!
Photo by Nissy Adventures: www.nissyadventures.com
Sitting amongst the Nkuringo Gorilla Family
The family was all sat munching on vegetation, and the Silverback was just a few meters in front of us. We slowly moved in closer until we were sat right between them all. We couldn’t believe how close we were to them….it was magical! Some even walked even closer to us, curious about who we were…but yet they didn’t even seem fazed by us. It was almost as if we were part of the family. Every so often they would move a little bit away, but with Shabbas permission we were allowed to creep a little closer.
We found them funny. They just seemed to spend their day eating. The younger ones however were a little more playful – we watched them play in the trees and roll around. We could have watched them for hours…if not days! But unfortunately we were only allowed to sit with them and watch them for an hour, and the hour was ticking by fast.
We left with what felt like a good-bye from the Silverback. It was the younger one and he had come extremely close to us…. He walked just a few feet away from us, not making eye contact, but showing off how beautiful and strong he was. We were sad to leave them, but were left with an incredible experience we shall never forget. The money we had spent was worth every penny!
Photo by Nissy Adventures: www.nissyadventures.com
