The last mountain gorillas
Trip to africa - Rwanda and Uganda. Gorilla Trekking, Golden Monkey trekking. Queen Elisabeth Park, Jinja, Kigali, Kampala
Uganda | Pearl of Africa
Last month I went visiting the cousins in Uganda, pearl of Africa.
Seen some chimps, ate some bananas!
Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla (short)
NEW - (short version) - An incredible chance encounter with a family of wild Mountain Gorillas in Uganda. Check blog.commonflat.com for more photos and background on this once in a lifetime experience.
I Went For Gorilla Trekking
Hello! My Tribe,
I am in Uganda and had an experience of a lifetime that I wanted to share with you. When I got invited to visit Uganda by my dear friend Shamira Mitha who owns Verve, a boutique PR and marketing agency based in Dubai, I took no time to say yes. I had no idea what to expect but always excited to visit a new country I got on to a flight and landed in Entebbe.
I stayed a few days in Kampala (more about Kampala will be in my blog soon that I will share with you) and then drove down to Bwindi for an indescribable experience of my life.
Almost an 11 hours drive from Kampala, took me to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Checked into Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge. Woke up early morning to start the Gorilla trek. The Trek is conducted under the supervision of park rangers.
Trek
Treks set out daily. Rangers keep park HQ informed by radio of the gorilla’s whereabouts, so sightings are virtually guaranteed. After an obligatory briefing, I was assigned to a group of eight trekkers, plus guides and porters. Each group is allocated to a particular gorilla troop. Mine was Christmas troop, headed by a silver back Gorilla who was born on a Christmas day. The trek, including an hour with the gorillas, may take anything from three to nine hours, depending on the location of the troop. The trek is definitely not for the faint hearted and it demands a certain level of fitness to take this on. This is what I wore during our hike:
• Waterproof Hiking Boots
• Thin, Water Resistant Pants
• Sweat Proof / Water Resistant Long-Sleeve Shirt
• A Waterproof Wind/Rain Jacket
Overall, I wanted my skin to be covered for protection from bugs and thorns and the elements.
We walked for almost 4.5 hours through beautiful terrain in dense undergrowth at altitude and steep, slippery and muddy trails for an encounter of a lifetime...an encounter with the last of the wild mountain Gorillas.
Encounter
Nothing prepares you for the intensity of the encounter. Our guide explained the rules. We had to keep quiet, be still and preserve a distance of seven meters – although there’s nothing to stop the apes from approaching you. Generally, nothing much happens. We were there there for an hour. The privilege of observing an extraordinary animal close-up is indescribable. One hour is not enough, but it is an hour that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Mountain Gorillas
These severely endangered animals are being pushed into extinction by humans.
About 800+ of these great apes remain in the wild, according to the most recent census. The biggest threats come from political instability, human encroachment, and forest degradation.
The world’s remaining mountain gorillas live in three countries spanning four national parks—Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Volcanoes National Park, and Virunga National Park.
Size
Adult male gorillas weigh up to 440 pounds and can reach a height of six feet when standing on two legs. Mature male gorillas are known as “silverbacks” for the white hair that develops on their back at about 14 years of age.
Gorilla Family
Gorillas move around in family groups that can range from a couple of individuals to more than 40 members. A dominant male leads and holds the position for years.
Interesting Fact
Charismatic and intelligent animals, gorillas share 98.3% of their DNA with humans. They are our closest cousins after chimpanzees and bonobos.
How can YOU help Gorillas from going extinct?
By visiting the mountain gorillas in the wild through organized gorilla treks, tourists contribute to their continued survival within the forests. Though the governments of the host countries and conservation organizations have tried to protect the mountain gorillas, a lot is still needed to ensure sustainability and the full protection of these great apes. After your trek, there are a lot of things that you can do to help promote gorilla conservation.
Over the past 20 years, tourism has been the most successful tool for protecting gorillas. Local people have now widely embraced gorilla tourism as a form of additional income. Tourism has also created jobs for the locals as well as generating direct revenue from the sale of goods or provision of services such as guiding, transportation, and more.
Anything adventurous like this doesn’t come easy to me, I am more a luxury kinda girl than hiking and camping. But I am so glad that I swapped my Louboutin for my hiking shoes and went on this adventure of a lifetime.
I so highly recommend this, with your family, children and friends. I promise you, this is an experience that will stay with you forever, after all life is made of moments and experiences like these, that introduces you to a new world outside and inside of you.
Love and Health
Uma
I Took a Selfie with a GORILLA (Uganda Africa Travel Vlog) | Roy Adin
A selfie with a gorilla, that's all I wanted when I flew to the land of Uganda in Africa. Little did I know that this safari trip will bring memories that top any viral video, which I share in this Africa travel vlog!
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100% Roy Adin is a series of creative inspirational videos about the things that matter: personal growth, society, education and mental health. All presented in an entertaining way inspired by Hollywood's blockbusters.
I believe that by being 100% honest I can inspire others to be 100% themselves, and make a change that goes way beyond the screen!
About the video:
Just after a park ranger’s selfie with two gorillas went viral, I went on my own journey with Safari Company to meet gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda's rain forests: Bwindi Park and Kibale Park. But apes weren't the only animals we met in this safari experience. I was so excited to see beautiful giraffes, zebras, hippos, flamingos, elephants, lizards, birds and any other animal that we usually only watch in films. More than all, I loved discovering the different culture and unique people. Uganda is an unforgettable experience for every travel blogger, YouTuber, nature lover, city person, Planet of the Apes fan - or basically, any human being :)
About Roy Adin:
Surprising. That’s me.
I surprised myself at age 12 when a YouTube video that I created hit 9,000,000 views, bringing SpongeBob into the real world with the power of visual effects!
The problem was that no one believed that a kid could actually master the pro editing softwares all by himself: Adobe After Effects, Premiere and Photoshop. Especially when they heard that I’m self-taught. But my huge passion for storytelling and film-making was there to prove them wrong! And I kept creating more videos, bringing my crazy ideas and inventions to life in the form of creative viral videos.
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To their surprise even making videos for investors from Disney wasn’t satisfying enough for me, so I quit.
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Uganda 2013 - Giorno 05
Safari in Kenya-Uganda, Marzo 2013 con Lorenzo, Vale, Lele, Max, Lilly e Lumbayi.
6/3: Gli chimpanzee sono tornati tutti al campo stanotte quindi possiamo fare un giro nella foresta con lo staff. Poi colazione, sia per i cugini chimps sia per noi e si lascia l'isola per recuperare Lumabaji ed il trailer che ci aspettano ad Entebbe. Si parte con Lilly verso il nord. Destinazione Nakasongola dove si trova il Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, con 23 rinoceronti bianchi. Pernottiamo lì dopo averne visti due gruppi molto da vicino...
Nota: noi e i cugini chimps condividiamo il 98.7% del DNA. E' in quel 1.3% che stanno le guerre, i massacri, il capitalismo, la povertà, lo sfruttamento. Francamente ne farei molto volentieri a meno...