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Saved: November 30th 2021
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We arrived into Kigali at night - again. Arriving into a major centre late isn't too bad, as there are always lots of taxi's waiting to take you anywhere. The trip from Kigoma was long as we had to change vehicles several times and of course had the usual delays. The border was easy to navigate, and the border guards friendly - YAY!
The very next morning Mike was up early and had already visited the National Park office and found out that we could get three permits for two days later. When he came back we were just getting up, so he gave us the low down and we quickly headed back up to the office with him. "Up" is the operative word as Kigali city centre is built on a steep hill. After dropping the $500 US per person for the permits (ouch) we celebrated with a fabulous Rwandan coffee and marvelled that in two days time we would be face to face with the rare mountain gorillas.
The next day we headed out to Ruhengeri, the closest town to the Volcanoes National Park. It took Peter and I a little bit to find the Tourist Rest
The Main Silverback
There are two Silverbacks in the Amahoro group, this is the main one, the one that charged us. House as it not that well known by the locals (and is not that creatively named to distinguish it from any other Rest or Guest House). We had a lovely walking tour of Ruhengeri with our backpacks. (okay, maybe not lovely ...)
We arranged the transport for the following day and were very happy to find fellow travellers who would share the $80 US transportation cost. In the end, the group of 8 of us that tracked the gorillas was made up of 6 Canadians and two Brits.
Our group tracked the Amahoro Troupe of Gorillas which is made up of 18 gorillas. Of the 18, we saw 14 or 15 of them, the rest we could hear nearby, but couldn't see for the foliage.
We trekked for 1.5 hours to find the group. The trek was no walk in the park. It was muddy (as the photos will prove!) and slippery, along a path that was being cut with a machete as we walked. The foliage was thick, the stinging nettles were everywhere (and yes, they do sting) and the threat of rain was never far. It is hard to describe the scenery, and the vivid
green of the landscape is impossible to capture. We essentially trekked up the outside of an old volcano, and then down into the crater where the gorillas were having their siesta.
Words cannot describe spending an hour with the mountain gorillas. We were much closer than the mandatory 7 meters. It was more like 3 m. The main Silverback charged our group to ensure we knew who was boss. Luckily he lost interest quickly. The hour went very fast - too fast for sure. We took well over 300 photos, but not all of them are great. We will only add the best here, we won't subject you to 300 gorilla photos!
We were so lucky, as we caught the gorillas during "siesta" so the older adults were laying around and relaxing, while the younger gorillas played and played and played. The baby, 3 months old, poked his head out once in a while to tease us. He is too cute for words!!! We also managed to dodge the rain during our visit. It started to rain only as we began our ascent out of the crater. Although we were soaked through and filthy, we couldn't wipe the
grins off our faces!
Visiting the gorillas is certainly a highlight on this trip. It is such an amazing experience to be so close to wild animals in their territory. We hope you enjoy the photos.
After the gorilla trekking we headed back to Kigali for some much needed laundry (must confess, we took full advantage of the laundry service at our hotel, they even cleaned our shoes!!). The trip between Kigali and Ruhengeri is one of the most scenic roads we have been on. It winds through the mountains, clinging to the sides as it twists and turns to provide a new panoramic around every corner. The terraced landscape that reaches right to the top of these mountains tells how densely populated Rwanda is and how every square inch of land is needed for farming to feed the population. Farming a steep mountain side cannot be an easy job, however the fertile land definitely produces.
Back in Kigali, we visited the Kigali Memorial Centre, built in memory of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
It is hard to connect the Rwanda of today with the Rwanda of 1994. Only 14 short years ago, the streets of Kigali,
Playful Gorilla
Snapped this adolescent as he was lunging in to bite another youth. They ended up rolling end over end together. in fact the streets of Rwanda, were littered with bodies. It is hard to fathom. My sincere hope is that the peace that prevails today is deep and lasting. I'm unsure how a country moves on after such an atrocity and how people face their families murderers on a daily basis. I'm not sure I could move on as gracefully as the Rwandan people have.
In the end, we would have liked to stay longer in Rwanda, but had to cut our visit short due to funds. There are no functioning ATM's for international bank cards in Rwanda, and the only way to draw cash is to head to one specific bank in Kigali and do a manual Visa cash advance, for which you pay dearly. Rwanda is quite expensive (gorillas aside) and so we had to make a decision to draw cash again, or leave. With some difficulty, we decided to leave.
Next stop - Uganda!
With love from your gorilla-loving friends,
Laini and Peter
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Annmarie
non-member comment
Gorillas
How spectacular to see these gorillas so close up!!!Gorillas in the mist live. Excellent photos!!