The woods are lovely, dark and deep

From the moment I stepped into the forest following my return to Semliki it felt good to be back. The cool, dark forest that enveloped me once again on Tuesday morning was even more beautiful than I remembered it and I was thrilled to be back amongst the giant tree buttresses and tangled vines.

The light from the newly risen sun poked through gaps in the canopy that morning to illuminate the beautiful butterflies and irridescent beetles that moved along the trails and the air was filled with a chorus of animal calls. It took only a few minutes back on the trails to put a huge grin on my face that lasted the rest of the day.

In fact, my smile widened further as Tuesday progressed, because it was not long before we ran into the chimpanzees. Having not seen them properly for three weeks the hour or so we spent observing a group of 6 adult chimpanzees feeding in the fig tree above our heads was a real treat.

Our luck with the chimpanzees has continued further into this week, with several hours our sightings, including a wonderful afternoon spent in close quarters with the magnificent apes today.

In addition to some fabulous encounters with the chimpanzees, I have enjoyed many other experiences this week. Eager to get back to data collection I completed another long and productive river walk and I even found myself up a tree collecting bark samples once more.

With chimpanzee calls being heard further afield this has meant that the search for them this week has brought us to parts of the study area that I had not previously visited, including a trek along the aptly named Sand River trail. This stunning trail follows the course of a dried riverbed filled with fine golden sand, giving the impression that you are walking in a giant, forest-lined sand pit. It is always nice to explore new parts of the forest and this trail has to be one of my favourites to date.

All in all, my return to Semliki has so far been brilliant and I am very happy to be back here. I can’t quite believe that I am now over half way through my chimpanzee chasing adventure. Despite being tough at times, especially during our unexpected detention in Kampala, the last five weeks have been absolutely fantastic and I look forward to five more weeks spent in this amazing place with its incredible chimpanzees.

Written on Friday 13^th August