Uganda is an amazing country and my trip there has to be one of my favourite adventures to date. From staying on Bashara Island, a volcanic island; Ngamba Chimp Sanctuary; to the community visits, my highlight was definitely gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable forest. It took 2 days to get to Bwindi in a massive overland truck (called Stacy), along pot holed, treacherous roads. As we entered the forest, we soon realized that there was a reason the forest was named ‘Impenetrable’. Steep hills, dense jungle and a lack of paths made me wonder how on earth we would find the elusive mountain gorillas in the mist. As the Mountain Gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda are protected, visiting rights are restricted to one hour per gorilla family per day. Groups are limited to 8 people, who are accompanied by 2 guides and a group of armed military soldiers. Their AK47s that accompany the soldiers are more to protect against raiding guerillas from the D.R.C. as opposed to charging gorillas. The guides track each family daily so they have a rough idea where they are for the following days trek, but that still doesn’t make it any easier to get to them. The magnitude of the logistics, as well as the cost of funding the protection of some of the last remaining mountain gorillas made me realize the permit for a 1 hour gorilla trek is $500 per person. And it was worth every cent.
We headed off early the next morning, up pathways into the jungle. After about 25 minutes, the path disappeared and we were soon pulling aside vines and grasping onto tree trunks to pull ourselves along the steep hillside. Shortly thereafter, our guide pointed out two juvenile gorillas in a tree to my right. After taking some photos, most of my group moved on leaving Kristy, Bronwyn (two amazing Aussie girls) and myself. As I was about to set off again, the two juveniles, jumped down from the tree and made their way towards me. Standing still, they made their way right up to us, looked up and then carried on ambling. They had literally been so close, that if I had lifted my hand, I would have touched them. As we made our way through the vines to catch up with the group, I tried to recall all the briefing points: keep quiet, stay 7 m away and don’t touch them. Well, the 7 m rule went out the window as we rounded the corner. The family of 6 gorillas were interspersed amongst us and had decided it was time for second breakfast. The silverback and blackback (a younger, less dominant male) were hanging out of trees, and crashing to the ground with a resounding thud as the tree branches buckled under their weight. Once on the ground, they wandered around until they found the tastiest looking bush before they sat down to munch. As I lowered my camera to watch these amazing animals, I saw them watching us and it gave them term ‘people watching’ a new meaning. As I was watching the silverback, I felt Kristy tug on my sleeve. I turned around and saw a mom and her one week old little baby approach us from behind. She seemed very relaxed around us and sat down about 2 metres away to start eating. As she sat down, she swung her little one to the ground to romp amongst the leaves.
We had an hour with the family and it all went too soon. Luckily, I had headed a friend’s advice and stopping taking photos after a while, and just enjoyed my time in their presence. Being 2-3 metres away from such majestic creatures in the wild was amazing. We were incredibly lucky as I had heard that another group who headed out to see a different gorilla family that day, had to trek two and a half hours each way and ended up being charged by the silverback. Rule 1: never run from a charging gorilla. Rule 2: Don’t make eye contact with aforementioned charging gorilla. 
Once we arrived back at camp, celebratory banana gins were drunk to end off an amazing day and a fabulous trip. Uganda is definitely an undiscovered gem, so if you ever get the chance to go, grab it with both hands.
We headed off early the next morning, up pathways into the jungle. After about 25 minutes, the path disappeared and we were soon pulling aside vines and grasping onto tree trunks to pull ourselves along the steep hillside. Shortly thereafter, our guide pointed out two juvenile gorillas in a tree to my right. After taking some photos, most of my group moved on leaving Kristy, Bronwyn (two amazing Aussie girls) and myself. As I was about to set off again, the two juveniles, jumped down from the tree and made their way towards me. Standing still, they made their way right up to us, looked up and then carried on ambling. They had literally been so close, that if I had lifted my hand, I would have touched them. As we made our way through the vines to catch up with the group, I tried to recall all the briefing points: keep quiet, stay 7 m away and don’t touch them. Well, the 7 m rule went out the window as we rounded the corner. The family of 6 gorillas were interspersed amongst us and had decided it was time for second breakfast. The silverback and blackback (a younger, less dominant male) were hanging out of trees, and crashing to the ground with a resounding thud as the tree branches buckled under their weight. Once on the ground, they wandered around until they found the tastiest looking bush before they sat down to munch. As I lowered my camera to watch these amazing animals, I saw them watching us and it gave them term ‘people watching’ a new meaning. As I was watching the silverback, I felt Kristy tug on my sleeve. I turned around and saw a mom and her one week old little baby approach us from behind. She seemed very relaxed around us and sat down about 2 metres away to start eating. As she sat down, she swung her little one to the ground to romp amongst the leaves.
We had an hour with the family and it all went too soon. Luckily, I had headed a friend’s advice and stopping taking photos after a while, and just enjoyed my time in their presence. Being 2-3 metres away from such majestic creatures in the wild was amazing. We were incredibly lucky as I had heard that another group who headed out to see a different gorilla family that day, had to trek two and a half hours each way and ended up being charged by the silverback. Rule 1: never run from a charging gorilla. Rule 2: Don’t make eye contact with aforementioned charging gorilla. 
Once we arrived back at camp, celebratory banana gins were drunk to end off an amazing day and a fabulous trip. Uganda is definitely an undiscovered gem, so if you ever get the chance to go, grab it with both hands.
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