Rwanda is a place I have wanted to visit since my early days of college, back when I seriously thought about pursuing anthropology or zoology as a career. Of particular interest to me in those days were gorillas and gibbons, the large and the small of the ape family. Dian Fossey was doing some amazing research in Rwanda on the Mountain Gorillas and had brought world wide attention to their plight. Many things would have to happen in the small country of Rwanda before everyone would see how special the gorillas are and what they could do for the lands they share with the humans. That day has come, and while I am not sure if Dian would be pleased, she wasn't that keen on tourism, I think the fact that there has not been a gorilla poached in Rwanda since 2001 is good news indeed.
My adventure is about to begin....
There is no easy way to get to Kigali (pronounced "Chigali" in Kinyarwanda) from Harare. I opted for the red eye flight departing Harare at 0200 and arriving in Kigali at 0830. I was beat, but I was in Rwanda. Aside from some work stuff, my sole focus was getting a permit so I could go see the gorillas. Fingers crossed.
In the meantime I was able to do a little exploring of Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. Orderly and tidy, Kigali does not make a particularly good first impression. The people seem somewhat distant and a bit aloof, often called the "Swiss" of Africa for just those traits. I didn't start to understand some of the reasons Rwanda is the way it is until I visited the main genocide museum in Kigali (http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/old/index.html). This is a country were genocide is part of everyone, either as victim, perpetrator or witness. No one in Rwanda escaped.
I am so excited I have to pinch myself...
My amazing tour organizer was able to secure a coveted gorilla trekking permit for me at the very last minute. In fact, he phoned me in Kigali at noon to say we needed to leave by three to get to the lodge before dark. I immediately packed up everything and waited for my pickup at the hotel. Jeremiah was to be my guide for the next two days and he was fantastic. The gorillas are located in the north west of the country in the Virunga Mountains, part of the Volcanoes National Park. The Volcanoes National Park is located in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The trek begins....
Volcanoes National Park is accessible from Kigali by mostly quite good winding roads. It takes us about 2.5 hours to get to my lodge, the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge (http://www.expertafrica.com/lodge/Gorilla_Mountain_View_Lodge.htm). Along the way, every village, no matter the size, has a genocide memorial, sign posts with anti-genocide slogans are posted nearly every kilometer. There will be no forgetting the nightmare as the Rwandans see this as how to ensure it never happens again. There are also signs of development, the hillside agricultural methods being introduced to help mitigate erosion problems, the cooperatives that help to make Rwandan exports profitable and the relaxed and smiling faces of those we passed. Look for Rwandan coffee and tea as those their two main exports.
The lodge is amazing. I have my own cabin, nicely furnished and with an en-suite bathroom with all the hot water one could want. Around 7pm someone came round and lit a roaring fire in the fireplace, apparently the nights in the Virunga mountains can get quite chilly. A little later a maid brought two hot water bottles to help keep my toes toasty in bed. Early to bed, I am not a morning person and the 0530 wake up would come very early.
Were off...
To the first stop in the gorilla trek experience. We arrive at the Rwandan Tourism Board center to be assigned to a group and a guide. Eight groups of eight visit the gorillas every day. I was lucky to be assigned to a group with all first timers, all woman and all from the U.S. and the U.K. Our guide was Francis, who had been a gorilla trek guide for 11 years. Next stop, the start point for our assigned gorilla group, the Umubano group with the silverback leader named Charles. After about a 30 min drive through the countryside and villages we arrive at the point were the cars are no longer useful. We are all given walking sticks and the option to hire a porter to carry our packs. We have all brought just the bear minimum so we opt out of porters, and we head off to the Volcanoes National Park. Another 30 min hike through fields and villages and we reach a volcanic rock wall, this is the boundary line of the park. The wall is not only the demarcation of the park but a barrier to keep the water buffalo from eating the crops. We scamper over and begin the real trek.
Up the volcano, down the volcano, through the bamboo, through the stinging nettles.... after about 1 hour we meet up with the trackers who have found the gorillas. We dump our packs and walking sticks and prepare to see the gorillas. While we were clamoring down the hillside to our right was a young black back male making his way directly toward us. Speechless, someone finally found their voice and called to Francis to say "we found them." A few more meters downhill and we see the group, about 8 total, Charles the silverback leader, the young black back and the rest females, babies and juveniles. They were all foraging. It was an amazing moment to actually be in the presence of real live, wild (well, habituated to human) gorillas. It was magical, it was awesome, it was beyond words.
We followed the group through the forest for about an hour, basically chasing Charles as wherever Charles goes, the rest of the group goes as well. The babies were the most curious eyeing us from the security of their mother's backs and the juveniles the most active, romping around and tumbling through the forest. The young black back literally had our backs the whole time, perhaps as a sentry to keep an eye on the clumsy humans. We do not get around very well in the forest. The hour was over before we knew it and it was time to come down from the mountain. Thankfully our gorilla group led us right down to just about were we started so our trek back was quite easy. It was a day and a trip I will never forget.
