Searching for the lost chimps of Kyambura Gorge

We set off early in the morning for a beautiful hike to the Kyambura Gorge headquarters. We hiked right from the lodge until we reached the elephant trench - a trench built around the lodge grounds to keep elephants from being able to enter. 

On the other side of the trench, we met Ruth. She was our ranger for the day, leading us and protecting us from any potentially dangerous wildlife encounters (elephants, lions, hippos…). 
The scenery was beautiful, with elephants in the distance, as we made our way to the gorge headquarters. Here, we checked in to the national park and enjoyed a view of the gorge we were about to explore.

A chimpanzee tracker joined us and we drove to the area on the rim where he thought we would be most successful at encountering the chimps.  From here, we began our slippery, muddy journey down into the gorge. 

Ruth led the way as we trekked up and down the sides of the gorge, keeping an eye out for knuckle prints or chimp droppings. We hiked for a few hours, searching in vain. 
Finally, the tracker spotted a chimpanzee, resting in the trees above us. Then another baby with its mother moving through the canopy nearby. We were hopeful that this would mean more chimps were in the area, but sadly, these were the only 3 we encountered, and they remained hidden up in the canopy, far away from us. 

We spent about a half hour waiting here before we continued through the gorge, hoping for better luck. While we did not encounter any more chimps, we were lucky to be serenaded by the hippos who live in the river at the bottom of the gorge.

As we made our way along the river, their bellows filled the air, letting us know that they were not far off. We were able to see several family pods at a close distance, so at least our morning was not a total loss on the wildlife front!

(For better chimpanzee viewing, I suggest planning 2 chimp treks and/or planning a visit to Kibale instead.)