Hix Does Uganda (Part I) - All But A Shoebill

[Hix]

Day 11, 7th September

After an early breakfast we put our luggage in the 4WD and headed out on another game drive. I had read the night before that the Shoebills lived in a papyrus swamp at the southern end of Lake Edward, and I asked if Joseph knew this place.

“Lake Edward Flat?” he asked “Yes, we can go there, unless the ground is very wet and muddy”.

It took over an hour, not just because of the distance, but because we stopped several times for birds on the way. The raptors were out, perched on the tops of trees, and we got good views of several. Apart from the Long Crested Eagles which we were seeing everywhere, we also saw a pair of White-headed Vultures, an African Harrier Hawk, and in one tree we saw a pair of Lappet-faced Vultures with six White-backed Vultures. There was another bird, it might have been a small eagle, that had its back to us and flew off without us seeing any identifying features. There were also Vultures circling in the skies, mostly White-backs but with the occasional Ruppell’s Griffin Vulture.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/white-headed-vultures-340859/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/white-backed-vultures-340857/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/lappet-faced-vultures-white-backed-vulture-340854/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/african-harrier-hawk-340853/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/ruppells-griffon-vulture-339989/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/ross-turaco-340856/

There wasn’t too much to see closer to the ground – some Red-neck Francolins, Grey-backed Fiscals, a White-browed Coucal, and a pair of Brown-chested Lapwings (another new species for my list). A large group of Olive Baboons were out foraging for food and we saw a large herd of Buffalo, which all turned to stare at us in the way they do. Some of them even turned their noses up at us making them look even more aggressive than normal. I’m glad I wasn’t on foot.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/red-necked-francolin-340855/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/brown-chested-lapwing-340848/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/olive-baboon-340847/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/cape-buffalo-340850/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/cape-buffalo-340849/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/cape-buffalo-340851/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/cape-buffalo-calf-340852/

As we got closer to the lake the vegetation changed from grassland to woodland thornscrub. Orangeperson and I were standing up with our heads through the roof, and we had to keep watch for thorny branches that were raking the sides of the 4WD, lest we get our faces scratched. We were constantly leaning over from one side of the car to the other. At one point there were branches approaching rapidly from both sides, and we both sat down simultaneously. It looked as though there hadn’t been any vehicles up here in a while.

I asked Joseph “Have you been here before?”
“Oh, yes” he replied
“When was the last time you came up here?”
He thought for a few seconds “About six months ago”.

The scrub only revealed a few birds; a woodland kingfisher, more fiscals, a Little Bee-eater and several White-throateds.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/white-throated-bee-eater-340858/

After travelling through the scrub for about 20 minutes we finally came to the lake. Not that we could see much of the lake, because there was a large papyrus swamp several hundred metres deep extending from the shoreline into the lake. And the swamp followed the shoreline around, so all we could see of the lake was a channel through the swamp that had a couple of hippos in residence.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/hippo-340844/

The tree-line was a couple of hundred metres back from the shore and the ground between was hard-baked mud with a thin layer of short grass closer to the water’s edge. I guess during the wet season the water level rises and this area is submerged for a few months which would be why the trees are so far back.

We scoured the papyrus swamp in all directions but saw no sign of Shoebill, unfortunately. We did see some Jacana, a Black-headed Heron, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Hamerkops, Spur-wing Plovers, Water Thick-knees, Pin-tailed Whydah, Wattled Starlings, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Cattle Egret, Fish Eagle and Black Crake. Two new species were Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater and Lesser Masked Weaver. Apart from the Hippos the only other mammals there were a few Buffalo and a couple of families of Warthogs.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/cinnamon-chested-bee-eater-340843/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/buffalo-wattled-starling-340842/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/water-thick-knee-340846/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/warthog-family-340845/

So we headed back into the park again to search the trees for lions. Alas, we were unsuccessful in this also. And all the birds we saw we had seen the day before, with nothing new. At lunchtime, under cloudy skies, we returned to the Savannah Resort for lunch. Somebody mentioned to one of the staff that we had not seen any lions, and the staff member said that lions hadn’t been seen for about a week. I hoped our bad luck would not continue with us to our next destination: the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

It was only a two hour drive from Ishasha to Bwindi, and we set off as soon as we had finished lunch. The clouds had darkened and when we were halfway there the skies opened up and we got our first really heavy African downpour. To make it memorable, the Rain Gods gave us hail as well. Once again I was glad Joseph was driving, because the road turned to mud and the rain was so blinding it was difficult to see. But Joseph knew the road well and kept on going. One of the windows had a bad leak (but only during downpours) and Orangeperson found herself holding a towel Joseph gave her up against the window to try and sop up the water as it came in. The hail stopped after about five minutes, and the heavy rain a short while after that. There were some light showers, but they all stopped by the time we got to Buhoma.

