Gorilla Trekking

Most of today’s long drive went without a hitch. Once again, as it is every day, the entire road was lined with people walking (Rwanda has a very high population density), many pushing their bikes loaded with all sorts of sacs, others with nothing but a hoe leaning on their shoulder; many were mothers with their baby strapped to their back, wearing most colorful dresses. We crossed many villages; hectic activity.

Fishing boats stay out all night, return early morning

These beautiful birds were nesting next to our cabin

This is what I mean when I say "bikes laden to the max"

Then, the rain started, at times falling with brute force. As we approached our new lodge, our friend Google Maps wanted to do us a favor and shorten our ride, but of course, once again it led us astray, this time  to an abrupt end in the forest, with leaning trees that prevented us from going further.

Google, please don't do this to us any more!!

We had to back up, in the deluge, in the rocky mud, on a path barely large enough to fit our small SUV. It was a bit hair-raising, but we managed, toyed with the directions and found another way.

The Volcanoes Overview Safari Lodge is set in the woods, surrounded by five spectacular extinct volcanoes, but on account of the persistent rain we spent most of our time in our luxury tent, coming out only to walk to the restaurant for dinner.

The main reason we came to this country was trekking the gorillas in their natural habitat. We thought that, after paying a hefty sum and receipt in hand, all we had to do was to show up at the park’s entrance and it all would fall into place, but soon we were brought to reality. The entrance to the registration office is approximately half an hour from the lodge.

At the registration site

The clouds covering the valley looked like a white lake

Once there you go through mandatory paperwork, then you are assigned a gorilla family (ours were the Susas). There are 12 families scattered throughout this huge mountain park, so you discover how long and hard the trek is only after you have been assigned the family and depending on where they have last been seen. We were hoping (I was praying) to luck out and do a 30-minute trek, but the Susas were hanging out in an area that required 1 hour and 45 minutes of hard, steep climbing, after driving an additional 30 minutes over indescribable road conditions. Our vehicle would never have made it, and we had to hire a vehicle with driver that could handle it, at the lodge.

Driving to base camp

Once at base camp, you are given a guide and must hire a private porter per person to carry your stuff, and they are essential, holding you and helping you as you climb on these slippery slopes. The group assigned to the Susas consisted of five individuals, including us.

Diane with Sara, a Moroccan solo traveler who was with our group. A Mexican couple completed the group.

Most of the climb is on steep, cultivated terrain where a number of families live, growing potatoes, raising a couple of cows or a handful of lambs. There are no roads here, no electricity or running water, yet life goes on the same as it does everywhere else. Children go to school, women carry heavy loads on their heads or do back-breaking work in the potato fields.

We were all exhausted and had to make several stops to catch our breath until, at last, we entered the area of the forest where the big apes were foraging.

The guide wanted me to try to carry this load on my head. It belonged to the lady behind me. No way could I carry this all day up and down steep ways. It was heavy!!

Rest stop

Diane being helped climb border rocks

This area is so impenetrable that our guide had to carve a path with his machete for us to get through.  

When I say impenetrable, I am not kidding

It froze during the night at this elevation. Ice covered much of the path

Lo and behold, our first encounter was with the head of the group, the oldest and largest Silverback Gorilla, that came out of the vegetation and in an instant was upon us, freaking all of us out. It made a path between us and walked so close to us that you could not fit a hand between us. Hopefully you’ve seen the short video I posted

on Facebook, if not check it out.

Papa silverback

What ensued was without doubt one of the most memorable, endearing and thrilling hour we have ever experienced. Just the five of us and the twelve Susas, which included two silverbacks, a baby, three or four playful adolescents and their aunts and uncles. They were unfazed by us, and most of their activities took place within a couple of feet of us; they fed themselves, hit each other, grumbled, played mother with the baby, and play-fought with each other. An adorable one was filling himself with eucalyptus leaves when, overtaken by stupor, decided to crash and fall asleep, right at our feet!! We could not have asked for more, and every penny spent was totally worth it.

The whole family, all in a row, is heading toward richer grounds

Resting

He had his fill of food, now it's time for a long nap

Descending along the same path was certainly easier. We spent some time visiting with a local family who had no idea what we were saying, encountered a group of grammar school children who wanted to impress us with their ability to count in English, and watched lumberjacks turned trees into lumber, all where there are no roads whatsoever.

Lumberjacks cutting timber with a handsaw in the woods

Children heading home from school

When we returned to the lodge, it started to rain. We were thankful it held up during our trekking.

There was some entertainment at the lodge next door

You can understand that I was just too exhausted to go over all the photos and do this post. Hence the delay. Later, we had internet issues galore. We hope you’ve enjoyed this visit with the Susas. For us it was veritably amazing!