Jonathan Proud

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Ishasha River	Crowned Cranes
Tue 21st: Set off before breakfast for the long drive north to the Ituri Forest. The road from the National Park took us up into hills where the landscape was very different. Stopped at a colourful market where women with long poles were crushing manioc and putting it into bags. Had breakfast/lunch at the roadside near one of the villages of thatched huts. After many hours driving on a very rough dirt-track road, the truck broke down at about 7pm, after dark, and we cooked dinner in the road. The crew fixed the truck and we continued on for another hour before camping in the middle of a village. I had just settled down in my sleeping	Lion, Virunga National Park
Lions with kill, Virunga National Park	bag when two drunks came along and jumped onto the tent. Sørn was bruised but I was completely unhurt. We then set up a rota of guards to watch over the camp for the rest of the night. Wed 22nd: We had porridge and strawberries for breakfast, watched by curious villagers. Drove on through the early morning mist through more villages of thatched huts. At one point we had to tow a huge juggernaut that was stuck on a hill. Stopped in Beni to buy vegetables and wander round the market. We had lunch in a forest track. We drove on
through hotter country with lots of palm trees, and camped at Oicha Mission. It rained throughout the night. Thu 23rd: We got up before dawn, in the rain and had a full mornings drive to the Ituri Forest. We parked for lunch and prepared for our visit to the Pygmies. Some locals brought a chameleon to show us. After lunch we went down to the river and boarded dug-out canoes for a trip down river to a Pygmy village. The villagers danced in a circle, accompanied by musicians with horns and drums. Later they took us on a 'hunt' through the forest.	Marabou Stork, Vitshumbi
Marabou Stork, Vitshumbi	They travelled very quickly through the forest, in bare feet, while we struggled to keep up. Their small size was a great advantage. We later photographed them around their fires and huts. They showed us how they built their huts and how they controlled a log fire with the precision of high-speed gas. After dark we sang songs for them. A crowd of children gathered round our fire while we sang 'Old Macdonald', 'Ten green bottles', 'Waltzing Matilda' and 'Rule Britannia'. We then sat round their camp fires while they cooked sweet corn and passed round cigarettes. During the night the Pygmies continued to talk and shout intermittently. Fri 24th: Got up at dawn and walked through the forest, down to the stream for a wash. After breakfast we took to the boats again and went down river for about a mile before
returning to our starting point and the truck. We drove until about 2pm, when we stopped for lunch at the roadside. Continued on to Beni, where we stopped to buy vegetables. Camped on rough ground just off the main road. Frank fried bananas for dinner. Sat 25th: After a very good night's sleep, we were up at 6am and set off back down the road to towards Rwindi. After lunch at the roadside, Catherine trod on an anthill and got covered in ants. It was hilarious! We stopped in a village to buy onions, before camping in another gravel pit. I was on washing up duty.	Mud Hut Village
Swimming in Ituri River	Sun 26th: Got up at 5:30 and had rice pudding for breakfast. Sat in the truck's roof seat for most of the morning, waving at cheering children. We stopped at Keynabayonga to look for the artisans and went to a shop selling ivory carvings. Had lunch at Rwindi Lodge. Saw buffaloes, baboons, cob and reedbuck in the park. Lut was injured when we hit a particularly large pothole in the road. We stopped for about an hour while she was 'packed' into the bottom of the truck. It was another seven hours driving before we reached Goma and got her to hospital. We had dinner at the hotel in Goma.
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