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A journey across the Ugandan border and into the mountains of the Virunga National Park region in Zaire to see mountain gorillas. This adventure was a real honour and privilege for me, a very precious and unforgettable memory.

Uganda, Zaire - Gorillas in our Midst

Matthew
2004-03-05 23:50:59

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thing felt was demonstrated by the passing of time. The hour we had in their presence seemed to pass in the space of five minutes. It was all over far, far too quickly and we were soon hacking our way through the jungle again to return to the campsite.

I really have no idea how our guides managed to get us in and out of the jungle. Once inside we could see absolutely nothing, not even the mountains, and I didn’t have the first clue as to which direction we were meant to be heading. I can only assume the guides had some sixth sense used specifically for getting tourists out of the jungle.

Once we’d emerged from the undergrowth we slowly plodded through some more fields and back to the base – we were all absolutely knackered. Jayne was dying to simply sit down and relax so relax we did but only for an hour as we had to get back to the border.

The walk to the Ugandan border was completed in less than two hours. Jayne somehow suddenly acquired the walking abilities of a soldier meaning the return journey was considerably quicker than the previous day’s effort. Our porter, Andy, was lucky enough to be overpaid because we had no change on us – he didn’t seem to mind in the least.

The border formalities involved collecting a few more passport stamps after which we crossed into Uganda and found no truck to meet us. We eventually piled into the back of a ute and slid our way back to the hotel area where the rest of our group were camped. The condition of the road had deteriorated since yesterday and this, coupled with the fact that the driver insisted on driving as fast as the vehicle would let him, gave us a pretty hair-raising ride.

We timed our return perfectly as dinner was just being served so we hoed into the food after changing out of our soggy clothes. The campsite was extremely wet with areas of it under a few inches of water. We eventually climbed into the tent praying it wouldn’t rain any more as we were both hanging out for a good night’s kip.