DESTINATIONS — AFRICA
GORILLA THRILLER
“
They are very near,” whispers Gus. My heart leaps – it feels as if it’s
literally banging on my ribcage – and I stifle the desire to jump up and down and clap my hands like an excited child. Relative quiet is necessary when you’re creeping up on a group of mountain gorillas. We put down our backpacks, and wielding just our cameras, pick our way through the thick jungle vegetation. And then, there he is. Munching on a leaf and looking down at us with an expression somewhere between indifference and disdain – my first gorilla. It’s hard to comprehend how rare these
creatures are. There are fewer than 900 mountain gorillas on the planet – that’s about one per eight million people on earth. And I’m about to spend an hour in their company. I feel like David Attenborough.
l SELL Rwanda is one of a mere handful of places where you can see mountain gorillas in the wild, (the others are Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo), and it was in the country’s Volcanoes National Park that Dian Fossey lived, worked, and wrote her famous book Gorillas in the Mist.
Joanna Booth encounters a family of Rwanda’s rare primates
These hefty primates, with facial expressions and mannerisms so eerily similar to our own, are an utter joy to watch. Our allocated hour with the gorillas flew past, as we watched a baby devouring vegetation from a comfy nest and two females vying for the attentions of the silverback, Ugenda, who – hungover from eating too many intoxicating bamboo shoots – paid them scant and pained attention. The gorilla tourism industry here is established
and well organised, allowing visitors to encounter these creatures in a low-impact way while raising revenue to fund their protection from poachers. Permits, costing $750 a day, are required, strictly limiting numbers, and despite the relatively high cost, these sell out well in advance – this isn’t the spot for clients to risk leaving booking until the last minute. Alongside gorillas, sadly Rwanda is still
11 December 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 57
AFRICA
travelweekly.co.uk/destinations
PICTURES: JOHN DICKENS
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