East Africa Day 15 & 16 - Chimpanzee Trekking & the Journey Home

This morning we woke up early to go chimpanzee trekking. Chimpanzee trekking is really a bonus. When we were planning this trip we knew we wanted to go gorilla trekking. As we talked to the tour company, chimpanzee trekking came up and we decided, since we were going to be in Uganda, we might as well do it. We are glad we did - it was awesome. 

In the morning we had a short drive to the briefing center. The briefing was similar to the gorilla trek briefing. They gave us some background on the park, provided information on chimpanzees, and went over the rules. They also level set our expectations. They told us there is a 90%+ chance we would see chimpanzees, but it is not guaranteed. Additionally, they told us some people see many chimps and some people only see a couple. Some people will see chimps on the ground and some will only see chimps high in the trees. You cannot predict nature so there is no way to know what the experience will be like. 

Similar to gorillas we were trekking to a habituated group. Chimpanzees live in groups, rather than families. There can be as many as 100 chimps in a group. In Kibale there are more than 20 groups of chimps. 5 of these groups have been habituated. 2 of the 5 have been habituated for tourism and the remaining 3 are for research. One difference between chimps trekking and gorilla trekking was that there were more people going chimpanzee trekking than gorilla trekking. This is primarily because there are multiple starting points for gorilla trekking (and multiple families to observe) and one starting point for chimpanzee trekking. There were about 20-25 of us. All of us were going to see the same group, but they split us into smaller groups and we were each assigned a ranger guide. Once we got going each smaller group would head out on its own. 

Alison and I were assigned to a group with two women from Canada. Our guide was named Gordon. Before we really set off he went over a few additional ground rules. He explained that the gun he carried was for our protection from elephants, snakes, or any other potentially dangerous situation we might encounter. In most situations he would just shoot it in the air to startle any dangerous animals. He told us we should keep our eyes peeled for fresh chimpanzee dung, fresh nests, or fresh knuckle prints in the dirt. We were also listening for the chimps so we had to be quiet and speak in low tones. 

Then we were off. This forest is a little different than Bwindi. It is less dense and the climate is warmer. Each group headed a different direction down one of the many trails to see if we could find chimpanzees. Since the forest wasn’t as dense there were rough trails to follow. This made the hiking a little easier. 15-20 minutes into the hike we took a 2 minute break. We drank water and Alison and I put our rain coats in our bag. It was hot and humid and the rain coats only made it feel hotter. While we were taking our break we spotted a couple of red tailed monkeys playing in a tree above us. There are 13 primate species in Kibale National Park. While our primary objective is chimpanzees we were on the lookout for all primate species. 

We were only hiking for a few more minutes when we heard quite a commotion up ahead. Gordon picked up the pace heading toward the sound. A few moments later we saw a chimp through the trees. We were the first group to find the chimps. Then we noticed they were all around us. They were screaming and screeching and running through the forest. It is both exhilarating and terrifying to stand in the forest surrounded by screaming Chimps. Chimps move fast and can be quite active. When we first saw them I wondered if I would even get decent pictures. They were often hiding in he dense forest or moving quickly through the underbrush. At first I wasn’t confident I would be able to take any good pictures of the chimps. They were moving so fast and hiding behind so much foliage that focusing and getting a clear shot was extremely difficult. Even once we eventually found some chimps sitting still focus was a relative challenge. Lighting in the forest is not ideal. Plus I was wearing a mask (we wore a mask around the chimps to protect them from Covid and other communicable diseases) so my camera viewfinder would often fog up. I did my best and took many photos with the hope that a few would turn out. As a result I took the most photos of any day of the trip today. 

Before long we came upon a chimp sitting near a tree. We stood nearby and took a few photos. Then suddenly the chimp charged toward us. The guide grabbed my arm signaling me to stay still. The chimp ran up to us and ran in a circle around our group before running off into the forest. 

We continued hiking through the forest stopping anytime we came upon chimps. We saw lots of chimps on the ground. Many were lounging or grooming. We stopped and admired these great apes. We also saw a few high up in the trees. 

Look at that baby chimp

We kept hiking and spotting chimps. Technically we were only supposed to spend an hour with the chimps, but we observed them for closer to two hours. They are magnificent creatures. We found the alpha male grooming and then we followed him at a distance until he stopped and he enjoyed some fruit on the ground. It was awesome!

Look at those teeth!

The alpha male

We were following (from a distance) one particular chimp. He was moving through the forest and was completely unconcerned about our presence. Then suddenly our guide noticed Alison’s legs were covered with ants. She began brushing them off while our guide instructed us to check ourselves. I also had a bunch of ants on me and so did another girl in our group. This is why we tucked our pants into our socks. It kept most of the ants on the outside of our clothing. Otherwise we would have had a bunch of ants in our pants. Their bites are quite unpleasant too. It took a few minutes but we got the ants cleared. 

Eventually our time with the chimps came to an end. We hiked back through the forest. Near the entrance to the forest Gordon stopped  our group and taught us more about chimp behavior. He also told us we saw 10 different chimps on the ground and maybe 25 or more up in the trees. He also gave us each a certificate commemorating our successful tracking of chimpanzees. 

When the chimps started flipping us off we knew it was time to go. 

In some areas there were those old rotting paths. We mostly avoided them, but they made for an interesting picture. 

There were some baboons hanging out near the visitors center. 

Then Alison and I got into our safari vehicle and Brian drove us back to Kampala. We drove for about an hour and got lunch and then drove for another 4 hours.

Shortly after we finished trekking Alison received an email with our Covid results. We were both negative. That means we can go home tonight. We didn’t think we would test positive, but you never know. One of our worst case scenarios would have been to test positive on this test and have to stay in Uganda for 10+ more days. Fortunately that did not happen. Despite all of the complexities added to this trip because of Covid we pulled it off. 

We arrived back in Kampala and went to the headquarters for the tour company we used. Their headquarters double as a hotel - The Express View Inn. We stayed here on our first night in Uganda. It is really kind of a dump. However, they were able to give us a room for a couple of hours so that we could shower and repack our bags. This was great. Alison was so grateful for the shower she wasn’t even mad they didn’t have hot water and we took cold showers. 

At 8pm Brian drove us to the airport. We made it through the health checks and immigration and boarded our flight bound for the Netherlands. 9ish hours later we landed in Amsterdam. We had a few hours until our next flight so we checked the KLM lounge to relax and eat some food while we waited. Then came the final leg of our journey home. We flew direct from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City. We even were upgraded to Delta One so we had room to spread out. A little over 8 hours later and we were back in Utah. 

We were happy to be home. This trip was amazing. Truly one of our all-time favorite trips, but after more than two weeks away we were ready to come home. We were excited to sleep in our bed and to be with our animals. A few days after we came home we took another Covid test (number 9 for this trip). It came back negative. We pulled it off - we went on an amazing adventure to Africa and we did it without catching Covid. 

Pictures taken today: 2,815