This feeling that I had to get close to gorillas in the wild began more than 25 years ago when we took our daughter to the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. I stared through the glass. One looked at me, and our souls connected. It was magical.
Then last fall, I traveled to the recently opened Volcanoes Safari Kibale Lodge in Uganda. I rejoiced then recoiled. Could I manage the trip physically as a woman over 60, clumsy, chunky — and no Olympian? To prepare, I spent the summer walking in the park and working out in the gym.
Are you, too, someone who has dreamt of going face-to-face with gorillas, the stockiest and largest of great apes, with broad chests and human-like hands? Other lodges to consider for gorilla-sightings and safari tours include Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge and Buhoma Lodge.
A voyage to Africa to see gorillas and other spectacular wildlife certainly isn’t cheap. Although if this is on your bucket list as you age, like it was on mine, it’s worth saving up and having the trip of a lifetime.
My concerns about the trip evaporated when situated in my banda (cottage) at the lodge that sits atop a ridge with swooping views of the Rwenzori Mountains, Queen Elizabeth plains and the Kazinga Channel. It wasn’t just the scenery. As a Black woman, there’s something special about being in Africa and connecting with my roots.
I had the opportunity to chat with chimpanzee primatologist Emily Otali, who shared insights into the world of chimps. “A chimpanzee making a pant-grunt sound is a subordinate communicating to a dominant chimpanzee,” she said, pointing out that this is not a mating call. Although it was interesting to hear that older female chimpanzees are perceived as attractive and males mate with them more frequently than with younger females. I also learned that half of a chimpanzee’s day is spent foraging for food and then chewing.
Arriving in the Kibale Forest, we walked and climbed through foliage so thick and tall you practically had to swim through it. Between slippery mud, hills, fallen trees and steep inclines, I was clearly challenged, though laced with adrenaline for what I was about to see — chimpanzees!
