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Published: July 11th 2008
Drove 70 kms to the Rwandan border. It opens at 8am so we have to wait a bit, meanwhile money changers are hounding us. Everyone else in the truck got free visas except for the Aussies who have to pay $60!!From there we drove up and down beautiful green fretile hills, valleys, lots of crops planted in this obviously fertile land, the soil is rich red in color, quite verdant scenery. We stopped at a small village to buy lunch it happens to be market day, the whole village congregated besides our truck while we combed the market for something to eat, we found grilled goat meat, quite delicious! All the people surrounding our truck are just staring, not saying a word, i am sure they dont encounter tourists a lot in this part, they never hassled us, they just watched our every movement! Then we moved on towards Kigali, the drive is exceptionally cold, we got to town and checked out some hotels to stay in including Hotel Okapi, but is above our budget, we decided to leave town and bush camp somewhere, not before we did food shopping and a quick stint at the local mall. One thing we
all noticed is that in the small villages the people seem to take pride in tidying up their home, everything is clean no trash abounds on the street, well manicured lawn etc. the city of Kigali is probably one of the cleanest i've seen in Africa.
Bush camped on a quarry type place, we decided to head straight to Ruhengeri and come back to Kigali another time, long drive and then finally arrived and checked in at Fatima's mission where we will be staying in rooms. We got a briefing from a local guide about the Gorilla trek and other things you can do in this town. We checked the town out, found internet and a local bar to drink primus in large quantitie. Volcans restaurant for dinner, quite cheap local eats no matter what we order we just get served what they think we want to eat! Good food anyway.
Early rise the next morning to do the gorilla trek. I somehow was still in a daze and could not find my wallet to pay for transport. Craig and I looked in our room everywhere cant find it. Anyway we have to move and get going so
left with a heavy heart knowing i may have to cancel my debit card if my wallet does not turn up later. Half an hour drive we arrived at the entrance to the VIRUNGA Volcans national park, we got sorted here, signed some papers and got assigned a group for the trek, few of us opted for the difficult hike up to see the gorilla twins, you have to be fit so most of the boys signed up for this group. Everything seems to be going well until later when they made the count they realized there are 15 of us as opposed to only 13 permits! Lots of confusion, attempt phone calls, everybody was upset about the screw up, had Di counted us before she let us go then we would have known in advance, the permit we did not see until we are at the park, she gave it to one of us but never got the chance to count it properly amid excitement perhaps, anyway when the operator of the trek where Oasis booked locally was contacted, they promised to cover for the extra cost since oasis was a good client and will sort out things later,
luckily there are permits still available, so off we went.
Another 1/2 hour drive to get to the base of the mountain(Karisimbi). We started hiking to track down the Suse group of gorillas and some had trouble keeping up due to altitude, it was 1/2 hour more trek up the hills to get to the boundary of the actual park. Jo was struggling but bravely walked up the hills and eventually caught up with us. we rested for a bit and some of us had photos taken with the armed guards(anti poaching army?) that accompanied us during the trek. The hike up was steep and muddy up and down thick bamboo tree canopies, there was a path then disappeared so the guide have to hack our way into the forest, took us a good 2 hours before we finally are within minutes from the gorilla family we are tracking down, they have trackers already following the gorillas so they radio us for the location every so often as the family moves we have to keep up with them. we we asked to leave our things on a clearing and just take our cameras, nothing more, no food or water
so the gorillas wont get distracted. We are all filled with excitement at this time, then as we follow the guide as inside the bamboo forest we glanced at the magnificent creatures for the first time, what an awesome feeling! They are at the time feeding, and they seem oblivious to our presence, we carefully settled ourselves down to watch them feed and take photos at a distance. They were playing, sleeping, doing number 2 even!! One fell from the top of the bamboo tree and was probably embarrassed and started getting aggressive, moving about and thumping it's chest. We saw one of the 4 silverbacks in this group, when he stood up and left the rest followed and we lost them for a while, we followed them in the forest, it was dark so quite hard to take photos without flash, so i filmed most of it. You can hear them breaking the trees and chomping at the bamboos, some are very aggressive but did not really attacked us, one silverback threatened us when we blocked his way and stood up walking sideways facing us and thumping it's chest but soon disappeared in the forest, Chris was laughing nervously,
knowing these giants can kill us if provoked enough, we are thinking the armed guards will chose to shoot us rather than the gorillas when push comes to shove....2 hours is all we are allowed to be with them to reduce stree of exposure to humans. we started our trekdown the mountain all satisfied and grinning widely from ear to ear, at least i was!! Same terrain going down, boots getting stuck in the mud, Mary Mark falling in the mud!! We made it back to the base of the mountain and the kids started following us and when we left ona van they ran following us, the driver was upset as the kids cling too close to the van, endangering thenmselves. he stopped the car and gave a chase to scrae them then off we went.
