The Tamesis
We watched as she held him in her arms. When he would try to hobble in our direction, she would reach out and grab his legs and gently pull him back. When he got a little agitated and tried to climb on her head, she pulled him off and put him on the ground. As someone who has young nieces and nephews, I couldn’t help but laugh. Because if you’ve ever been around kids, you know how annoying it can be to keep up with their energy and antics. By the same virtue, it’s amazing how universal motherhood (or in my case, aunty) is.
Just as our 60 minutes were coming to an end (each gorilla family receives one group of visitors each day for an hour), like clockwork, the mother turned her back to us and told us it was time to go. As I was walking through low-lying bush, a blackback decided to stop snacking and walked right past me. All these moments combined felt like a fever dream, and on our way out, as red-tailed monkeys jumped between the canopies, Sadie asked us if we were ready for another trek. Of course, not today, but yes, I’m anxious for the next day’s outing.
Photo: Courtesy of Abercrombie & Kent
Photo: Courtesy of Abercrombie & Kent
Gorilla trekking is undoubtedly the main attraction here, and Gorilla Forest Lodge also offers other outdoor activities such as bird watching (over 350 species) and waterfall trekking, as well as cultural immersion in the Batwa and Bakiga communities. While I had hoped to do the latter, my plans were thwarted when it started pouring as we approached the hotel. So I sat down with a hotel team member to learn more about Abercrombie & Kent’s philanthropic arm. In addition to employing locals, the company works together to have a positive impact on the community. In Bwindi, this has taken the form of expanding the local primary school and supporting 15 other schools, providing safe drinking water with LifeStraw filtered water tanks, and providing scholarships and resources to a nearby nursing school.
The next morning we trekked again and we were assigned to Saidi again. To my surprise, this hike was even shorter than the previous day, but this time we were surrounded by wild jungle. Silverback gorilla Kavuyo is groomed by a female gorilla while six other gorillas chew leaves in the treetops. There is one Mount Tai The moment when a man swings off a vine. The stark contrast created a completely different experience and made me wonder what other hikes would be like. But finally, it being our last day, we returned to the cabin and relaxed by the fire pit, reflecting on the past few days to the tunes of a live harp.
On our last day we set off before dawn and unexpected roadworks caused us to take a long detour. It was indeed a scenic route and we passed through the same mountains we had seen the other day on our way to see the gorillas. As we chased the sunrise, the sky turned from pale pink to bright orange. I looked out the window in awe one last time, flashbacks of the gorillas and the community that made it all possible flashing through my mind. All I hope for is that one day I’ll be lucky enough to come back.
