IN A STRANGE TOWN.
Chapter 8. Dec 5 2021. Text by SC. # Comments
In 2013, I travelled to Uganda and Rwanda. Mountain gorillas live exclusively along the border of Congo and those two countries. I was wrapping up an unpaid internship in Kenya at the time and the $800 USD permit fee, plus accommodation and guide fees that it cost to see gorillas seemed an exorbitant, out-of-reach amount (it has since increased to $1500 USD in Rwanda). I dreamed that one day I’d be able to afford to visit the mountain gorillas, and I fervently hoped that day would come before the endangered creature became too at-risk to receive visitors. In February 2020, we started planning our trip to see the mountain gorillas in the Congo in June. Of course, world events scuppered those plans very soon after. So when our 2021-22 itinerary for our year abroad included a detour to the Democratic Republic of Congo, it gave me an easy answer when people asked: “What part of the trip are you looking forward to the most?”
Fast forward to an overcast Thursday morning in October 2021 as I stood entranced as I met many of the 40-odd members of a mountain gorilla family in the Virunga National Park. From a three-week old to cheeky infants to placid adults to the dominant head of the household, spending time with such a wide array of gorillas up close surpassed my wildest gorilla-meeting dreams.
THE JOURNEY THERE
One of the most anticipated parts of the trip started in Goma, at the Virunga National Park head office. Though we’d been tested the day before at the airport (and the day before that to come to the DRC), we did a third COVID test, this time a rapid one, to ensure we were COVID-free. Vaccination was also a requirement to visit the park. We would learn that mountain gorillas and humans share 98% of their DNA, which made us both extremely vulnerable to the transmission of each others’ diseases. Obviously it would be devastating if the already endangered mountain gorillas were infected with Covid-19.
The two hour drive to Virunga Park took us through bustling Goma, a petrified lava field created after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in May, and down an uneven mud road through villages where streams of children ran to the edge of the road to greet the passing foreigners with a mix of waves, smiles, and calls for “Biscuits! Biscuits!”. Mid-afternoon, we arrived at the beautiful Kibumba Camp, which incongruously offered a very comfortable and enjoyable glamping experience in the Eastern Congo mountains.
LEARNING ABOUT THE GORILLAS
Our first evening, Augustin, the head ranger, gave us a briefing about the mountain gorillas and what to expect the next day. The ecosystem that overlaps between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda is the only place in the world where the roughly 1000 remaining mountain gorillas live. The biggest threat to these majestic creatures has been humans; through poaching, disease, and habitat destruction, we have placed these great beasts on the endangered species list. This is why the rangers in Virunga Park are tracking ten families that live in the park on a daily basis, to ensure their safety. This work is nothing short of death-defying, due to confrontations with both poachers and militia, involved in the extreme political instability that has plagued eastern Congo. Over 200 rangers have been killed in attacks over the last decade.
We also learned some less serious and more amusing, or rather disgusting facts about the giant primates, including that they made new nests everyday. Why? Because they pooped in their nests. Not a morning poop on their way out but rather a nighttime poop to keep themselves warm. I adjusted my expectations for the next day to include odiferousness.
The park had strict rules in place to protect the gorillas during the actual visit: we would be with them for one hour, we had to keep ten meters between us, we had to wear masks to avoid the transmission of disease in either direction (a measure that long predates the pandemic), and there was absolutely no touching the gorillas who, we were told, might come toward us. There went my dream of holding a baby gorilla!
THE BIG DAY
Very early the next morning, I popped out of bed, eager to finally meet these gorillas! We had breakfast then headed out. Our first stretch was through the village right next to the lodge. Once again, curious children of all ages ran to greet us. Many of them broke out into song. When we asked the rangers what the song was, they said it was a welcome song that children learned in school. Other than meeting gorillas, there’s nothing to put joy in your heart than to have children spontaneously burst into a welcome song when they see you!
