And you said I wasn't special....(posting from the road)

One of my main reasons for selecting this trip was the promise of getting a chance to see the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. What I thought would be a highlight of the trip turned out to be one of the best days of my life.

The day started early (I really should stop typing that - all days start early) as we piled into 4x4's and headed to Parc National de Volcans in Rwanda for the start of our trek. There are many rules that surround viewing the Rwandan gorillas, one of the first is that the group limit is 8. A rule strictly followed. The need for a hasty division meant that I ended up in a separate group from my travel partner Leila. Although initially sad, it all worked out beautifully in the end.

The ride up to the base of the volcano was one of the worst I have ever experienced, it was really just large rocks that had been removed from the fields dumped in a large pile. We bumped along this road, me sussing out my trekking group which included, among others, the Australian transvestite and the world's most negative woman. By the time we reached to troupe of gorillas our group had swelled to 17; 8 tourists, 2 guides, 2 armed guards, 4 trackers and 1 anti-poacher. This size of a group is a tricky thing to navigate through dense jungle with the threat of forest elephants, cape buffalo and poachers looming. It is amazing that the National Park pulls it off so flawlessly day after day.

Parc National de Volcans is home to 18 troops of habituated gorillas, approximately 70% of their total gorilla population. Eight of these troops are used for tourism and the other ten are strictly for research. EVERYTHING to do with the gorillas is strictly regulated. Tourists are permitted to only spend 60 min in their presence, and this is followed to the second - longer has been shown to cause the animals stress. No eating near the gorillas - they have never been exposed to any sort of processed foods. No loud noises or pointing as these can been interpret ted as threatening, an upset silverback would be an unfortunate sight. Following the direction of the guides at all times is mandatory - these guides actually make noises and communicate with these animals.

At all times ALL people are to remain 7 metres away from the gorillas (it turns out this is easier said then done) in order to prevent the spread of disease. Gorillas are genetically similar to us but have never been exposed to our illnesses - something as simple as a common cold could wipe out this species, so I am told. Well 7 metres in an open field is a simple thing to achieve, 7 metres in a jungle is hard when a family of 20 mountain gorillas are simply trying to go about this business. The guides are constantly trying to reposition the tourists to get good photos yet remain a safe distance.

There was another girl in my group that I haven't yet mentioned...her name is Wendy from Toronto. Wendy is great but a little on the clumsy side and doesn't always follow directions - this worked in my favour. We were about 30 min into our adventure and the guides were moving us to a different area, we were all to follow Patience but Wendy wanted to take a few more photos...so she was lingering on the narrow path snapping shots of a female gorilla over my shoulder. I was pressing her to move on simply so we did not get in trouble at all. As I mentioned, Wendy is clumsy, not saying that I am graceful gazelle but I do seem to remain upright more often then not. As we started to proceed down the vine covered path, Wendy became tangled and fell. I was assiting her when out of the corner of my eye I noted Lisinga, a 7 y.o. female gorilla starting to climb out of her tree.

I wish I could say I handled it calmly, instead, in a loud whisper I just kept saying "she's coming, she's coming" while trying to extricate Wendy. Then I felt a tug. I looked down and into the eyes of Lisinga who was gently tugging on my jacket. It seems she wanted to get by on the path where Wendy was sprawled. I gave her an apologetic look and frantically yanked Wendy upright. Lisinga seemed thankful and swiftly made her way down the path and out of sight.

There are no words to describe the incredible feeling that I had. Wendy took a photo of me - stating that I looked like a huge ball of excitement. The guards and guides rushed over upon hearing what had happened, curious to know the circumstances and wanting to ensure that I was fine. Once Lisinga was at my side I felt absolutely no fear. She was gentle and in no way threatening. I honestly believe she was simply trying to tell me to get the hell out of the way.

According to the guides it only occurs about twice a year that a gorilla gets close enough to touch a tourist - it certainly is not an ideal occurrence. Patience informed me that Lisinga must have chosen me because I was special...I just hope she doesn't contract some horrible illness and die now because of it...I would hate to be the one responsible for the destruction of a species...