Our London-based designer, Ngaire Ackerley recently traveled to East Africa on holiday. During her travels, she was lucky enough to visit mountain gorillas in Rwanda and see the amazing work that the people at Volcanoes National Park are doing to help preserve their existence.

Many of us will have read the book or seen the movie ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ and can recount the work of Dian Fossey and her involvement with the Karisoke Research Center. This work is still being carried on today.

Set up by Dian Fossey in 1978, Gorilla Fund is a charity dedicated to the conservation and protection of gorillas and their habitats in Rwanda. Less than 800 gorillas are left in the entire world. These gentle giants are amazing up-close and it would be such a shame to see them disappear from existence.

Below are some of Ngaire’s photographs from her visit with the Amahoro Gorilla group.

All images are copyright 2011 of Ngaire Ackerley.