The last week but one was been exciting for two reasons. First, Mairi came to visit me in Rwanda for 10 days. Second, we went gorilla trekking together in the Volcanoes National Park in north-west Rwanda.
A comparison of Mairi vs. Gorillas
- I don’t have to stay 5m away from Mairi
- Mairi is quite a bit less hairy
- A female gorilla weighs substantially more than Mairi
- Mairi’s life consists of slightly more than eating, play-fighting and sleeping in the sun (unfortunately, according to her), although she did quite enjoy the gorilla food (bamboo shoots and nettle leaves) which the guide gave us to try
- I don’t particularly want to kiss a gorilla, although the babies look quite cuddly
Anyways, it’s been really great to see Mairi (we’ve been apart since January) and going to see the gorillas together was a phenomenal experience. If you are at all interested in wildlife, it really is an incredible thing to do. We took the bus to Musanze, the main town in northern Rwanda, which was a bit of an experience in and of itself, rattling around the bends and dodging the potholes. We then made our way to Kinigi, at the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes. These are a series of massive, free-standing cones, mostly dormant or extinct, which dominate the border between Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda. They are also the last refuge of the mountain gorilla, Gorilla berengei, which is one of the most endangered creatures on earth. We stayed in a guesthouse run by ASOFERWA, which is a Rwandan charity that helps support and enable vulnerable women and children. It was basic, but the staff were very friendly, the beds comfortable and the food pretty good. The showers were even hot, if you left it running for a few minutes before getting in (oops, Mairi). We also met two young boys from the surrounding area who were on their way to football practice. I took a team photo for them and sent it by email, and I'm going to send them a football (my parents brought some over).
NB - footballs are extortionately expensive in Rwanda. If anyone has ever thought of 'what can I do' or 'what can I send' that isn't money, footballs would be a good bet. Let me know if you would be interested in sending some over.
We had to get up at 5.40am in order to be at the Park Headquarters for the 7am registration (why does all wildlife stuff have to start so stupidly early in the morning?!). So we turned up somewhat bleary-eyed, to be given a cup of coffee, a briefing about gorillas and behaviour around them, and assignment to our group of trekkers. We were put with the Susa group, which is the largest habituated group of gorillas (around 39 individuals) and also the hardest group to get to on foot. I think we had a huge advantage in being young and also fairly keen hill-walkers, as we found the trek long but fun. Several others in our group really struggled though - it was 3.5 hours to the gorillas, through fairly thick undergrowth.
A comparison of Mairi vs. Gorillas
- I don’t have to stay 5m away from Mairi
- Mairi is quite a bit less hairy
- A female gorilla weighs substantially more than Mairi
- Mairi’s life consists of slightly more than eating, play-fighting and sleeping in the sun (unfortunately, according to her), although she did quite enjoy the gorilla food (bamboo shoots and nettle leaves) which the guide gave us to try
- I don’t particularly want to kiss a gorilla, although the babies look quite cuddly
Anyways, it’s been really great to see Mairi (we’ve been apart since January) and going to see the gorillas together was a phenomenal experience. If you are at all interested in wildlife, it really is an incredible thing to do. We took the bus to Musanze, the main town in northern Rwanda, which was a bit of an experience in and of itself, rattling around the bends and dodging the potholes. We then made our way to Kinigi, at the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes. These are a series of massive, free-standing cones, mostly dormant or extinct, which dominate the border between Uganda, DR Congo and Rwanda. They are also the last refuge of the mountain gorilla, Gorilla berengei, which is one of the most endangered creatures on earth. We stayed in a guesthouse run by ASOFERWA, which is a Rwandan charity that helps support and enable vulnerable women and children. It was basic, but the staff were very friendly, the beds comfortable and the food pretty good. The showers were even hot, if you left it running for a few minutes before getting in (oops, Mairi). We also met two young boys from the surrounding area who were on their way to football practice. I took a team photo for them and sent it by email, and I'm going to send them a football (my parents brought some over).
NB - footballs are extortionately expensive in Rwanda. If anyone has ever thought of 'what can I do' or 'what can I send' that isn't money, footballs would be a good bet. Let me know if you would be interested in sending some over.
We had to get up at 5.40am in order to be at the Park Headquarters for the 7am registration (why does all wildlife stuff have to start so stupidly early in the morning?!). So we turned up somewhat bleary-eyed, to be given a cup of coffee, a briefing about gorillas and behaviour around them, and assignment to our group of trekkers. We were put with the Susa group, which is the largest habituated group of gorillas (around 39 individuals) and also the hardest group to get to on foot. I think we had a huge advantage in being young and also fairly keen hill-walkers, as we found the trek long but fun. Several others in our group really struggled though - it was 3.5 hours to the gorillas, through fairly thick undergrowth.
We finally found the group in a bamboo thicket at 3100m up Mt. Karisimbi. In fact, it felt like we stumbled upon them; suddenly we emerged in this slight clearing and there were black-haired apes everywhere. We were allowed to spend an hour with the gorillas, but the time sped by very fast; they are fascinating to watch and although in theory you are supposed to remain at least 5m away (to avoid transmitting diseases to them or startling them), the gorillas themselves don't know this rule and come up to within two or three feet. There were babies, which were very curious little creatures, a range of females, and a group of playful young males. The three adult male 'silverbacks' (so-called because the hair on their back turns silver when they reach sexual maturity) were massive, the alpha male (or 'Boss 1' as the guide called him) was well over 200kg. He had serious authority too - a couple of young males started fighting in front of him, and one grunt shut them up very quickly.
It was quite strange watching them interact with each other - still clearly animal, but with weirdly human gestures and facial expressions. The gorillas also seem to enjoy watching the humans. They have no whites to their eyes, so you can't see where exactly they are looking, but it seems that they stared at us with a fairly quizzical air. They certainly weren't fazed by our presence at all. Anyway, the hour went by far too quickly, and we trekked back down the volcano. A lovely couple from Berkeley, California, who were on our trekking group, offered us a lift back to Kigali, which we gladly took - a lot more comfortable than the bus! All in all a fascinating trip.
I've been doing a fair bit of travelling this past few weeks - also been to South Africa with family, and just got back from Uganda. Report to follow....
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