Back to the hostel i found my wallet! celebrated with a few primus at the local bar. Had ahard time sleeping despite being tired, my bed is flea infested and had bitten me to smithereens!!
Next morning early rise and walked around town, changed money at the local forex then had lunch at Silverback Restaurant, Cam told me they have buffet so
I opted for it, only it is not all you can eat, and the meat is limited, so i argued with the waiter and have to hide the meat under veggies and potatoes so i dont get charged extra!! 3 pm we left town and bush camped at the same place halfway between here and Kigali, only this time some kids saw us and within minutes we were swarmed with kids in uniform, surrounded us and quite noisy, very annoying but nothing we can do, i again set up tent on top of the hill so we are safer from them some decided to investigate us up on the hill and I told them off limits! They stayed til dark and left some stayed on including a group of teenage boys trying to be bullies but Tony put them in place and they were hoping we give them food but we only have more than enough to ourselves as usual. they left empty handed.
The next morning drove to Kigali, went shopping at a german grocery then went to visit the hotel in which Hotel Rwanda the movie was based on. Then to the Genocide memorial museum. This for
me is quite disturbing but we need to learn about what went on in this country, the museum was quite informative, sad truth but at least they are moving on as a nation and hoping to bury the past and try reconciliation to progress as a country. From here we drove on towards the border with Uganda, scenery again is stunning, greem hills, crops planted everywhere....goodbye Rwanda hello Uganda.
WIKI INFO:
VIRUNGA VOLCANOES:
The Virunga National Park (formerly Albert National Park) lies from the Virunga Mountains, to the Rwenzori Mountains, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda. Covering 7,800 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi) it was established in 1925 as Africa's first national park. It was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979. In later years it has become known for its mountain gorillas, although poaching and the Congo Civil War have seriously damaged its wildlife population. The park is managed by the Congolese National Park Authorities, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN).
The national park covers the western shores of Lake Edward, known for its
hippopotamuses (depleted by more than 95 percent in 2006) while elsewhere, marshland, grassland plateau and plains dominate the park. The Ruwenzori Mountains lie on the Ugandan border and rise to alpine meadows and a glacier, while Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira are both active volcanoes with substantial associated lava plains.
Although mountain gorilla are now extremely rare, successful conservation work has secured the remaining populations. In fact, they increased during the years of political upheaval in the region (1994-2004). It is believed that both savanna and forest elephants and chimpanzees can still be found in Virunga, along with Okapi, giraffes, buffaloes and many endemic birds. The neighbouring Mount Hoyo area was managed with the park and is home to a population of Bambuti Pygmy people, caves and waterfalls, but since the civil wars, the park has suffered somewhat. Land invasions and intense poaching have challenged the park authorities to the limit, but most rangers have remained active. Since 1994, about 120 rangers have been killed in the line of duty protecting the park from illegal poaching and land acquisition. Amongst other military activity, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda or FDLR has been using the park as a safe
location when they have come under sustained attack, such as Laurent Nkunda's offensives against them in April-May 200
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GENOCIDE:
The Centre is a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide and serves as a place for people to grieve those they lost.
