Coming face to face with the undisputed 'King of Great Apes' must rate as the premium primate experiences on Planet Earth. And if you want the best gorilla trekking in #Africa, you can't beat #VolcanoesNP in #Rwanda. Here's the deal, though: to interact with 'gorilla beringei beringei' - the endangered Western highland gorilla - you must first conquer stinging nettles & giant bamboo forests. Our Dunlop Tyres SA #BeyondTheRiftValley Crew were allocated to the #Agashaya Group, named for their eponymous alpha male. Extensive rainforests here on the border with #uganda and #DRC provide sanctuary to 20x groups, 12 of which have been habituated for #ecotourism . First contact was with Agashya himself; the huge #silverback blocked entry into a small clearing, where he snacked on bamboo while contentedly harrumphing. We only had 1hr, and 60min blurred into a time warp of soulful stares, sub-sonic stomach rumbles, contented belly sighs, the crunch of bamboo shoots (and the occasional gorilla fart). Somehowour time with these gentle apes passed in an instant before they faded into their bamboo shadow lands. Rwanda boasts a rich & diverse primate species counts, and unique experiences with golden macaques, Angolan colobus & chimpanzees are also on the cards in #nyungwe and #gishwati. It's impossible to put into words one's emotions while connecting with creatures sharing 98% of our DNA, trying to comprehend that we homo sapiens are slowly but surely destroying their habitat & thus driving them towards certain extinction. Samahani, Rwanda. I am sorry. And I hope that future generations - with the help of organizations like Children in the Wilderness - will be better custodians of our tiny blue planet π #DunloptyresSA #IsuzuSA #frontrunnerza #HiTecSA #WildernessSafaris #SpotAfrica #GiantRSA #BeanThereCoffee #DripDropSA #TakeItOn #Taketheroad #vagabondkayaks #WithYouForTheLongRun #BornToRoam #InspiredByLife #goanywhere #ChildrenInTheWilderness #citw #doingitforthechildren (at Rwanda) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoyeQ9JlVai/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1q7ftnas8c2vp
