Anna in Africa: "Gorillas in the Mist"

A few weeks ago I was able to finally see the famous Rwandan mountain gorillas. I have been in Rwanda almost a year now and have had to hear so many short-term visitors rave about what an amazing experience it is….yet I never took the initiative to experience it for myself (plus it is $500). We have had several free permits offered to our group, but I have never been able to go due to other commitments. Finally I was able to take someone up on the offer and see the most famous tourist attraction in Rwanda. The ONE Campaign, Bono’s anti-poverty initiative, came to Rwanda a few weeks ago with a group of college students from around the US. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter was supposed to come with the group but ended up cancelling last minute, so I was able to use her gorilla permit:) My permit officially says “Katherine Schwarzenegger”.
The Virunga Mountains in Rwanda, Congo, and Uganda are the only area in the world where the mountain gorillas live. There are about 700 mountain gorillas remaining, and 350 of those live in Rwanda. They are probably most well known due to the research and publicity by Dian Fossey, whom the book and movie "Gorillas in the Mist" is based on. The gorillas live an interesting life, as they just move up and down the mountains eating, sleeping, and being visited by tourists.

The "man" of the group...Mr. Silverback himself.

The experience was definitely worthy of all that I have heard about it for the past year. After hiking up in the Virunga Volcanoes for a couple hours, we finally arrived at our family of gorillas, the Amahoro Family. We spent an hour following and observing the gorillas in their natural habitat. These massive animals walked among us, touched us, smiled at us, performed for us, and just hung out with us. We even had a little excitement in our group. As one silverback gorilla (the largest and the dominant male of the pack) was making his way past us, he just reached out and grabbed the girl next to me, taking her with him. He wasn’t trying to hurt her; it seemed he just wanted to play with her. After the initial shock, I quickly reacted and grabbed her arm to pull her back and away from her suitor. Real live King Kong!

Family time.
Just hanging out with the gorillas.
In the jungle!