After exploring Tanzania for 10 days we ventured into Rwanda to spend some bonding time with the Mountain Gorillas. Here we recap on our experience and what it is like to come up close and personal with the large beautiful animals.
Ever heard people talk about the similarities between humans and gorillas? Well, we can confirm that our encounter with the mountain gorillas of the Volcanoes National Park confirmed that we are in fact similar in many ways. The feelings experienced when coming up close and personal with these amazing creatures are beyond explanation: a mixture of excitement, nervousness and curiosity.
// Preparing for Rwanda //
After our visit to Tanzania the next stop was Rwanda. The Jungle. A landscape like we had never seen before. Prior to arriving at Kigali airport, we had organised our Gorilla permits a few months prior due to the limited amount of passes available each day. In no sense is Rwanda the easiest country to reach, but in saying that it is well worth the visit. It is just important to organise everything before you arrive. We spent three nights at Sabyinyo Lodge which is ideally situated in the foothills of Virunga Mountains, the chain of volcanoes in East Africa. The Lodge is in a beautiful setting, with staff who can cater to your every needs. If you require any trekking equipment which you do not have with you, they have most of the gear needed at the Lodge.
// Gorilla Trekking //
The day of gorilla trekking dawned on us. The beginning was mayhem, everyone pushing to get placed with the largest group of Gorillas. After an hour of our tour guides arguing amongst themselves… they finally came to an agreement one by one. We were the last group to be assigned a group but boy it was worth it. AHASHYA group. Meaning “special”. The group from the movie “Gorilla’s in the mist”!!
Trekking can take any where from 30 mins to 6 hours and the difficulties of climbs can vary with machetes to tackle through the plants, fire ants and stinging nettle. Somehow we managed a 40 minute trek along a overgrown path with only 5 minutes of bush bashing.
A few minutes out we started to hear the Gorillas. As we neared closer we had to climb through a bush as we searched for their location. WOSSSSSSSH. A gorilla came running past and almost knocked us out of the way. Seeming to be in a rush a minute later we found the young gorilla happily sitting down picking his nose. Obviously no harm done.
We spent the next hour with the Ahashya group which consisted of 12 gorillas. We watched as the mother spent time cleaning her children, teenage boys wrestled with each other and we carefully kept eyes on the giant silverback of the group as he sat lazing in the sun on watch at all times. For those that do not know much about Gorillas, the silverback is the dominant male the largest weighing up to approximately 270kgs (595lbs).
One action packed day of gorilla trekking left us wanting more. It was the most unique and unforgettable memories to date. Check out some of our photos from the day. We highly recommend doing this if you are travelling around Africa!
X KoTravellers
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