Deep in the Jungle (Tag 9)

The engine started at 6 a.m. in the deepest darkness - the destination: Ruhija. Our first gorilla trekking was ahead of us. Drunk with sleep, we were thrown back and forth in the car on the slopes for the next 1.5 hours on the way to the starting point.

After an almost endlessly long briefing and registration, we started around 9.30 a.m. somewhere in the middle of nowhere on a "village road" towards the forest. Our backpackers and potential helpers are always nearby. After just a few hundred meters we turned off the road, down a small trail down the slope. If the chimpanzees only got there for the last few minutes across the field, today it only takes a few minutes until we find ourselves in the middle of the impenetrable Bwindi forest. Not only did it go very steeply uphill and just as quickly and steeply downhill again, but the rangers cleared the way for us with machetes while we crawled along the thick bushes. Often you couldn't see the forest floor at all. While Henrike did without a porter and did a great job, I was very happy about the courteous help.

In the next almost 1.5 hours it went on and on until we heard the calls of the trackers. When we finally met them, it quickly became apparent that we all imagined how the next lesson would be with the gorillas did not correspond to reality at all. We mostly assumed that we would watch the gorillas in some kind of clearing up in the mountains. In fact, it was probably the exact opposite! First we had to walk straight up the slope through the undergrowth for another 15 minutes before we spotted the first gorilla in the thicket. In addition to the large silverback, we also saw the 2 small cubs of the family. Another moving sight was the mother we watched breastfeeding, radiating complete contentment.

The hour we had with the gentle giants seemed like minutes. Then we started again on the way back, which went much faster, if not less through the dense jungle. A short lunch break in the middle of the jungle was also a must. When we finally got back to the car, exhausted but very satisfied, we received a certificate for successfully completing the trek.

Overall, the trekking was exhausting, but probably not nearly as exhausting as feared.

Then we had a good three-hour drive to the next accommodation. With a small delay, because we had to help out another tour group with our cheek lifter due to a flat tire.

Even from afar we had an incredible view of Lake Mutanda with its many islands. Here we should spend the next 3 nights in front of a dreamlike scenery.

With a bottle of wine, we reviewed the impressions of the past day before falling asleep to the sound of birdsong.