‘A Congo Christmas’ continues

On day three, we left the Mara, as it’s commonly called, with mountain gorillas on the brain. Unfortunately for us, no one realized just how long four straight days on the truck would seem. Through the wisdom of experience, our trip leader had a well stocked crate of books to tide us over. That library saved our collective sanity. Constant reading had one other major benefit — the posture required to hold a book while sitting bolt upright helped to secure certain pieces of one’s anatomy from the painful effects of the largest potholes.

Of course, the final stretch of road leading to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC), was the worst. Just as we were nearing our goal, the road threw everything it had at us. Several passengers were popping Dramamine, and no one could read with all the shaking. But the next morning, all complaining ceased as the realization hit us: today was The Day.

Crossing the border into the DRC, we paused for a unique photo op. The welcome sign still read “Zaire.” Perhaps news of the overthrow of the ‘President for Life’ hadn’t yet reached this far-flung border post. After going through border formalities, we walked to the entrance of the Virunga National Park where we were separated into smaller groups, given guides, and assigned families. Just as I thought I was getting away from a family holiday.

Gorillas are social animals and live together as a family unit. These amazing creatures are extremely sensitive, and in order to keep the shock and discomfort of human contact to a minimum, large groups of tourists are divided and sent to track different families. The distance, both driving and hiking, that a group might expect to cover before seeing ‘their’ family varies, and there is no guarantee a group will even find their assigned family.

This is not a zoo. The animals are not confined, nor are they Lojacked — rangers do not tag the gorillas for visitors’ convenience. The park rangers track them the old fashioned way, and while they do their best to keep up, gorillas can move quickly and become ‘lost’ in the jungle.

That said, it is quite rare for a group to hike and find nothing. Though gorillas can travel through large territory in a given day, park rangers are adept at tracking their movements and know the general area a family is in at any given time. While groups are being organized at the park entrance, rangers and trackers are already in the mountains, establishing the gorillas’ overnight movements and catching up with them. By keeping in radio contact, trackers communicate with the guides, and hikers eventually find their way through the bush to their designated family.

My group climbed into a surprisingly well-maintained Land Cruiser, and we were off on our adventure. The beginning of the drive was a buzz of excited talk. We were thrilled to be in the Congo, actually on our way to seeing some of the rarest animals on the planet. Anticipation kept the conversation rolling. I can’t recall a single topic we discussed that morning, but I remember every ounce of excited energy quivering through me.

After we traveled for what we felt was a good hour and a half, our driver pulled over where a footpath met the road and told us this was our trailhead. We piled out of the Land Cruiser ready to run up the mountain. According to past reports, most sightings occur within 30 to 60 minutes of the start of the hike. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining without the intense heat so common in Central Africa, the humidity was low, and it appeared to be the perfect day for an hour’s easy hike through the Congolese jungle.

I had no idea what I was in for.

(Read the continuation of A Congo Christmas in a future edition of Pinch.)