I have had a love of gorillas as far back as I can remember. I have recollections of being in primary school and being obsessed with books on gorillas and constantly drawing pictures of them.

The thought of seeing mountain gorillas in the wild was such a distant dream that it was equal to someone telling me I would win the lottery. As luck would have it, personal circumstances changed a few years ago and this made that dream become a reality.

I found a trip to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas. I chose this particular trip as a contribution of my payment was being made to the The Gorilla Organization.

My trip was for a week in 2005 and I would like to say it changed my life but more accurately, I think it has brought back all the enthusiasm I had from childhood.

Before we saw the gorillas, we went to see Dian Fossey’s grave. After hours of hiking, we got to Karisoke and to the gorilla cemetery where she is buried alongside her favourite gorilla, Digit. The area is very atmospheric and seeing the graves was deeply moving.

After that we had 3 days of gorilla trekking. Before every trek we were briefed on the protocol around visiting mountain gorillas, which is vital to their (and our) safety. To see the gorillas means walking or crawling through all sorts of dense vegetation in the forests of the Virungas National Park, which also means you cannot see far ahead.

Before we saw the gorillas we could smell them… the sudden realisation that they are so close we can smell their odour is exhilarating, exciting and something that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

We saw three gorilla groups altogether named the Susa, Amahoro and Sabyinyo groups, each headed by a magnificent silverback, Kurira, Ubumwe and Guhonda respectively. Each group had a healthy population of gorillas and we were lucky enough to see most of them.

Watching them interact with each other, grooming, eating and keeping a watchful eye out for the babies was a sight to behold. I will never forget a baby stealing a bamboo shoot from Ubumwe, which meant that we had to very quickly get out of the way as he walked past to retrieve it (You do not get in the way of a silverback!).

I also had the pleasure of seeing Poppy, a distinguished older gorilla who was named by Dian Fossey and is mentioned in Gorillas In The Mist. This was like meeting a rock star! But for me, the highlight was seeing the very impressive 500 lb Guhonda. We watched him watching us. He then stood up and beat his chest and to say my heart leaped into my mouth was an understatement! He moved away, followed by his family, one of the babies tumbling along the ground in play.

As the trip gave me a year’s membership to The Gorilla Organization, I started looking at their newsletters and website. Being reminded how painfully few mountain gorillas are left, how glorious they are in their natural habitat and how tragic it would be to lose them has spurned me onto continuing my membership with The Gorilla Organization and to also do the Great Gorilla Run.

I did my first gorilla run in 2006 and have just completed my 4th this year. I intend to be a lifelong member of The Gorilla Organization.

I cannot comprehend not doing something to help sustain the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, and just as importantly, helping the rangers and guides  who are magnificent in their own right for their genuine love and appreciation of the apes in their care.

I hope to go back again one day to visit the mountain gorillas – the world is a sweeter place with them in it.

Written by Betul Al-Bassam

Gorilla photos taken by Betul Al-Bassam

Great Gorilla Run 2009 photo taken by The Gorilla Organization