Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
IN THE MIDST OF THE GORILLAS
After we cross the border from Rwanda into the Democratic Republic of Congo, we arrive at the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, an area of mountains and forest and swamp, and we’re introduced to a local guide named John. He takes me for a walk that I will remember, I sincerely hope, for the rest of my life.
The air is still, humid. On all sides the trees press in, a thick wall of green. Occasionally an unseen bird calls. John stops suddenly, turns to point out something on the ground.
‘They’re here,’ he whispers, indicating discarded bamboo shoots. My nostrils pick up a scent, and anticipation raises the hair on my arms.
Moments later, John pushes through a curtain of foliage. My breath catches in the back of my throat. Tears spring into my eyes. I drop to my knees. ‘Meet Chimanuka and his family,’ John murmurs, and I sit, dumbfounded with delight, in the presence of 19 eastern lowland gorillas.
For a long while I simply watch the gorillas play and tussle, grooming each other or lazing and scratching. As we walk back to the road later, I am still trying to take in what I have seen. John tells me, ‘We need more tourists to come. This park used to bring in lots of tourists, and the revenue supported the people who live in the communities around the park. Communities like mine.
‘We are doing our best to keep the gorillas safe, to protect them from poaching, but when people have nothing they become desperate. That’s why we need the tourists to come back. To save the gorillas. To save us.’