A Hero's Journey

This is a true adventure tale, the story of a woman scientist named Gay Reinartz, a well-respected professor of biology, intrepid explorer, and crack shot with an AK-47.  Twice a year, for eight weeks at a time, the good Dr. and her small team trek by plane, jeep, dugout canoe, and foot into the central forests of the Republic of Congo to study the habitat and behavior of the closest relative to Man: the shy and endangered Bonobo Great Ape.  

To reach these great apes and collect the science and data before returning safely is literally a one-day-at-a-time adventure story of survival in the second largest protected forest in the world.  Her office is the middle of the Salonga National Park, the least-explored jungle on earth, with canopies so thick it can seem like darkness at noon. 

This program is a combination of Gorillas In The Mist and Survivor as Gay and her small group, including her adult son, fellow scientists, and body guards outsmart, outwit, and outlast the elements that challenge their abilities to complete the task.  Teamwork is critical as one accident or injury can spell disaster for the trip and the intimacy of life-on-expedition means tension can run high.