It's Chimp O'Clock

My travel companion is certain: this is the first time in our lives that we will see wild chimpanzees. He has arranged a meet-up with a conservationist called Matthew, who has been recommended to us by several wildlife specialists. When we are nearing his ‘Kigaju Chimpanzee Forest’, Matthew gives us a call: he will be slightly late, because of the burial of his father.

That’s not keeping us from going into the forest, as Matthew’s colleague Innocent is already waiting for us in a small plot that has seen better days. Our driver Emma (short for Emmanuel) leaves us to get some gas in a nearby village. Innocent explains that there is a 97.7% chance that we will see our ‘closest relatives’ today: normally, people do a hike of around two hours and most of the times, they will see chimps, he says.

Innocence looks for chimpanzees in the Kijagu Forest

The shy Innocent takes us through a field that leads to the entrance of Kigaju Forest. Before we enter the forest, he warns us for safari ants: if you don’t put your trousers in your socks, you will have the biting little insects all over your body, giving you painful little nibbles. He then points to the plants around us, which are planted on the edge of the forest: Matthew had planted mangos, jackfruit and sugar cane next to the forest to keep the chimpanzees content and inside his grounds.

It's not Chimp O'Clock just yet..

We take the Royal Iguru Trail into the 46 acres large forest. We are walking through muddy paths, are looking at nearly every tree and although we do spot some baboons and squirrels, there is no sight of any chimpanzee - we can’t even hear any sound that suggests that the animals are around. The only thing that points to the existence of the animals, Innocent says, are the nests that are built high up in the trees.

After four hours of trekking, we take a break on the forest floor

It’s strange that we haven’t seen or heard anything, forest owner Matthew agrees when we meet him after a four hour hike. Especially in the morning, he says, the animals can usually be spotted. We now have to decide if we come back later on, or if we will head on with our Uganda road trip. We decide to keep to our schedule and get back to the car. When we walk out of the forest gate, a sign says: ‘If you have not seen me, I have missed you!’

Leaving Kijagu Forest

Our driver Emma, who came back from the village, tells us that someone at the gas station has told him that there are no chimpanzees in the forest at all, but we don’t want to believe the rumours. We do decide that before we get to Bwindi, we have to stop at another forest, to see if we can find the apparently quite elusive chimpanzees.

And so we arrive at Kalinzu Forest Reserve, which is located between Lutoto and Ishaka, to yet again try our chimp trekking luck. On arrival, our guide Frankline promises us a 98 percent chance of seeing chimpanzees. That should have made is optimistic, but we’ve heard that phrase before..

Frankline uses her phone to keep in touch with other trackers, who are looking for chimps elsewhere in the forest

The forest is quite dense, but the pathways are clear and our walk into the Kalinzu Forest feels like a stroll in the park. With 40 US Dollars, the entrance fee at Kalinzu is significantly lower than the more popular chimpanzee forests of Kibale, where a ticket costs you 110 US Dollars. Another perk is that the park is less than an hour’s drive from the entrance gate of the majestic Queen Elizabeth National Park, so a chimp visit can easily be combined with a safari.

Frankline starts explaining about the chimpanzees, who she and her colleagues have given names. But then she stops, mid-sentence. “Did you hear that?” she asks us. To be honest, we didn’t hear anything, but we become super excited when she says: “these were the sounds that chimpanzees make. Let’s go this way.” Then, she continues her story: “we name the chimps as soon as they become 12 years old. By then, you can see recognisable features in their skin, fur and face.”

We meet some baboons, who are not impressed. And although we are a little intimidated and/or impressed, they are not the animals we came to meet. Where are the chimps?

We are now walking as fast as we did during our first chimp trek morning in Kigaju - this will be our chance to spot some of Kalinzu’s chimp inhabitants! Frankline tells us that Kalinzu isn’t only the home base for over 220 Chimpanzees, but that there are also over 350 different species of birds flying around us. Sometimes, one can even spot a leopard. “Around seventy of the chimps have been habituated by Japanese researchers,” she also tells us, “which means that 70 chimpanzees are used to human visitors.”

Can you spot Victor?!

Then, after a twenty-minute walk and several phone calls with other trackers in the forest, Frankline points up one of the many gigantic trees. “That’s Victor,” she says. Victor is comfortable, high up in the tree, but is constantly looking at his wazungu visitors. It’s hard to take a good picture of the chimp, and after a short while we are surrounded by other visitors who are taking pictures of our pictures. Although Victor will be the only chimpanzee we will see during our two chimp treks, we are thrilled - how many times in a lifetime can one meet our ‘closest relatives’ in the wild?!

Victor remains high up in the tree, looking at his wazungu visitors

Hoi! My name is Joost Bastmeijer, and I’m a Dutch freelance travel writer and photojournalist currently traveling through Africa. Check out my photos on Instagram at instagram.com/joostbastmeijer, or visit my website to see some more of my work: joostbastmeijer.com!