We watched as she cradled him in her arms. When he’d attempt to hobble in our direction, she’d reach for his leg to gently pull him back. And once he got a little restless and attempted to scale her head, she plucked him off and set him on the ground. As someone with young nieces and nephews, I couldn’t help but laugh. Because if you, too, are surrounded by children, you can relate to how tiresome it is to keep up with their energy and antics. By that same virtue, it’s amazing just how universal motherhood (or in my case, aunthood) is.
Just as our 60 minutes were coming to an end (each gorilla family gets one set of visitors per day for one hour), the mother turned her back to us like clockwork, telling us it was time to head out. As I made my way through the low-lying bushes, a blackback decided to take a break from his snack time and walked directly past me. All of these moments combined felt like a fever dream, and on our way out as red-tailed monkeys hopped between canopies, Saidi asked if we were ready for another trek. Not today, of course, but yes, I was chomping at the bit for the next day’s outing.
Photo: Courtesy of Abercrombie & Kent
Photo: Courtesy of Abercrombie & Kent
While gorilla trekking is undoubtedly the key attraction here, Gorilla Forest Lodge also offers other outdoor activities like birding (over 350 species) and waterfall hikes, along with cultural immersions with the Batwa and Bakiga communities. While I had hoped to partake in the latter, my plans were thwarted when it began to pour as we approached the lodge. So instead, I sat down with a hotel team member to learn more about Abercrombie & Kent’s philanthropic arm. Beyond employing locals, the company makes a concerted effort to positively impact the community. In Bwindi, that comes in the form of expanding the local primary school and supporting 15 other schools, providing safe drinking water with LifeStraw-filtered tanks, and giving scholarships and resources to the nearby nursing school.
The next morning called for another trek, and we were assigned Saidi once more. To my surprise, it was an even shorter hike than the day before, but this time we were surrounded by the wild jungle. This silverback, Kavuyo, was being groomed by a female while six other gorillas were munching on leaves in the treetops. There was a Tarzan moment as one swung down a vine. The stark contrast of settings created an entirely different experience that had me curious what other treks could look like. But at last, this was our final day, and we returned to the lodge to unwind by the fire pit, recounting the last couple of days to the tunes of a live harp.
On our final day, we departed before the crack of dawn, and unexpected road work led us to take the long way around. Truly the scenic route, we passed by the same mountains we saw the days before on our way to the gorillas. As we chased sunrise, the sky shifted from a pastel pink to a bright orange. I looked out the window in awe one last time, with flashbacks of the gorillas and the community that makes this all possible running through my mind. And all I could hope was that one day, I would be lucky enough to return.