Report from the Gorilla Trek

MM Own­er Mark Gun­log­son has sent word from the Goril­la Trek fol­low­ing the Moun­tains of the Moon Expe­di­tion.

He reports hav­ing had an ​“incred­i­ble time” with the goril­las in the Bwin­di Impen­e­tra­ble For­est, where the group saw every­thing from babies to the Sil­ver­back leader.

View across the Bwin­di Impen­e­tra­ble For­est. Mark Gun­log­son photo

A young goril­la in Bwin­di. MM file photo

Sil­ver­back goril­la. Mark Gun­log­son photo

Fol­low­ing the Goril­la Trek, the team vis­it­ed a small com­mu­ni­ty of Bat­wa Pygmys. When the for­est became a nation­al park and World Her­itage Site in 1992, the tribe was removed from its home in an effort to pro­tect the habi­tat of the goril­las. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, the Bat­wa — who had lived in the for­est for thou­sands of years — had no title to the land, and con­se­quent­ly became exiles with­out compensation. 

Vis­it­ing the local school. Mark Gun­log­son photo

Mark with the Bat­wa Pygmys. Mark Gun­log­son photo

Mark’s final dis­patch was a view of the Nile riv­er from his bun­ga­low, which he plans to kayak before catch­ing a late flight home.

Nile view from the bun­ga­low. Mark Gun­log­son photo