All around us, the bushes were busy with gorillas. Their eyes, whether pale watery-brown or black, were bright and full of expression. Their thick glossy fur was immaculately clean despite the wet, muddy surroundings. A strange, not unpleasant smell pervaded the air and wafted up the slope behind them. The family group numbered 24, and was lead by a silverback, the dominant male whose back-hair, with maturity, takes on a sophisticated silvery-grey. He was well aware of our approach long before we had seen him. Before habituation to humans he would have risen on his legs and beaten his chest in warning.
Instead, he shot us withering glances as if to say ‘what a clumsy bunch you are’, and continued plucking and chewing leaves. His sense of superiority was overpowering: he literally looked us up and down and understandably disapproved of what he saw. There was no doubt that we, and the rest of our bloodthirsty race, merited his scorn but he tolerated our presence. Gorillas are gentle giants and he had learned that these daily humanoid visitors meant no harm.
From the book Freedom of the Skies
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Glimpses of the journey:
- Around the world
- Crossing the Atlantic
- Saint Louis, Senegal
- Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau
- Timbuktu, Mali
- Cottar’s Camp, Kenya
- Virungas National Park, Congo
- Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
- Sossusvlei, Namibia
- Lumbo, Mozambique
- Antananarivo Madagascar
- Adis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Misfat, Oman
- Jaipur, India
- Himalayas, Nepal
- Mae Hong Son, Thailand
- Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia
- Borobodur, Java, Indonesia
- Baliem Valley, Irian Jaya
- Gimbat, Australia
- Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands
- Hurricane in Apia, Western Samoa
- Anaa, Tuamotu, Polynesia
- Easter Island, Chile
- Crossing the Andes, Chile-Argentina
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