The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a rainforest in the mountains, ranging from 1200 metres to 2600 metres above sea- level, and covering 321 km2. The forest once connected up to other forests further south, but farmland has encroached and now the National Park is isolated.

On the north-western side is the small village of Buhoma, sitting at the bottom of a valley between two mountains. The valley runs North to South and the Park Entrance is at the southern end of the Valley. The park’s border extends a few kilometres along the eastern side of the valley, but not so far on the western side.

Because the Mountain Gorillas are so popular, there are a number of accommodation options in Buhoma, ranging from cheap hostels and/or camping to luxury hotels. The place we were staying, aptly named the Silverback Lodge, was one of the more upmarket places. It was also up-mountain. After driving down the main road Joseph turned left and followed a steep winding driveway up the side of the mountain that forms the western side of the valley. At the top of the drive we found the Lodge, and although I’m only guessing, I think it was about 200 metres above the main township. There were two main benefits to being this high up:

1. The noises of cars and people etc in the township below were either lost entirely or greatly reduced, and (more importantly)
2. The view across the valley was to the eastern side which was part of the National Park – we had a great view of the forest, and looking south we could see the other mountains in the Park.

http://www.zoochat.com/1681/view-bwindi-impenetrable-forest-340932/
http://www.zoochat.com/1681/view-bwindi-national-park-340933/

The rain had stopped, but the clouds were still present and looked like they hadn’t finished wetting us yet, so we quickly moved out gear into our respective rooms and settled in. For me, settling in meant walking around the gardens trying to photograph birds. There was a Variable Sunbird that had built a nest in a shrub front of Room #1, a pair of Bronze Sunbirds, Common Bulbuls, Bronze Mannikins, African Thrush and the omnipresent Speckled Mousebirds. There was also a pretty little yellow thing with a black eye-stripe – I tried to photograph it but my camera decided it wasn’t happy and refused to take a picture. In the few seconds it took to get its act together the bird had flown off. I never saw it again and I haven’t been able to ID it from memory.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/common-bulbul-340929/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/speckled-mousebird-340930/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/variable-sunbird-340931/

And then I heard the wind. I looked up and saw the tops of some trees suddenly blowing strongly. I looked over the valley at the other mountain and saw a wall of rain approaching, and I ran back to my room as fast as I could, getting there just as the rain hit. Luckily, I didn’t get too wet and neither did my cameras.

The Silverback Lodge as a communal alfresco type area with comfy chairs and large coffee tables that have intricate carvings of mountain gorillas and forests. When the rain stopped I joined the girls here for an hour or two, downloading photos and logging on to the net. When we went to the restaurant for dinner we discovered we were – once again – the only guests at the Lodge. However the Manager told us there was another group arriving the next night.

http://www.zoochat.com/1681/communal-area-340934/

After dinner we retired to our rooms for an early night; we would need a good night’s sleep because tomorrow was going to be a big day – we were trekking for Mountain Gorillas, and some treks took up to eight hours climbing mountains before you found them. We would really need our energy.

And I hoped it wouldn’t rain.

New Bird seen: White-headed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, Ruppell’s Griffin Vulture, Brown-chested Lapwing, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Lesser Masked Weaver.



Hix

 

[zooman]

"R we there yet"



LOL

 

[Hix]

Soon, very soon!



Hix

 

[Pertinax]

How long did you spend looking for the Shoebills?

 

[Hix]

How long did you spend looking for the Shoebills?

Only about 20 minutes. At this site you essentially have a wall of papyrus, and if the shoebill isn't in front of it, then that's it. Everywhere else in the swamp is inaccessible. Once we had checked it there wasn't much else we could do. Plus there were non-bird people in the group who were more interested in looking for tree-climbing lions.