The Centre in Kigali was created by a joint partnership of the Kigali City Council and the UK-based Aegis Trust. It contains a permanent exhibition of the Rwandan genocide and an exhibition of other genocides around the world.
The Memorial Centre
In April 2004, on the 10th Anniversary of the genocide that split Rwanda apart, the Kigali Memorial Centre was inaugurated. The Centre provided an opportunity to offer a place in which the bereaved could bury their families and friends, and over 250,000 victims of the genocide are now buried at the site - a clear reminder of the cost of ignorance.
The Centre exists as a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide, and also as a place for Rwandans to grieve for those they lost.
The Centre includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents
the genocide in 1994. There is also a children?s memorial, and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The Education Centre, Memorial Gardens and National Documentation Centre of the Genocide all contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished, and form a powerful educational tool for the next generation.
In 2000, the Kigali City Council began to construct the shell of a building, which was eventually to become the Memorial Centre. Aegis was invited to turn the aspiration for a centre into a reality.
The Aegis Trust then began to collect data from across the world to create the three graphical exhibits. The text for all three exhibitions was printed in three languages, designed in the UK at the Aegis head office by their design team, and shipped to Rwanda to be installed.
The Kigali Memorial Centre is an international centre. It deals with a topic of international importance, with far-reaching significance, and is designed to engage and challenge an international visitor base.
The response from genocide survivors to the creation of the Centre was unpredicted. In the first week, over 1,500 survivors visited each day. In the first three months
of the Centre's opening, around 60,000 people from a variety of backgrounds visited it. Over 7,000 of these visitors were from the International Community.
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BRIEF HISTORY OF RWANDAN GENOCIDE:
FOR MORE DETAILED INFO PLEASE REFER TO:http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org
The primary identity of all Rwandans was originally associated with eighteen different clans. The categories Hutu, Tutsi and Twa were socio-economic classifications within the clans, which could change with personal circumstances. Under colonial rule, the distinctions were made racial, particularly with the introduction of the identity card in 1932. In creating these distinctions, the colonial power identified anyone with ten cows in 1932 as Tutsi and anyone with less than ten cows as Hutu, and this also applied to his descendants.
We had lived in peace for many centuries, but now the divide between us had begun ...
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Genocide was instant.
Roadblocks sprang up right across the city, the militia being armed with one intent - to identify and kill Tutsis.
At the same time, Interahamwe began house-to-house searches.The names on the death lists were the first to be visited and slaughtered in their own homes.
The perpetrators had promised an apocalypse, and the
operation which emerged was a devastating frenzy of violence, bloodshed and merciless killing.
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The murderers used machetes, clubs, guns, and any blunt tool they could find to inflict as much pain on their victims as possible.
It was genocide from the first day. No Tutsi was exempt.
Women were beaten, raped, humiliated, abused and ultimately murdered, often in the sight of their own families.
Children watched as their parents were tortured, beaten and killed in front of their eyes, before their own small bodies were sliced, smashed, abused, pulverised and discarded.
The elderly, the pride of Rwandan society, were despised, and mercilessly murdered in cold blood.
Neighbours turned on neighbours, friends on friends, even family on their own family members.
Rwanda had turned into a nation of brutal, sadistic, merciless killers, and of innocent victims -
overnight.
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cegrmr
Ryan Rodriguez
Thanks for your visit and pictures
Gil, Your experience seems wonderful yet bothersome (fleas, etc.), but overall "magnificent". Your pictures say it all. I was hoping to hear more about the rebels who are tearing down the forest for Charcoal which is sold on the black market. The deforestation caused by rebels is driving the gorillas and their natural habitat back and unfortunately killing any beast or man standing in their way. Conservation efforts have been successful, but only on a minimal basis. I feel that the public needs justification to get involved and seeing your wonderous photos definitely gives just that and is headed in the right direction. Thank you again, Ryan M. Rodriguez