We were also able to admire Congo’s beauty as we walked down the narrow mud paths that snaked between the tiny farms and homes in the village. It is difficult to overstate how lush and green the scenery was. It seemed like plants, trees, flowers, and mosses were growing from every surface in a spectrum of greens I didn’t even know existed. The breadth of this greenery was emphasized by the hills all around us, that made it feel like there was more ground than sky.
While the scenery was beautiful and the people were friendly, I don’t want to sugarcoat what is a deeply poor and perennially unstable region of the world. Eastern Congo is home to huge reserves of very valuable minerals essential to making our modern technology and clean energy solutions function. Control of these precious resources has been fought over for years by the Congolese government, militia, and foreign powers. As noted, Rwanda is right next door, and since 1994 eastern Congo has been the battle ground for ongoing conflicts that are the direct extension of one of the most atrocious genocides the world has known. This lethal combination means that people in the region have been largely deprived of peace and prosperity, or at least for those who have survived, since millions have been killed in these conflicts. It is a huge testament to the resilience of humans and the Congolese in particular that these children sang a welcome song to strangers at the top of their lungs with huge grins on their faces, while their parents paused briefly from the demanding work of growing crops to eat and sell to nod or smile in greeting.
We continued on into the forest and for the next two hours, we would be on a rocky, muddy path that regularly slanted upwards or downwards, following the hills we were on. After our multi-day treks in the more mountainous Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, I didn’t find the walk overly demanding (Kevin, whose strength is endurance rather than balance, disagreed). I kept myself entertained by making conversation with the rangers. On the whole, they seemed to like their jobs, though they found it difficult to be away from their families for up to 25 days a month.
I was surprised to learn that they were not vaccinated. At the office in Goma, one of the local employees had told me that everyone who worked for the park had been vaccinated. The ranger told me that they had been offered the vaccine but that they had refused it. When I asked why, he said that they had heard that it could give them blood clots and that worried them. I have now frequently had a version of this conversation with people in different countries during this trip (though this was the only time the blood clot was specifically cited as a reason not to get the vaccine). My approach is to relay honestly my own experience getting vaccinated and why I chose to get my shots. The ranger I was speaking with, along with a couple of others who were nearby, listened intently as I explained that I’d had a sore arm with the first shot and I did have several unpleasant side effects from the second shot, but now I felt safe from any serious version of COVID-19 and it had made it possible for me to visit the park. I left it at that, though I did worry that the people most proximate to the gorillas weren’t vaccinated.
After two hours on a path, we took a sharp turn deeper into the forest, where we had to make our own path. This is where the lushness of the region turned into a challenge. Not only were the rangers hacking away at a wall of greenery to create any semblance of a way through, but the ground itself was seldom to be found. More often than not, we were walking 2, 3, 4 feet above the ground on a giant tangle of vines, branches, and fallen trees. Whether the vines could actually hold my weight or would let my foot go straight through to meet the ground a few feet below was a gamble with every step. I became increasingly dirty and scratched up. But then, we started to see evidence that the gorillas were close. Recently abandoned nests, gorilla droppings (including inside the nests, of course), branches broken in a way only gorillas can….nothing energizes the step like proximity to giant wild animals!
FACE TO FACE
And all of sudden they were there, a couple of adult gorillas, quietly sitting. They turned their heads to stare back with their luminescent brown eyes at this collection of mostly hairless creatures who’d appeared out of nowhere to point small rectangle devices at them. We heard a crackling of branches in the tree and looked up to see another gorilla, going from tree to tree, pausing to have a snack. All of this was already enough to have me in a state of absolute wonder, as I was finally face to face, and only a few meters (so much for the 10 meter rule, which was never enforced) from these wonderful furry creatures. To our rangers, this was the most mundane possible gorilla scene and they encouraged us to keep going. We went forth a few more meters, and then emerged into a clearing with a scene that surpassed my highest expectations for a gorilla encounter. Well, short of becoming best friends with a gorilla like the gorilla keeper in the exceptional Netflix documentary Virunga.