Hix

 

[Pertinax]

Once we had checked it there wasn't much else we could do. Plus there were non-bird people in the group who were more interested in looking for tree-climbing lions.

Aargh...how frustrating. Obviously there was a good chance there were Shoebills in there somewhere. You really needed the time and means to work the area properly for success, but I know exactly what these situations can be like....

 

[Hix]

Day 12 – 8th September

When I was still in the planning stages of my holiday I looked three countries I had always wanted to visit: Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. Uganda was in 4th place on that list. As I did some research it moved up the list because of other things it had to offer. After a month or so of research and looking at prices and costs, I realised I could only afford to visit one country, and it eventually came down to one thing: Mountain Gorillas. They were my main reason for going to Africa, my number one priority. Left with the choice of Uganda or Rwanda I chose Uganda because I felt I could make a better holiday in this country.

And today is the day I get to fulfil that dream, to trek with the largest of the primates, a dream I have had since I saw Attenborough with them in Life on Earth, back in 1980.

The skies were clear and the sun was just coming over the top of the range when we arrived at the National Park HQ at 8:00am. There were around 20 tourists all up, and we were given a half-hour briefing by Benson, one of the Rangers. Afterwards we were split into three groups, and those groups would be head off in different directions looking for the three different gorillas families. Each family gets visited by tourists once a day, for a total of one hour. And each tour group consists of no more than eight tourists. As it turns out, Owen was to guide our little group which consisted of the three ladies and myself, a couple of Americans and an elderly German lady.

Benson gave us a further briefing for ten minutes, mainly about the family we would be visiting known as the Rushegura Group (or ‘R’ Group for short) which consisted of 17 individuals. Describing gorilla hierarchy he pointed at the ladies and said “You are females”, then pointed at the American male and said “You are a Blackback”, and finally pointed at me and said “You are a Silverback”.

“No” I gently corrected him “I am a Silverface”, referring to the white hairs in my beard.

“No” he said ”You are a Silverback and everyone else respects you”. I decided I didn’t want to disagree with this assessment.

He encouraged us to tuck out pants into our socks to avoid the Mzungu-Siafu Dance, and recommended we hire a porter. I was amused by the first suggestion, because one of the younger people in another group had been wearing three-quarter length pants which stopped just below her knees, and had short boots leaving most of her legs exposed. The second suggestion – a porter – did not really appeal to me so I declined. The Lodge had supplied us all with a wooden walking pole, sturdy and solid with carvings of gorillas on them, and I thought a porter would be wasted. Plus a porter cost an extra US$15, and whatever tip you thought appropriate (usually UGX20,000). The ladies all elected to have a porter, the Americans were undecided – she thought it a good idea, he didn’t want one because he “was from Colorado and is not affected by the altitude”. Benson suggested one between the two of them and they accepted. The guy looked fatter than me and I thought he should definitely get one for himself, but I had chosen not to get one and I was the second fattest person in the group, so I decided I should not be making such hypocritical judgements of others.

I had brought along a small backpack which had my cameras, lunch and water. Raincoat and a small towel in it, and although it weighed about 6 kilos, I thought I would be fine. Benson turned to me as he was leaving to get the porters and confirmed “And you do not want a porter?”

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind” I said. “I think I shall be fine and won’t need a porter, but I will take one just in case.” And then added “Even if I don’t use him, I will still pay him.” I realised that for some people there is little work and this probably supplements their income. Putting money into the community this way encourages them to value the wildlife and support projects that benefit the wildlife and environment.

“Does everyone have gloves?” asked Benson on his return. This question caught me offguard – in all my research and readings I had not come across any mention of gloves being a necessity. I raised my hand to indicate I didn’t have gloves and asked “Why do we need gloves?” as it wasn’t all that cold.

“There are nettles and other stinging plants” he replied. And he gave me a pair of rubber gloves.

Then we were introduced to our porters. They were all male, except for one young girl who appeared to be about 16. They all came over and appeared to choose who they were going to help (the girl chose Orangeperson), standing in front of their host introducing themselves, and all had big enthusiastic grins displaying their bright white teeth. Except mine. He walked up after the others, and as no-one else had chosen the Silverback (what was that about respect?) he and I were what was left. He didn’t smile, and didn’t seem to really want to be there. His body language reminded me of a youth on a street corner in any downtown western city, waiting for any opportunity that would be of benefit, not necessarily legal. (Note: I’m describing his body language and what it reminded me off – I am not suggesting that this man would behave in this manner). I took the initiative and put out my hand and introduced myself. He shook my hand and told me his name was Kareb. And that was the extent of our conversation.

