In early March of 2020, we flew into the Central African Republic (CAR), looking for adventure in the vast equatorial Congo basin region of Dzanga Sangha Special Reserve. It was a 10-day expedition designed to trek and search for western lowland gorillas, forest elephant, giant forest hog, endangered bongo antelope, the likes of which one can only find in this remote region.  It was also a cultural immersion in that we had the opportunity to traditionally net-hunt for blue duiker with the Baka people (also known as the Bayaka), whose hunter-gatherer forest culture has endured for over 40,000 years.

Trekking for lowland gorillas in CAR is still really pioneer stuff in my opinion. Moving through thick forest and riddled with sweat bees, one must wear an insect head net at this time year for these harmless yet water-sucking irritants to stay out of one’s eyes, ears and nostrils. Wherever there is moisture in your body, the sweat bees will go!

I digress. The gorilla family that we were tracking were also fairly unhabituated, and thus our senses were heightened when we set off to find them. After a good 2 hours of walking through the Bai-Hokou range of Dzanga Sangha we achieved our goal and ‘found’ the group. Or rather, the silverback, Mata, from the group found us first.

Meaning ‘next of kin’ or ‘successor’ in the Aka language, Mata was estimated at 32 years of age at the time. In terms of western lowland gorilla behaviour, Mata was atypically caring for his offspring. As a result, he immediately started thrashing through bushes and charging towards us – all 155 plus kilograms of him! The charging and screaming persisted as we slowly backed away until eventually, they settled. Even though our presence had been established, I still had the sense to not overstay our welcome. Respectfully, we kept our distance and spent just over 45 minutes with the group before leaving them in peace for the rest of the day.

I was fortunate enough to get some of the best gorilla photographs that I have ever taken, considering the conditions and circumstances that we were facing. Sadly, on the early morning August 31, 2022, one of the Danzga Special Reserve tracking teams found the body of the lifeless Mata Silverback. The cause of death is still uncertain. Nonetheless, the tracking team feels that he may have fallen out of a tree due to the fractures found on his legs and limbs. To this day I look at the portraits I captured of him with a wistful and sad nostalgia.

Following on from our Gorilla trek we spent two full days in the famous platform of the famous Dzanga Bai. This natural forest clearing/opening is comprised of sedges, grasses, and aquatic vegetation. It is also an area where hundreds of forest elephants frequent daily. To get to the Bai, one must walk through the forest for around an hour. This beautiful walk and build-up allows one to tune into the surroundings of the undisturbed Congo Basin, whilst being ‘grounded’ from the feet to the earth. Eventually, the forest opens to the heavens and the feeling of being able to breathe again calms the soul.

Forest elephants, being incredibly shy by nature, makes traditional viewing nearly impossible to achieve. The Dzanga Bai platform allowed us to sit comfortably and quietly while we observed these silent giants going about their daily routine, all the while being largely oblivious to our presence.

We also had the fortune of finding other equatorial mammalian rarities. A large herd of bongo were in the Bai to meet us upon our second return. Several giant forest hog moved in and out during the course of the day, too, with the above-mentioned species being quite an enigma to me, in that I only ever thought that I read about such a species and would not actually ever find them!

As a result, our expedition into the Congo Basin was just as I had imagined. We were lost to the rest of world while we mindfully took in the faunal and floral splendour that I still marvel at as I write this. Meanwhile, outside of the forest bubble world that we were in at the time, the rest of the world was shutting down.

I have titled this article “The Great Escape” as we will all remember what happened globally around March 15-18, 2020. As the chain reaction began with the cancellation of all international flights, the fear of not being able to get back to my wife and then 13-month-old son started to consume me. H. P. Lovecraft sums it up perfectly;

‘The older and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.’

In hindsight, the universe was in our favour. We managed to get the last charter flight out of Bayanga into Bangui (the capital) and then the final set departure to Nairobi, where I had to connect back to Johannesburg, South Africa. I am not sure if the latter was the last flight, but when I landed at 1am, it sure felt like the last. It was initially a great escape into an unknown wilderness that was there for us to explore.

Post-COVID, the Central African Republic was one of the last countries to open up to international flights. If I had I missed that flight on March 12, 2020, it would have been nearly a year before I would have been able to get back home. Paradoxically, the expedition ended with my escape to get back to my family and my world.