Before us were fifteen or so gorillas of every age lounging, eating, climbing, grooming, and having fun. There were at least 4 or 5 infants getting into all kinds of mischief: climbing all over the adults, scrambling to the top of a pile of branches and rolling back down, pulling themselves up vines and then tumbling, wrestling with each other. More than once a small gorilla, in all its frenzied childish energy and curiosity, came running right up to us until it got just a few feet away before being swatted back by one of the rangers. Two large gorillas were also busy wrestling and, it seemed, tickling each other, with a tiny gorilla trying to join in the fun; it was a giant ball of gorilla fur, limbs and laughter. Meanwhile, the other adults patiently let themselves be climbed on, as they lazed about digesting the vast quantities of leaves, fruits, red aunts, roots, flowers and bark they’d eaten for breakfast. One mother was nursing a tiny bundle of curly fur, a baby who wasn’t more than three weeks old, the rangers said. We'd learned that the female gorillas could have a maximum of four babies in their lifetimes, usually one every four years before they hit menopause.
Amidst this family portrait was a large male, not yet a full silverback, which are the fully sexually and physically mature males. While the infants initially drew my attention with their energy and incredible cuteness, this gorilla drew me in with his calm presence. He stared intently back at me; Interested? Curious? Indifferent? Bored? I will never know. But to stare directly into the eyes of a wild animal like that, at close proximity, for an extended time, it touches the soul. He adjusted himself a number of times, each time settling into a position that emphasized how much DNA we shared: a closed fist under the chin propping up his head; lying on his side, propped up on an elbow; an open palm against his face, staring thoughtfully off into the distance. My eyes welled up as a wave of emotion came over me; words disappeared and were replaced with feelings of connection, wonder, gratitude.
My contemplation was interrupted as a giant silverback, the head of the pack, emerged from the trees on one side and charged across the clearing where his family members were collected. Weighing up to 200 kilograms, the huge beast startled both humans and gorillas with his sudden and imposing presence. A few adult gorillas scurried off, some cowered. The infants continued with their games, as if nothing had happened. They hadn’t yet learned when they needed to show deference to their leader.
Somehow the hour had almost disappeared and our time was drawing to an end. The lead ranger offered us an extra few minutes and a final portrait of gorilla life. He directed us into another small clearing just a little bit further, where an infant hanging from some vines performed acrobatics worthy of the Cirque du Soleil. Just behind him, two mothers looked on patiently as their rascally kids climbed, tumbled, and fought. Just a day in the life of a gorilla family.
My high was undiminished by the impending rainstorm announced by the incessant echoing thunder as we headed back to camp. I didn’t feel the tiredness or hunger that surely were starting to set-in, after many hours of walking. I tried to decide whether or not this experience topped my wedding day (good thing Kevin was at both events!), as I added to and reordered life highlights in my mind.
I can only hope that many of you reading this will get to visit mountain gorillas one day. For the individual, it can be deeply humbling and inspiring to experience Nature in such a profound way. For the park, the rangers, the gorillas, and the people of the region, visits to Virunga National Park far into the future will hopefully be an indicator of gorilla health, peace in the region, and economic benefits for the people of eastern Congo.
Text by SC
Buhumba, DRC
December 5 2021
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Practical Details - DR Congo
Hotels
Lodging in the camp is surprisingly high-quality, with great food and service. The only way to visit at present is either a 2 or 3 night stay, the latter involving two days of visits to gorillas. Food, transport, and the room for two for two [$900] can be booked directly with the park, plus [$400] for each gorilla visit; they speak perfect English by email. What camp you get depends on the park's decision - we were at Kibumba Tented Camp. In Goma, an incredible new luxury Serena hotel has been built [$330], with a lakeside pool and buffet breakfast, and is now perhaps the best hotel in Central Africa period.
Food
In Goma, Laliga has shockingly good Indian curries for the location. It is a safe and quiet walk from the Serena or the Rwanda border.
Transport
Due to Rwanda covid restrictions, flying into Goma on Ethiopian is best option. Either way, you meet the Virunga camp at the Rwanda border for your drive to the camp. Visas can be acquired on arrival if prearranged with the park. The airport is right near town and taxis are very expensive.