Sadly, our expedition to photograph Lowland Gorillas and Bonobos is over and we are back in London. A real adventure. Highlights?
:) The Western Lowland Gorilla treks at Mondika in the Republic of Congo. The terrain was flat and hence the trekking was not as tough as Uganda or Rwanda (mountain gorillas). The jungle was pretty thick with wonderful trees. This made photography very tough though as it was almost dark. Our ISOs were set at a minimum of 800 (as per the shot below) but usually up to 5,000-6,400. We trekked with our 600mm and 500mm lenses and were rewarded with some really nice images. Toughest shooting conditions ever though!
:) One of our "transfers" was by a pirogue paddled by a couple of guys who navigated through a landscape that has not changed for thousands of years. We really felt like explorers, not seeing anyone else for hour on hour. Magic! Adam's serious face below is his attempt to look like an explorer!
:) In Brazzaville we were amazed by a cafe called La Mandarine. It had the very best croissants we have eaten for years and a chef who cooks up these amazing gateaux in the middle of Africa. A little bit of Paris!
:) Meals in DRC were fantastic. Jean, the chef made very fine meals for us. Wonderful! All the food in the camps in the Republic of Congo had to be walked in on the backs of porters; hence meals there were basic but pretty good. This guy walked in to camp through the forest for three hours with a tray of eggs without breaking one!
:) The Bonobos were wonderful. As in previous trips we were able to spend hours photographing these great apes. A couple of mornings produced some wonderful opportunities and fun memories which will stay with us for many years.
Finally ... how many photos did we take? 19,380 ... that really shows just how much was on offer in these amazing countries. We will get a trip report and slideshow up as soon as we can.
Planning a very special trip for Christmas. More later ;-)
Julie and Adam
Back in London - 13 August 2011
Bonobos relaxing with maniac infants - 7 August 2011
At times Bonobos can appear to be the most chilled out and relaxed animals you can imagine. This morning we were up early and came across one of the Lola groups waking up slowly. A classic posture is lying on their backs, legs in the air holding on with one arm. Very distinctive!
As you would expect the mothers are very close to their infants. As soon as the infant walks away, a hand comes out and grabs and pulls him or her back to mummy. They are very close. The mother allows other adults to play with the infants, but keeps a very close eye on what is gong on.
The infants seem to like this protection. It allows them to explore to some extent, have some fights with other infants and learn how to swing through the trees.
So when the Bonobos start to fight, it is very much play fighting between the infants; lessons that are needed to face the future.
Bonobos are vegetarians and so need to consume vast quantities of fruit (ranging from Bananas through Jack Fruit to Paw Paws, plus other exotic fruit we've never seen before), leaves and the like to survive. As such some have very large stomachs to digest this lot ... as this one clearly shows!
All these shots taken over the past 24 hours here at Lola ya Bonobo. Every day presents something 's different.
Julie and Adam
Meeting the young Bonobos - 5 August 2011
In DRC we stay at Lola ya Bonobo, the world's only Bonobo sanctuary. It takes in young orphaned Bonobos, usually victims from some pretty awful plights. Within the sanctuary there is a nursery which looks after about 10 of the youngest Bonobos. Three very patient ladies look after this bunch who have more energy than just about anyone we have ever met. They remain in the nursery until they are considered to be settled enough to join one of the 'older' groups. At the sanctuary if you ask nicely and are seen to be a responsible person, you can get inside the nursery and experience this energy first hand. Julie was first!
Then Adam went in with his camera ...
From the inside shooting out you can see Julie shooting in!
It is possibly [just about] to take some shots while inside. This is one of the few from Adam's shoot which was in focus!
Each day here is different and each evening we pore over out shots and try to edit as we go along. There are some more shots, some of them very funny, on the Facebook part of this site, we are adding a few each day.
Julie and Adam
Bonobos being cool- 5 August 2011
We continue to spend our days watching Bonobos out here in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kinshasa is a huge sprawling city which is clearly developing fast. Two years ago when we crossed the river from Brazzaville to Kinshasa, the immigration people had to copy out the forms three times by hand and then for us to fill them all in. It was laborious and it took hours. This time it was so much more efficient; only about 20 minutes. Better than Heathrow!
Although we have been here before, every day we see something new. Here are a few more shots from our rush production (between power cuts, sleeping and being out in the field). Bonobos are often very handsome, as you can well see from this shot!
Generally, Bonobos are pretty calm and relaxed. Sometimes there is conflict diffused either by sex, screaming, food or whatever. Towards the end of a day there can be a lot of grooming which is really cute and peaceful. These two do not have to speak to know what they are feeling towards each other!
We also think Bonobos are pretty cool, they know how to really relax. This is a female who shows that life does not always have to be meetings, emails, blogs and rushing about.
More later!
Julie and Adam
Back in the Congo! 3 August 2011
Quick entry as connections in DRC are not great ... although a lot better than the camps in the Republic of Congo. So sorry if the images are not great quality, just trying to get something out between power cuts. It is wonderful to be back at Lola ya Bonobo near Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Weather is wonderful, food amazing and above all the Bonobos are as interesting as ever. This is our third visit and it still makes us smile as we sit and photograph these amazing creatures.
Today, our third day was really amazing. All photographs in this blog taken in the past 10 hours! We spent three hours with one group who was simply chilling out and relaxing! This mother was teaching her boy how to swing from trees!
And this young chap really liked looking at his reflection in the lens!
In the afternoon we moved to a lake and Stanley our boatman was able to steer us to have some great shots of Bonobos in the water. Bonobos, like many apes, have very heavy bones and would sink if they went in too far. Hence they only wade up to their chests. 
We were also able to see Bonobos in the trees where they are at very at home and able to show their strength.
Lesson from Adam. When taking shots of Bonobos using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II make sure the control dial does not slip to Tv etc and ruin a load of shots ....
Wonderful day, great trip, more to folow!
Julie and Adam