“It will be an easy trek”, Edward, our guide, chirped… Words our group of eight took in like honey.
meeting a member of the Hirwa Family
Which trek, which group will I be assigned to? This is the big question we all pondered, even months before the trek. Will I be assigned the notorious Susa Group, high up on the slopes of a volcano? Once Edward showed us a photo of the Hirwa Family that we were going to see, all tension was gone. In chorus we sighed and cooed looking at these cuddly images.
Edward explained a few basic rules and together with two porters and a lady with a Kalashnikov, we started off. No real explanation was given for the weapon, so we figured that it was to keep buffaloes and other animals at bay.
an easy trek through bamboo forest
The trailhead was half an hour drive away and after a leisurely walk through fields and farmland, we soon arrived at the edge of a bamboo forest. Already we were granted a break! The guides were constantly radioing the trackers. They did not want to start out bef ore the trackers had an idea of where the gorillas were, to avoid us meandering through the dense forest
Eventually we ended up doing so anyway, though it was never hard. Actually, lots of resting and waiting… None of the exhaustive hikes we were all so worried about! Lush green vegetation was all around us, it seemed impenetrable and each of us quietly wondered how we / the trackers were ever going to find gorillas in this green maze…
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