We were at the main lodge by 6:15 for tea and muffins and headed out for our chimp trekking at Kyambura Gorge at 6:30am. We had pre-booked the permits, but likely didn't need to as it doesn't look like it's a popular excursion, although it should be on people's lists.
There was an Australian couple that joined us for the trek. After registering, we drove to about midway parallel to the gorge. The guide got out, listened for the chimps talking, and then we drive a short distance further before starting the trek.
Our guide gave us a quick briefing - most importantly, stay together to avoid being killed by lions, chimpanzees, elephants or hippos.
It was an easy five minute walk down to the river that bisects the gorge. The guide pointed out chimp droppings, half-eaten figs and footprints that he used to locate the chimps. There's also a fermented fruit that makes the chimps drunk and disorderly, and more dangerous.
We crossed a bridge over the river and then walked a few minutes south, at which point we had our first spotting of chimps. Unfortunately they were in the treetops crossing over to the opposite side of the river. Our guide said we could try to backtrack to the bridge, but then the chances were that the chimps would then just cross over again. He thought the bridge was our bet so we hurried back and then walked south to the chimps.
We were in luck as the chimps stayed on the same side of the river as us. We almost immediately spotted the dominant male on the ground, on the path in front of us! Then there was a big commotion and chimps making loud noises to figure out where they were going to feed today. They burst right past us on the path - we stepped aside and stood still and they ignored us - but it was very cool and a little scary for some to have the chimps so close! They are much bigger than I had imagined - upright they would be about as tall as me, with more weight. In the trees they look small and cute, but when they're whipping past you and talking to each other at a high volume, they look much bigger.
We tracked them to a fig tree where we observed about 6 - 10 chimps in the tree branches above us over the next 90 minutes. There's no time limit - it was based more on our arms getting tired from holding a camera up for that long :)
The pictures were just as challenging as taking pictures of gorillas. It's low light, with a bright sky in the background, and manual focus is a necessity.
On the way back out of the gorge we saw a red-tailed monkey and some olive baboons. It was a much easier trek than the gorilla trek - I'd rate today's as easy.
It's an hour drive back to Mweya and along the drive we saw elephants and other game, but no leopards or lions. Also got some cool pics of fishermen as we crossed the Kazinga Channel.
We had no other excursions today, and spent the afternoon relaxing, our first down time in a while. Saw some hippos and crocodiles across the channel, and some pretty birds (Heather may become an ornithologist yet).
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