Articles

Photo by Venise Grossmann

The Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda

By Venise Grossmann

After two years of waiting, I was finally going to see the creatures I loved without any bars or fences between us. My game ranger and lion-advocate friends understood why I was driven to go to Rwanda. Only 670 gorillas live in the wild, and 350 of them live in the Virunga Mountains where the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo collide. While there are several tour companies that are willing to take intrepid travelers in, it is not always safe to do so.

In the spring of 1999, I attempted to book a trip to see these captivating creatures, but several days later, I learned some shocking news: there had been a massacre in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park. Several Rwandan Hutu rebels used machetes and axes to murder eight tourists and a local guide who were on a mountain-gorilla tour. These Hutu rebels were part of the same organization that committed the genocide of over one million Tutsis in 1994. Nine of the 14 group participants survived the gruesome attack, and one returned with a note from the rebels who warned Britain and the United States not to interfere with Rwanda.

Congo militia groups crossed the border into Rwanda in June of 2001 and captured 150 people. Not only did they murder many of them, but when they couldn’t find food, they also killed one or two of the mountain gorillas in the Volcano National Park. Because the U.S. Department of State advised Americans against entering the territory, the travel director of the tour I booked called to tell me that they changed the itinerary so that we would only be traveling in Kenya. Needless to say, I cancelled the tour because my sole intent was to see the mountain gorillas.

Although I missed my opportunity to bond with the dark-eyed beasts, I decided to visit friends in South Africa and then fly to Madagascar in search of the lemur, the chameleon, and the gecko. Even after an exciting trek across the “Red Island,” I still yearned to see the mountain gorillas. At the time, I was staying with a friend at a game reserve in South Africa, and I went online and found a company—The Adventure Center--that was taking groups to see the gorillas. The U.S. government still advised against it, but I made my decision based on emotion, booked the trip, and flew to Kenya.

From Nairobi, it took us six days to drive east through Uganda to the border of Rwanda. We first made a detour to Jinja, the source of the Nile, where we had the opportunity to white-water raft. On route, we also took several game drives, visited the Bujagali Falls, and, had the weather cooperated, visited an orphaned chimp reserve on Ngamba Island on Lake Victoria. At night after drinking Nile lager around the campfire, we retired to our tents to sleep on the thin air mattresses we had brought.

During the day, as we traveled vast distances in an overland vehicle, I had plenty of time to think about the rare experience that was to come. Before I left, I watched the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist. I also read Woman in the Mists: The Story of Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas of Africa, as well as Bob Campell, the National Geographic photographer’s account of his time at the research station with her during the 1960s. I felt such a strong connection to Fossey’s experience. Perhaps it was because she was an American woman like myself, but one who was willing to risk cold, stinging nettles, and poachers to document her experience with these majestic mammals.

After arriving at the border of Rwanda, our guides informed us that we would enter in the morning, visit the gorillas, and then leave the country in the late afternoon. I began to feel apprehensive as soon as we crossed the border. I immediately saw a tank—a concrete reminder of the genocide that left one million dead in 1994. Yet despite the conflict, over the past ten years, park rangers only found 18 gorillas dead. The tour leaders placed us in a pick up truck with two soldiers armed with AK-47s. I sat on the floor of the truck, sandwiched between the two. I grew uncharacteristically quiet--I was scared and was praying.

The Rwandan government allows only eighteen tourists a day to see the gorillas, and the necessary permits cost $360. The tour leaders asked us to divide ourselves into three groups based on our ability level. Because the gorillas run wild in the Virunga Mountains, trackers find their location in the early morning, and then take the strongest hikers to see the group furthest up the mountain. I not only placed myself in the “weakest-hiker” group, but also asked to be in the front as the trekkers requested that the strongest hikers bring up the rear.

Although I paid about $2,000 (including the airfare from Johannesburg) for this two-week tour, the company did not offer us any guarantee that we would see gorillas. In addition to facing danger in the Volcano National Park, we also faced some discomfort. Because I knew that it might rain, I wore waterproof sports pants over a pair of jeans. I wanted to protect myself from the rain and from the stinging nettles that I had read often tormented Fossey.

As we marched through the farmland, there was no sign of any form of tourism. In fact, as we slogged our way up the mountain, there was not even a trail. The Rwandan who lead our group did not speak English. Because the rain was pouring down and the mud grew thick, I was having difficulty moving up the mountain quickly so the Rwandan, holding a machete with one hand and my hand in the other, dragged me up the mountain with the ease of a figure skater guiding his partner over the ice.

The foliage that we walked through grew as thick as my waist. I thought I had been bitten the first time I felt the nettles sting. After reading about Fossey’s experience with them, I had expected to encounter them but not to feel the effects through two pairs of pants.

Not long after we had arrived at a clearing, I saw the gorillas. The group of nine showed us no more attention than if we were a group of impala. Although the leaders of our group circled us, armed with guns they hoped not to have to fire, I was oblivious to their presence. I stood so close to the group of gorillas that I felt as if I were one of them. Two males, two females, three sub adults, a baby and a silverback moved slowly through the vegetation, looking at us with indifference as they ate.

Since the guides only allowed a limited time with the group, I immediately began shooting with my 300mm lens. I was mesmerized by the baby who sat atop his mother’s belly, his soft fur like an Afro on top of his head. So uninhibited were the gorillas by our presence that two began mating in front of me. When these endangered primates glided through the waist deep foliage, we had to move with them.

Later, I leaned down to get a closer shot of a female, but unbeknownst to me, she was holding a baby, and the silverback was behind her. The silverback, who saw me as a threat, then sprang from behind the bush and just as Dian Fossey had done in Gorillas in the Mist, I instinctively knelt and averted my eyes. The silverback began beating his chest, and while I knew it would have made an unbelievable photo, I didn’t dare move from my submissive position. I deferred to him just as naturally as the rest of the gorillas in his group did.

After an hour, the longest amount of time we were permitted to stay, the guides motioned that it was time to leave. Because it had been such an intense, varied experience, I did not feel dissatisfied.

As we made our way down the mountain, I had time to reflect upon the impact of what I had just experienced. I had just sojourned with the descendents of the same gorillas that Fossey had dedicated 18 years of her life to conserving. I stood amongst them just as she did for the first time in 1966. I, too, felt the power of these gentle creatures. Fortunately, conservationists today continue to protect these animals so that they can continue to live in the wild. In fact, over the past 12 years, the population has actually grown by 11 percent.

While I could have been murdered as Fossey had, I thank God that I suffered no more repercussions than the effects of stinging nettles while experiencing true transcendence in nature.

Accompanying Photos On the Web:
http://www.venisegrossmann.com/Gorilla/gorilla.htm

Gorilla Trekking Tours

Adventure Center
www.adventurecenter.com
7 Days - from $2540
An additional gorilla trekking permit or hike to Dian Fossey’s grave or trek to the golden monkeys may be booked at additional cost and subject to availability.

Wild Frontiers
www.wildfrontiers.com
Many options ranging from 4 days to 15 days including luxury accommodated safaris
$ 2,664 for the eight-day safari
On the eight-day safari, you visit all three areas where mountain gorillas are found in Africa.

Africa Guide
http://www.africaguide.com

14-126 day African safaris that include a one-day trip to see the gorillas