When Newtown couple Ryan Knapp and Brittany Batterton decided to visit Rwanda in Africa, they never expected a one-on-one encounter with a family of gorillas. Nor did they have any idea how close that encounter would be.Preparing To TrekDiverse Side Trips

"At one point, one of the large females started moving toward me," Mr Knapp recalled. "So I just followed the guide's instructions, stooped down, dropped eye contact, and she literally walked right across my back."

Mr Knapp, who is a member of the local Legislative Council, and his companion, Ms Batterton, headed to Africa in early June to visit her cousin, and to knock one more item off their collective bucket list. But thanks to a recommendation, the local couple decided to acquire the necessary permits to take part in one of a series of gorilla hikes that are a major component of the tourism industry in the progressive African nation.

Arriving in Gisenyi, the couple immediately immersed themselves in local culture, taking in cultural activities like a daily dance ritual performed by indigenous villagers, and getting to know the people and nuances of this unfamiliar land.

"I loved doing the gorilla trekking, but the most wonderful aspect of the trip was getting to know the people and culture of the different villages we visited," Ms Batterton said. "We really didn't know what to expect because of the reputation Rwanda has back home. A lot of our family and friends were afraid we'd get kidnapped, or they thought it was really dangerous.

"But it turned out to be the exact opposite," she continued. "It was really peaceful and apparently one of the safest countries in Africa to visit at this moment."

Mr Knapp learned that among all the tourism-related jobs available to locals in Rwanda, gorilla trek guide is among the most sought-after.

"I think they said last year more than 2,000 people applied for just one or two positions as a trek guide," he said.

On the day of their trek, the couple discovered that there was a choice of a short or a longer and more challenging hike. And while the remaining tourists signed up that day opted for the short hike, Mr Knapp and Ms Batterton decided they wanted to try and visit a gorilla family that was first discovered by the famed primatologist and anthropologist Dian Fossey.

The week of their trip was considered off-season, so the couple had a relatively easy time acquiring the necessary permits and guides to get them in proximity to the apparently gentle wild animals.

"We basically got a private experience," he said. "We got a truck ride up to a staging area, and headed out. Trackers led us because they monitor the gorilla movements to be sure we don't cross the border."

Since Gisenyi borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is less politically stable, the couple was accompanied by a government-supplied security detail as well.

While guides remained at their sides, the security contingent remained vigilant but distant, so there was little interference when the group turned a corner in the trail and a fairly large, multigenerational family of gorillas came into view.

"It was amazing. There were three or four trackers monitoring the group. When you see [the gorillas] there in the grass, you have to calm yourself down because they're so close," Mr Knapp recalled. "You get so focused on [a gorilla] in front of you, you don't notice there is another one lying in the grass right next to you."

The group had three giant silverback males, one of which was a little rambunctious, while the alpha, which weighed in at nearly 400 pounds, was amazingly docile.

"He's got all the girls, so he's pretty mellow," Mr Knapp said, adding that he and Ms Batterton were impressed at how intimately the guides knew the personalities and mannerisms of each gorilla.

"They know if one is sick, and which ones are feeling a little more frisky, so they can keep us a little further away," he said.

In all, the couple was able to closely see or interact with 16 of the 20 gorillas in the group they visited.

The Newtown couple continued to be blessed with unique opportunities as they passed the time in Rwanda. Another hike brought them to the top of a dormant volcano; they booked a vehicular safari and gazed upon giraffes and hippos in their natural environments; and a chance evening out found them in a small, intimate club being entertained by a young musical group that represents their homeland, touring around the world.

"These musicians are from the first-ever music school in Rwanda," Ms Batterton said.

Then there was a visit to a women's cooperative in the back room of a local church.

"These women took us into this church down the street from where we were staying and there are rows of other women sitting at old-fashioned foot-pump Singer sewing machines making clothes," Ms Batterton recalled. "They made us both outfits."

"I wish we could have brought more home, but we just didn't have room," Mr Knapp said. "It was amazing to see them working at these gorgeous old machines. And this is an important source of income for them, although I think they sell them to shops where they are marked up quite a bit."

Their final day found the Newtown couple on more solemn side trip that brought them to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial.

"Definitely do that at the end," Ms Batterton said. "You don't want to do something so emotional at the beginning of a trip."

Since most of the population either directly experienced or learned about the genocide that gripped the country 22 years ago, she believes many local residents reacted by drawing closer to one another.

"So many of these young adults are orphans of the genocide," Mr Knapp said pointing to a photo of one villager tucked under Mr Knapp's shoulder and hugging him tightly. "This one lost his whole family, so now he calls everyone his brother or sister, including us."

Besides the many memories, videos, and images they brought home, Mr Knapp and Ms Batterton also made friendships they can sustain through social networking and e-mails, that may someday bring them back to the wild but beautiful African nation.