It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I think they put all the oldest people in the same group – our group. And we were looking for the Rutshegura Family which, we had been told, had been spending the past week just up the valley from the HQ, about a half hours walk away. The other groups involved driving some way and then several hours trekking. Not that I’m complaining about getting the easy group.

As it turns out, our gorillas had decided to move on a bit. At daybreak trackers had set off to find the different groups and then radio back to HQ so the rangers/guides could take the tourists on the most direct route to the gorillas. And it was as we were about to leave that Benson got the call that the gorillas weren’t where they were meant to be. In fact, they had left the National Park altogether and were back down the road on the outskirts of Buhoma heading for a banana farm. The local villagers had seen the gorillas coming and warded them off.

So instead of walking into the National Park we jumped back into the car and Joseph followed the other vehicle that Benson was in. We had an additional passenger with us, the elderly German woman, and we chatted to her on the short five minute drive. Her name was Uta, and she told us where she was from, but I’ve forgotten the city, it might have been Frankfurt. She appeared to be well into her 60’s (possibly even 70) and had been trekking with one of the other groups the day before, a seven hour slog through the mountains, so she was glad this group was closer to home.

We pulled up in front of a church next to a school, and left the cars. The path we took went past the church where there was a loud sermon being preached, and I commented that gorillas must have left the forest and come down here because they knew it was Sunday. The sun had started to beat down strongly as we walked through the village and up a gentle slope towards the hills. At one point I could look back over the valley at Buhoma, and I took a photo, which includes the Silverback Lodge, high on the hill.

Kareb caught up with me and said “I will take your pack”.

“That’s OK” I said, surprised at his initiative “I’ll carry it for now” and explained that I was going to try and do this without a porter. I could see in his eyes that this was something unexpected so I quickly added that I would be paying him even if I didn’t need him. What I didn’t realise at the time was how much work he was actually going to get.

The path led up a valley between two hills, and at one point Benson pointed out a black blob on one of the hills several hundred metres ahead of us. The black blob was sitting in the sun, then - like a movie clip of bigfoot - got up and walked a few metres before sitting down again, and I had my first view of a wild Mountain Gorilla. Inspired, we all pushed on with new energy knowing they were so close. So close, yet so far.

The path we had been taking was uphill, but on relatively solid ground in the valley where the two hills met. Now we had to climb up the sides of one of the hills, and this was far more difficult. For one thing, it was almost vertical. And the hillside had been cleared of vegetation several months previously, but nothing planted. The local vegetation in the form of creepers, grasses and other groundcovers has grown back, but they were all shallow-rooted. The soil was loose and slipped underfoot, making progress very slow and physically draining. Even decent rocks which looked like good stepping stones would slide down the hill under your weight. The walking poles were very helpful here as you could stick them into the soil and they were less likely to slip as they supported your weight.

I think it was this point that we realised the porter’s main function was not to carry our packs, but to carry us (literally, if need be) or at least help drag us up that hill. Without gloves or poles they were more adept at negotiating the loose terrain than we were, and grabbed the hand of whoever they were looking after, literally pulling them up the hillside. We had been told stories of the porters actually carrying people up to see the gorillas, and now we understood that this was not an exaggeration.

http://www.zoochat.com/1681/climbing-towards-gorillas-341382/
http://www.zoochat.com/1681/climbing-towards-gorillas-341383/

In order not to leave people behind, Benson had arranged for the slowest person to be at the front, and as a result I was the last in the line. The person in front of me was the American that was a little fatter than me, from Colorado, and he was having a hard time getting his footing. Several times he slipped, and as he was above me on the path, there was a risk of him landing on me. The porter he was sharing with his companion was helping her, and so Kareb was helping him. I was coping quite well without help, so when Kareb came down to help me I told him to help the American.

“But I am your porter” he said.

“I know” I replied “but I want you to help him. I’m OK. I think he needs your help more than me”.

“And Kareb; if he falls on me, I will not give you a tip”.

And for the first time I saw Kareb smile.

