Stretching 80km across the densely populated borders of the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda, lie the Virunga Mountains; a spectacular range and a sought-after tourist destination. Early in the morning the range sighs beneath its cloak of mist and in the late afternoon, disappears under a thick haze. Here, at altitudes above 2300m, live the 700-odd rare mountain gorillas under the watchful eye of 80 dedicated rangers.

Gathering at park headquarters each morning, are several excited tourists, each having paid $500 for the chance to spend just one hour with the gorillas. Visitors are divided into groups, given a briefing and then taken off by vehicle to various starting points at the base of the mountains.

Amidst the potato plants and cultivated lands, you head towards the fringes of the forest. On our first day of trekking we went to visit the Sabinyo group, a group of 11 mountain gorilla headed by one of the largest Silverbacks; Kahunga, weighing in at an astounding 220 kilograms. We were fortunate to be tracking the group with a guide called Digirinana Francois, who habituated Kahunga and has been working with the gorillas since long before the genocide. During the period of fighting, he was one of many dedicated rangers that remained behind to protect these magnificent creatures.

Standing at the edge of the forest, Francois entertained us with stories of how the gorillas survive, the plants they eat and demonstrated how they strip a prickly thistle of its thorns before consuming it. Here is a man so passionate about ‘his gorillas’ that the hour-long wait at the base of the forest waiting for word from the park rangers whisked by in an instant. And then we heard it, the radio call Francois had been waiting for to say that the rangers had located the group, and into the forest thicket we headed.

The time it takes to walk to the gorillas varies, and can be anything from 10 minutes to five hours. In places, the vegetation was so thick that Francois had to hack his way through with a panga. Stinging nettles line the paths and the smell of rotting vegetation hangs in the air. The crisp silence was stifling, broken only by the sound of feet crunching through undergrowth and mud. Minutes tick by, drowned by the sounds of the constant radio calls, as Francois headed straight up to the park rangers in the middle of the forest. Anticipation mounted as he instructed us to have our last drink of water and a toilet stop, and to leave our backpacks with the rangers. And in the blink of an eye, we found ourselves heading deeper into the forest.

"...merrily beating their chests before they came crashing down..."

Nothing can prepare you for this most miraculous experience. Crackling branches, soft calls and sounds and suddenly, the thick bamboo thickets separate to reveal the most gentle of all creatures. Our first sighting was of Kahunga himself, sitting high up in the bamboo almost two metres above us, stripping the leaves off the branches. Knowingly, he gently turned his head towards Francois, while the two of them engaged in a conversation of guttural sounds. Then, Kahunga slowly turned back to his meal, calm and unthreatened.

Within minutes, the rest of his family came into view, amongst them a number of small juveniles engaged in adolescent play. Bounding through the bamboo, they pulled on each others hair and swung from the branches, merrily beating their chests before they came crashing down.

Park regulations stipulate that visitors must remain seven metres from the gorillas, but the youngsters are often so curious that they will come swinging past in an attempt to touch your hair.

At one point our group sat in a semi crouch, watching Kahunga as he kept a careful eye on his family. Then he turned, slowly walked towards the group and headed directly towards me. Amidst François’ reassurance “it is all right, don’t worry”, Kahunga gently moved the man beside me away, brushed passed me and stood gazing back at the group from only a metre away, proof that although the mountain gorilla are strong and exceptionally powerful, they are essentially gentle creatures.

3600 seconds, 60 minutes, 1 hour

Gorillas live in groups of between two and 40 individuals, led by a dominant male known as the silverback. No different to a king, he rules the roost and decides when and where to forage, rest and sleep; arbitrates disputes and protects his family from danger. Most females give birth to their first young around the age of 10, and in their life time, will produce between two and six babies, of which only half will survive into adulthood.

3600 seconds, 60 minutes, 1 hour. Strange how a lifetime of memories can be captured in such a short space of time. Time stands still with the gorilla. Perhaps because we are in their territory, uncluttered by the speed with which western civilisation races through its day. Here, each second is about foraging, family, protection and most of all, survival.

Modern-day clocks have no place in the habitat of the mountain gorilla. And yet, so quickly it is over and the call to leave is heard above the calm of the forest. Soon we find ourselves back at forest headquarters, being issued with our Gorilla Tracking certificates and saying our farewells to François.

Back home, I cannot feel anything but envy for the role that park rangers like François have to play. Rwanda, considered by many to be a backward third-world country, is now doing more to protect their most precious creatures than many of us racing about in our pollutant vehicles, with all the resources at our finger tips to actually make a difference.

As I sit here reflecting on my journey I realise, that in all the hours I work to gather so called precious commodities to make my life more meaningful, nothing will ever come as close to the one hour I spent in the company of the magnificent mountain gorillas.