Go-Go-Gorillas

With just a few days left in Rwanda, I finally made it to the country’s #1 tourist attraction, the famous mountain gorillas.  The morning of the trek was quite stressful – I wasn’t sure how my body would handle things, since I’m recovering from my latest stomach bug; it was pouring rain; and I also  managed to misplace the gorilla permit that I had purchased in Kigali the week before.  This led to much confusion at the office, frantic calling to Kigali (where the office was closed due to a shotgun local holiday), and eventually, agreement that I could still trek.

By the time Liz (my travel buddy) and I made it to the assembly gazebo, dozens of people were already formed into 7 groups, and were being briefed by guides on the treks and proper gorilla etiquette.  One guard started yelling at us, wanting to know why we weren’t in a group yet.  He went off to find us one and came back 20 minutes later, only to yell at us again and ask why we weren’t with a group yet…  Anyhow, after many discussions and misunderstandings, Liz and I had no choice but to join separate groups.  None of the groups had fewer than 7 people, and the max is 8.  It was too bad we couldn’t share the experience.  Luckily, my group was pretty nice, and we set off on the thirty minute drive to the start of the hike. Like many places I’ve visited in Rwanda, we drove on little dirt paths, past farmland with small homesteads and storerooms, built with mud, tin and thatched roofs.  Kids in rags were waving at our Land Rovers.

Farmland near Volcanoes National Park

The first part of the hike was through wet fields (mostly potatoes), and  we entered the park through a pass in a massive stone wall.  It was built by local communities and runs the length of the park, from the Congolese to the Ugandan border.  The wall keeps buffaloes inside the park and out of the crops which they quite enjoy.

Crossing the wall reveals a different world.  The bamboo forest is dense and dark and extremely muddy.  Aided by useful gorilla-carved walking sticks, we trekked uphill through the bamboo, stinging nettles, and elephant tracks. This was one of the easier hikes, but it was no joke! An hour later, we joined some trackers, who hike to the gorillas at sunrise, and stay with the group until evening when they create nests for the night.  This allows the park to monitor each group’s location, so that people can visit every day.  Their presence also discourage poachers, who are still active within the park , and whose traps had caught one of the gorillas we saw, and cost her two fingers.

Trackers and Guide

We met Group Thirteen (named for the order that groups were discovered).  This group has one silverback, nine females and a bunch of kids and babies.  I have to admit that seeing them was surprisingly amazing!!

215 kilo Silverback!

Chilling with the Family

At the beginning of the visit, the gorillas were feeding, grooming and some of the kids were playing.  Then it started to pour rain again, and the gorillas hunkered down, moms protecting their young.   The park says people should stay at least  7 meters away from gorillas, but due to terrain and the group’s arrangement, we often found ourselves within a couple of meters (for better or for worse).

An amazing/surreal place to find myself

It was crazy to be watching gorillas in front, turn around, and then see a bunch more behind.   The sixty minute visit flew by, and I wished we could stay longer because we were just getting started.

That said,  I even felt a bit weird visiting the gorillas, like we were infringing on them (they seemed quite ambivalent towards their human guests).  I had no such reservations seeing Akagera Park’s savannah wildlife and was surprised that I found this visit both extremely awesome and a bit disconcerting. I guess gorillas look and act a lot more like humans…

Mama and her one year old

Anyhow, I understand tourism isn’t perfect, but it has helped balance the often conflicting requirements of gorilla conservation and the needs of local communities.  It’s been an honour to visit both of them during my stay in Rwanda.