Eventually we came upon the trackers who told Benson were the group was located. Before we could go any further we had to drop leave our poles here (if gorillas see you with poles they think you are going to beat them and they run away), and leave any food here too. I noticed that my shirt was soaked with sweat, and I wasn’t the only one – even the Benson and the porters had perspiration beading on their brows. I removed my cameras and put them in my sling, then left my backpack with my pole. It made climbing a bit more difficult without the pole, but luckily we didn‘t have far to go. We ended up in a little dip between the two hills, one hill had been cleared, the other still had forest and trees, and we were standing in the shade of those trees. And – after an hour of exhausting hiking - there were mountain gorillas only a few metres in front of us.

http://www.zoochat.com/1681/gorilla-viewing-341384/

In front of us was a subadult male (maybe eight years old) and a younger male only a couple of years old, and three metres away from them was a female, the mother of the youngster. She was also possibly the mother of the older male, but Benson wasn’t too sure. Up the slope above us was a Blackback, barely visibly, and another young animal, probably 5 years old. And even further up, obscured by vegetation, was the silverback Mwirima. All the animals completely ignored us. I mean completely. They didn’t look at us, they didn’t react to us, and they were completely at ease and unfazed. Even the chimps in Kibale looked at us, even if it was from ten metres up.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorillas-341320/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-female-341318/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-female-341324/

Actually, they did occasionally look our way, particularly the youngest, who seemed to be playing with the elder one. These two weren’t feeding like the others were, the eldest was half-sitting or lying, and the youngest was either sitting with him or on him.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341317/

Benson identified the youngest as a male who had been given a local name that means ‘thief’ in the local language, after his habit of taking things from tourists. We were also told he liked to kick tourists in the leg as he walked past them. “He can kick me as much as he likes” I thought, and I’m sure I was not the only one who felt that way. However, today he was not in a light-fingered or kung-footed mood and seemed happy to stay with his possible brother. Having worked in a zoo with more than 20 chimps you not only learn how to recognise them, and learn their individual quirks, but you also know their lineage. I found it unusual that Benson and the trackers found it difficult to identify the individuals, or know who their parents were (apart from the Silverback, but as there was only one silverback, my nine year old niece could have identified him).

The slope next to the adult female was, at one part, vertical for about two metres, and the blanket of vegetation hung over this area in a dense mat. The female pulled up a corner and crawled under/behind this curtain, completely disappearing from view. All that could be seen was a hairy black hand periodically pushing out through the vegetation to grab a leaf and then pull it back inside. I had noticed one of the others had done this too – maybe they feel more comfortable this way. And then they started vocalising – a vocal I’d never heard before from zoo animals.

Imagine you’ve just taken a bite of something absolutely scrumptious, and with your mouth full you want to indicate how good it tastes, so you go “MMMMMmmmmmmmmm!” Well, that’s what the gorillas were doing, but at a slightly higher pitch. The female under the vegetation started, the blackback up the hill joined in as did the other youngster. Benson said they do this when they are happy feeding because the food is good, but never having heard the sound before, and not ever having read about it, I don’t know if this is correct or just an anthropomorphised belief. Whatever the reason, it was certainly something I wasn’t expecting to hear, three gorillas going “MMMMmmmmmmm!” at each other.

“Let’s go see the Silverback” said Benson. Mwirima had been about 40 metres up the slope, but had moved a couple of times to different locations and was now only about 30 metres above us. So we started climbing this very steep slope, our feet catching on the vegetation and slipping on the loose substrate. And there was a thorny shrub similar to bramble, too. Again our porters were essential, quickly climbing above us, then grabbing our hand and physically pulling us up to a better footing. After we had climbed up about 20 metres (which took close to five minutes), Mwirima – who had is broad back to us – got up and walked away a short distance. So we followed, walking sideways across the slope. I knew that the slope was such that if anyone slipped, they would slide all the way to the bottom where we had just left a few minutes earlier. Nothing, not even the brambles would stop them. However, now we had moved across the slope we wouldn’t just slide to the bottom, but we’d probably land on one of the gorillas down there. I’d like to see them ignore us then!

http://www.zoochat.com/1681/climbing-towards-gorillas-341385/
http://www.zoochat.com/1681/gorilla-viewing-341387/
http://www.zoochat.com/1681/gorilla-viewing-341386/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341328/

Mwirima had again sat with his broad back to us, nicely displaying the wide band of silver hairs that give the dominant males their common name, but after moving yet again (and out train of seemingly unco-ordinated mzungus holding hands as they followed him) we were able to get a few profiles before he moved once again. The five year old was not far away and I was able to get some nice close-ups while he/she fed. I also spotted three other animals behind us on the other slope, and although they weren’t far away, if they hadn’t been moving you could have easily missed them.

