Tuesday - Part 3

The gorillas continued to move fairly quickly, as they often do, but we were determined to follow them beyond the swamp and into the jungle.  The last impediment was an open path of water created by elephants, where there was no vegetation to stand on.  We simply had to swim across this area, or find a way around it, making sure our equipment remained safe.  I followed our guide, who wisely chose not to swim in the stinky soup.

It took us a good 45 minutes before we were back on solid ground.  Our trackers worked to locate the gorillas again.  This time they found the group in a very dark and secluded part of the jungle, and by the time we reached them, they were already moving towards another swamp.  Not again!

Luckily, the group stayed close enough so we could capture footage while perched atop some fallen trees, as our primate friends fed on reeds, shoots and marsh leaves. We spent as much time as was allowed, one hour total, before heading back to the research base - where the staff was highly amused at the site of my underwear protruding from the gaping hole in my pants.  I told them a silverback male and I got into a little skirmish. 

We realized just how fortunate we were to have seen this gorilla group.  It turns out no one, other than us, has spent any time with them for at least a month.  This may very well be the highlight of our trip.