If you are looking for the world’s best travel experiences, then seeing gorillas in the wild is a must for anyone seeking to be inspired by nature’s most amazing creatures. This definitely ranks as my top travel experience.
I have been fortunate to have led several tour groups to see gorillas in the wild in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These magnificent creatures are highly endangered, living a tenuous existence in just a few remaining refuges in central Africa.
The Eastern Lowland Gorillas are the largest and most endangered of the gorilla species, and can only be found in a small pocket of protected rainforest in Eastern DRC, in the Kahuzi Biega National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site. It was here that I took several groups deep into the jungle with the local chief gorilla tracker, John Kahekwa. John grew up close to the park, became a tracker in the early 80’s, and knows the gorillas intimately. He regards many of them as his friends, and clearly, they regard him the same way. His friendship with an adult silverback (dominant male) named Maheshe, became legendary.
Trackers visit the gorillas every day and up to 8 visitors can join them. Once in the vicinity of the gorillas, visitors can stay for a maximum of 1 hour, with only one visit allowed per day. The fact they have seen people so often (called habituation) has made them very relaxed around groups of viewers. So much so that they sometimes treat us as their entertainment.
On one memorable trip, we got up close and personal with Maheshe. After no more than 30 minutes trek into the jungle, John led us to the edge of a clearing and asked us to crouch and sit under some trees. Soon after, a family of about 20 moved towards us, unconcerned by our presence.
John continued making the gentle grunting and cooing sounds he had started when first spotting the group. We watched in awe as youngsters played together with whatever they could find to entertain themselves and mothers gently groomed each other. Finally, the giant silverback Maheshe, glided quietly on all fours into the clearing, passing less than a metre from members of the group. Maheshe sat down next to John, looking at him and gently grunting and grumbling. After about 10 minutes of quiet sitting, suddenly Maheshe leaned onto one side and brought down his giant fist with a thump on the ground, right next to John’s arm. In an instant he was up and gone, shooting past us into the jungle, rapidly slapping his massive chest as he went, making a loud popping sound. Everyone just about jumped out of their skin, but John was still sitting there calmly with a big smile on his face. “No problem, he is just playing”. “Just playing! He could have broken your arm!” one of the group exclaimed. “No, we are brothers. He would never hurt me.” The other members of the gorilla group also started moving off into the bush. We could hear them, almost laughing at us as they went, or was it our imagination?
None of us will ever forget having witnessed the sheer beauty of the gorillas, their gentle nature as well as their immense power.
If this looks like an Exceptional Journey for you we can create a bespoke private tour just for you, CONTACT US HERE or email jeff@exceptionaljourneys.international immediately to start planning as accommodation may be difficult to secure in the most popular seasons.