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/silverback-mountain-gorilla-mwirima-341329/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341332/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341331/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341319/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341321/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/mountain-gorilla-341330/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/there-s-mountain-gorilla-photo-341400/

After an hour Benson decreed that our time was up and we then all struggled back to where we left our poles and packs. I decided to let Kareb carry my pack, although I kept my cameras with me. Then we made our way back to the bottom of the slope which was a bit more difficult than climbing up it. Going up, you could test your footing before putting your weight on your foot; going down you were committed before your foot touched the ground. At one point both my feet went out from under me, I clung on tightly to my pole with my right hand, and I felt Kareb grab my left hand, stopping me from sliding on my arse down a rather rocky section of the slope. Eventually we reached the bottom and walked back down to the valley.

Before reaching the village we stopped in a clearing and sat on some rocks while we ate our packed lunch. I think we all realised just how exhausted we were, but then Uta said that our climb was nothing compared to what she had done the day before.

Just as we were finishing, Benson suggested we leave quickly, and looking behind us we saw dark storm clouds coming over the mountain. We hurried on and fifteen minutes later reached the cars just as the rain started. It was light rain to start with, getting heavier a bit later and I was glad the rains had held off until after we had seen the gorillas, because it would have been considerably more difficult if the loose earth was muddy too. Arriving back at the Park HQ we were given our certificates. I paid Kareb his $15 and gave him a very good tip. I thought the American should have tipped him as well, considering how much help he received.

Important Tip: For anyone considering trekking with the gorillas – GET A PORTER!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Along the road leading back to the hotel’s turnoff were a number of craft shops, and I wanted to check out some of them for souvenirs, so while the rain got heavier the four of us visited several of the shops. Unfortunately, most of the shops sold the same things – I mean, exactly the same things. Not surprisingly, gorillas featured prominently, and there were lots of them in different sizes. I eventually discovered that most (if not all) are carved by the one young man. I finally bought a gorilla head carving for US$60.

The rain was quite heavy now,. There was a Nature Walk into the Bwindi Forest which I had wanted to join to see what birds (and possibly mammals) I could see. It was due to start at 2 o’clock, but because of the rain I decided not to bother. We were all exhausted anyway, so we went back to the Lodge where I downloaded my photos onto my laptop; I had taken over 500! The rain stopped at 1:45, and the sun came out at 2:30, so I could have gone on the Nature Walk after all, but it was nice to relax at the lodge in the afternoon. I wandered the garden with my camera and photographed some more birds, scanned the forest opposite us through binoculars looking for any sign of movement, then joined the ladies in the communal area and logged onto the internet.

http://www.zoochat.com/1681/bwindi-impenetrable-forest-341381/
http://www.zoochat.com/1681/silverback-lodge-341388/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/baglafecht-weavers-341336/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/northern-double-collared-sunbird-341335/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/bronze-sunbird-341334/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/speckled-mousebirds-341333/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/barn-swallow-341343/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/grey-capped-warbler-341344/

While sitting there I kept an eye on some birds that were hanging around – a pair of swallows and the Variable Sunbirds. The male kept perching in a shrub in the sun, then flying off again to the lantana to feed. When he eventually flew past me I knew he was flying to a nest in a bush outside one of the rooms. I glanced back to confirm that was where he was going, then turned back to my laptop. But in that glance I briefly saw something that seemed wrong. On a shrub beside the one with the nest was a dead leaf in the middle of a branch. The reason this seemed odd was that all the other leaves were on the ends of the branches. I knew exactly what it was and looking back I could see the leaf was holding onto the branch with a prehensile tail. Making a suitable exclamation “like “You little beauty!!!”) I jumped up and pushed my way into the shrub to remove the chameleon so I could photograph it.

