A lie in this morning as we were transferring to Ngaga camp for the gorilla focussed part of the trip - we however opted for a 5.30 delivery of tea as we would be awake - there is nothing better than an unhurried cup of tea in bed in John's book. Imagine our surprise when the call came at 4.40am - Patrick, the assistant manager, had set his watch on by an hour and unperturbed by the lack of staff in the kitchen he set about the making and delivery himself....unluckily for us he forgot the milk so we didn't have any compensation for the early call! We heard the Austrians get their 6am call at 5am and then go for early showers - we had not succumbed but stayed lying in bed and listening to the wildlife! Justine called by an hour later apologising for the early call and asking if we wanted more tea ' yes, please but with milk this time thanks!' I replied. It was duly delivered and the day started properly. Before breakfast we went to the main deck and watched a herd of Forest buffalo come to the bai to graze; the flocks of green pigeons were again an amazing sight as they awoke from their roosts. We finally said our goodbyes to the staff staying behind and left Lango camp at 8ish. The final hurrah was seeing the red flash of a guinea turaco land in the trees close to the jeep just before we set off.
Travelling with us to the next camp were Nick, the overall manager, the chef and Patrick - each camp had the remainder of staff permanently with them.
Before leaving the national park we saw a black bellied bustard and a small dark brown 'guinea pig sized' mammal ( yet to be identified) cross the road. In different patches of forest we also heard unhabituated gorillas followed not long afterwards by chimpanzees.
We stopped at the Wilderness vegetable garden, for a drink and a snack, as we consumed them we spoke with the gardener and had a tour of the garden. He explained that he grows the crops organically - he is not however employed by Wilderness- so he learns business skills they have an arrangement whereby he sells the produce to them. As we arrived the chef was leaving with spinach and papaya......guess what's on the menu! We then drove through the small town of Mbomo - the air was filled with singing- then we remembered it was Sunday and it was coming from the churches. The small market was in full flow - the third aisle sold some bush meat - a controversial subject- but they have nothing else - the meat is usually duiker but can also be monkey. No longer do they sell gorilla; the reason being the Ebola outbreak several years ago when gorillas passed the disease through the food chain.......the conservancy lost 5000 gorillas during the outbreak. there is no doubt that the disease had severe outcomes for humans and gorillas alike.
As we went through the village, most people waved, especially the children and people responded very well to Stephanie - many of the men had initially had difficulty with the concept of women working in responsible jobs and were astonished to see a woman, not least a small (5 feet something) woman, driving a big jeep! She has however already started to see attitudes shift and has received a lot of support particularly from the women.......not least due to her personable style and ability to speak to them in French and answer their questions,
As we left Mbomo we were on the main road to Gabon which is nothing more than a track with some water filled dips - it must be a mud bath in the wet season. ( today's photo complete with gorilla warning sign.)
Along the road there was evidence of slash and burn to make clearings where manioc was grown for food and maize for wine.
We arrived at Ngaga at 1230, after lunch we settled into our new rooms - which had many similarities to Lango.
At 4pm we all met up for our 'gorilla trekking briefing' from Carl, the Americans guide, and Magda the researcher who has been working in the area for 17 years.
The habituated Jupiter group of gorillas get two visits a day for 2 days and then have 5 days off - not a bad balance! We were told that when we were within 7 metres we had to put on surgical masks on to prevent the spread of diseases, at the same time we put on nets to protect ourselves from the irritating but not harmful sweat bees who are only craving our moisture. Albeit Magda recommended waiting 10 minutes before taking photos so they get comfortable and come closer - that had to be interpreted loosely as was only possible if you were lucky enough to have a perfect sightings......which are not always possible as you are dealing with wildlife who don't always have your script!
The estimate is that there are 4 gorillas per sq km.....which seems a lot but it needs to remain at that level if the species is to thrive. Magda admitted that she used to be against tourism but realised that she was wrong and it was the only route to ensure the long term survival of the species.
At 5 pm we all walked down to the river for drinks before having dinner. There was much anticipation in the air as we all contemplated tomorrow's gorilla trek.