Gorillas Jan 2020: Chimpanzee Tracking

13 January

After lunch at Bush Lodge we drove to Isunga Lodge in Kibale National Park. Just when we thought our accommodations couldn't get better, we were welcomed at beautiful Isunga by owner Gerard, 3 dogs and a tree full of Village Weaver birds. We chose a rest over the village tour. The food was really good at Isunga too.

14 January

Another early start and after breakfast we were off to Kibale National Park for our Chimpanzee tracking. Our guide was the delightful Jessica. She's been working at Kibale for 10 years and her knowledge is great.

The walking here is easy compared to Bwindi. After about 15 minutes we found the chimpanzees. They were hanging out in the canopy about 15 - 20m above us, eating fruit.

A few of the females were on heat so we watched the courting and flirting. Chimpanzees, unlike gorillas practise confused paternity. She mates with up to 20 of the males in the troop so that none of them know who the father is and everyone raises the young as their own. At 11am, when it got too hot at the top of the trees, they started descending in ones and twos and spreading out a bit on the forest floor to wait for the others.

We had great sightings for about half a hour with various chaps just hanging around. At times they'd yell to each other and when everyone was ready they moved off towards the water.

Humans share 98.6% of our DNA with Chimpanzees, our closest relatives. It was a privilege to see them in their natural habitat and tourism provides revenue to keep the conservation efforts going.

15 January

Our first chance to sleep in and enjoy breakfast at 8am. Isunga does the best smashed avo and poached eggs I have ever tasted. And I've tried them in many places on our planet! It's probably due in part to the fresh and locally grown food you get in Uganda.

We had a long drive back to Kigali.

We had an early supper at Chez Lando and then it was off to the airport. Our flight departed at 10.30pm, which meant arrival in Johannesburg at 2.30am. Another sleepless night but oh, so worth it!