It was fairly small, and rather squat, and my initial identification from the small field guide was that it was a Rwenzori Side-striped Chameleon (Chameleo rudis). However, when I left Uganda I bought a larger reptile field guide and discovered that it is probably a Montane Side-striped Chameleon (C. elliotti). But no matter what the species, it was a chameleon and I was stoked. So too were the ladies, even Linda who dislikes creepy-crawlies and was happy to have it climb on her hand. Angela could not work out how I saw it in a shrub five metres behind me. I had posted on Facebook that I had trekked with the Mountain Gorillas, and now I posted that I had just found a chameleon. Surprisingly, the chameleon post and photos initially got more ‘likes’ than the gorilla ones!

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/side-striped-chameleon-341340/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/side-striped-chameleon-341338/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/side-striped-chameleon-341339/



Mountain Gorillas in the morning and a Chameleon in the afternoon. I couldn’t have asked for a better day!

http://www.zoochat.com/1682/hix-mountain-gorilla-silverback-341341/
http://www.zoochat.com/1682/hix-side-striped-chameleon-341337/

New Birds seen: Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Cape Wagtail, Barn Swallow, Grey-capped Warbler, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, and several other species I have yet to identify.

New Mammals seen: Mountain Gorilla

New Reptiles seen: Side-striped Chameleon (specific ID is pending).



Hix

 

[Pertinax]

Singing Gorillas- Humming/mmmmmmmmm vocalisation.

And then they started vocalising – a vocal I’d never heard before from zoo animals.

and with your mouth full you want to indicate how good it tastes, so you go “MMMMMmmmmmmmmm!” Well, that’s what the gorillas were doing, but at a slightly higher pitch. The female under the vegetation started, the blackback up the hill joined in as did the other youngster. Benson said they do this when they are happy feeding because the food is good, but never having heard the sound before, and not ever having read about it, I don’t know if this is correct or just an anthropomorphised belief. Whatever the reason, it was certainly something I wasn’t expecting to hear, three gorillas going “MMMMmmmmmmm!” at each other.

So we finally got to the Gorillas!

In her book 'My Friends the Apes' Belle Benchley describes exactly this sound made by the two adult Eastern Lowland males that lived in San Diego Zoo in the 1930's. They did it each evening when fed in the privacy of their offshow nightrooms. She attributed the same feeling of 'enjoyment of their food' to this also.

It seems rare/unusual behaviour in captive Gorillas (or perhaps just in Western Lowlands?). The only place I have heard it, or something very similar, is at Howletts before the Gorillas are fed quantities of vegetables from the enclosure roofs. About five minutes before the keepers arrive, they become restless and you become aware of this chorus of humming and whining noises among the groups which intensifies as they start climbing up into the roof space ahead of the feed. Its almost like singing. I'm not sure if they carry on making it while actually eating though its obviously food related there too. I have never heard it in other zoo groups, even at feeding sessions.

 

[zooman]

Thx Hix,

Your gorilla review did not disappoint

 

[nanoboy]

I am slim but I am quite unfit. Is there any easier way to see the wild gorillas, say maybe in Rwanda, or do I really need to start training months in advance?

Also, one of my concerns with going on a tour like this, is toilet facilities for my wife. Hell, I can urinate anywhere, but where do the ladies go? Are there regular toilet stops, or is it 'bush' toilets?

 

[zooman]

? Are there regular toilet stops, or is it 'bush' toilets?

Sure, they would stop at Mc Donald's and 7/11 stores if needed

 

[Hix]

Sure, they would stop at Mc Donald's and 7/11 stores if needed

If I'm gonna be honest with myself, I'm quite unfit too. Although when it comes to walking I suppose I have a bit of stamina. Kareb at one point told me I was quite fit, but I think he was just saying that as encouragement. However, unless you are obese, it should be possible. Strenuous and exhausting, but possible.

And I highly recommend it for any wildlife enthusiasts.

As for toilet stops, bush toilets are the only toilets. All you have to do is find a suitable bush to hide (or stand) behind.



Hix

 

[OrangePerson]

I am slim but I am quite unfit. Is there any easier way to see the wild gorillas, say maybe in Rwanda, or do I really need to start training months in advance?

Actually I think only one of us 'ladies' went bush once, although at the petrol station mentioned earlier we probably wished we had. Of course if the gorilla trek had been 7 hrs we'd have had to!
As to fitness I had tried, going from about 1000 steps a day to around 8000 with longer walks at weekends and regular brisk walks up the local hills but I found it tough and if I do it again I'd do bouldering or something to build that 'climbing vertically muscle strength'. I think for someone younger who is not a total couch potato it would not be hard to be fit enough. However the guides were good and the slowest person at the front policy means that you don't get that awful situation when you just catch up and everyone moves off so you don't get a rest, I nominated myself as slowest person but got promoted to second slowest. Lots of people seemed to be doing 2 treks on consecutive days which I would not attempt. Juta was suffering from the day before.
In fact when Angela's porter Johnson went in front the pace he set was good, she also felt he was better than the rangers at choosing the route to take for minimum slipping, she asked him if he could become a guide but he can't afford the necessary education.

 

[OrangePerson]

I don't know if it was because I cried when we first stood in front of them but Benson seemed to take me in hand and kept planting me right in front of Mwirima, I could smell his strong smell and at one point I felt we could almost have reached out and touched, bearing in mind the huge length of his arms, because the hill was so steep I was not in his face at all because he was always above me. He'd glance occasionally between mouthfuls, I pretended to eat some leaves as had been suggested. It was quite magical being so close to this giant.

 

[Pertinax]

but I found it tough and if I do it again I'd do bouldering or something to build that 'climbing vertically muscle strength'.

Did they warn you beforehand (before the trip altogether) about the climbing? I've heard this before about it being pretty tough. When I saw Chimps in Gombe it was similar but probably not so extreme, but you just aren't really prepared for this sudden struggle of vertical climbing. And you don't have any time to build up to it if you only make one visit.

Someone asked about seeing the Rwanda/Virungas gorillas- I thinK that is probably as tough/ even tougher?!

 

[Hix]

As to fitness I had tried, going from about 1000 steps a day to around 8000 with longer walks at weekends and regular brisk walks up the local hills but I found it tough and if I do it again I'd do bouldering or something to build that 'climbing vertically muscle strength'. I think for someone younger who is not a total couch potato it would not be hard to be fit enough.

I think climbing six or seven flights of stairs in the workplace a couple of times a day would be a good way to prepare for the 'climbing vertically muscle strength'. You'd still find the climb hard going but you'd cope much better.

The real issue was the loose ground - every step had to be carefully placed and tested. Even when we weren't walking, just standing, we still had to keep balance, and sometimes both feet were not in optimum positions for balancing! Just shifting your foot to better position - or even shifting your weight from one foot to another - was not as easy as you might think.

By comparison, Kyambura Gorge was just as steep and probably just as high (at least the vertical ascent) but I found it much easier because there were solid steps in the rock or in the ground and it was like walking up a narrow, twisting flight of stairs. And we did Kyambura without walking poles.

As for Rwanda, I haven't been so I can't comment. I should also remind everyone that we trekked to the gorillas outside the National Park. Had we been following them in the forest it may have been harder, or maybe easier. If it had been raining it would certainly have been more difficult.




Hix

 

[Taisha]

I guess the length of time for climbing is unpredictable anyway. Once I met somebody who had only half an hour walk and this one not even very demanding. Sheer luck.
Wonder how much time it took the other groups on your day, Hix.

 

[Pertinax]

I guess the length of time for climbing is unpredictable anyway. Once I met somebody who had only half an hour walk and this one not even very demanding. Sheer luck.

And of course there's at least one video on Youtube of a Gorilla group- I think this was in Bwindi also?- that actually came to the tourists, visiting a hotel complex and mingling with the amazed visitors.

 

[OrangePerson]

And of course there's at least one video on Youtube of a Gorilla group- I think this was in Bwindi also?- that actually came to the tourists, visiting a hotel complex and mingling with the amazed visitors.

I had my fingers crossed but no luck!

I already tried the running up stairs method, maybe climbing 2 at a time would have been better. Also I think I am affected by altitude quite a lot, when we were in Costa Rica at high altitude I was very breathless very easily.
I found the gorge hard because the 'steps' were to deep for the length of my legs, going up AND down.

 

[boof]

what an amazing experience you've had hix. Your trip report or journal with pictures is excellent. 500 photos? I hope you remembered to put the camera down and just looked at them. Thanks again for sharing this with us.