Trekking to Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda
At 5 am Alexis, our caretaker at the camp we’re staying at came to our door singing Rwandan songs- our personal wake up call accompanied with hot Rwandan coffee in hand.
By 5:30 we had on our hiking gear-a few layers on-to avoid an ugly fate with stinging nettles we would surely encounter on our trek to visit the gorillas in Volcano Park. By 7, Martin, our driver for our time in Rwanda had dropped us off at the briefing center where everyone who would be trekking to see some of the 20 or so Gorilla families would meet their guides.
All of the National Park Guides at morning briefing
Martin negotiated our route with the guides and we were lucky enough to be put into the group that would have a moderate trek to visit the Susa gorilla family. It was too good to be true! The Susa family is the family that Dian Fossey studied at a time when there were less than 250 mountain gorillas in the area. We would visit the Susa family made up of 25 gorillas of all ages.
Our guide, Louis, briefed us on what to expect- mostly discussing safety and what not, and we jumped into our Land Cruiser passing through villages filled of children, on their way to school and adults on their way to work. As we got closer, the road, got bumpier and we passed through fields of potato farmers and women drying local wildflowers on blankets outside of their huts that would be eventually crushed and turned into natural organic pesticide to protect the crops. Meanwhile, all of the village children that saw our Land Cruiser waved- most of them saying “hello, how are you” the littlest ones getting their whole bodies into the excitement, both arms waving and jumping up and down.
As we reached the edge of the village, we got out of the truck and picked out our porter who would carry our bag. It wasn’t as much a necessity as a means to give village men work- the same villagers that at one point not too many decades ago would have been more likely to be gorilla poachers. We were happy to support.
As we reached the edge of the forest, our guide informed us that she had good news- the trackers were following the Susa family as they were making their way down the mountain- our 2-hour hike through the mud to find them would significantly be cut down. As we set foot into the forest, surrounded by lush greenery and bamboo, we were quiet except for the clacking of the machete ripping through the bamboo. Before we got to close to the gorillas, the guides made us drop our things- most importantly leaving behind our walking sticks and poles. Reason being, some of the older gorillas still remember the trauma of what those walking sticks represent- poachers.
Climbing over and under the bamboo we shortly made our way to the gorilla family first coming across the dominant silverback. He was beautiful.
We saw mothers with their babies held close, the older babies showing a bit more independence, climbing the bamboo,-their own version of a jungle gym, in the literal sense.
At one point we were in the middle of the family, surrounded by the gorillas. When they would pass to get by, we would look down; grunting in a way as though we were clearing our throats in a deep voice to make them know we weren’t a threat.
Right before it was time to say goodbye to the gorillas we watched the teenagers get into a bit of trouble. When the gorillas eat bumbles it ferments in their stomachs and they get a bit drunk. The teenagers would then take to a bit of troublemaking, wrestling each other and pounding their chests to show dominance before climbing up a bamboo tree while the other tried to snap the bamboo back to make the other fall off.
Our time with the gorillas went quickly and was a moving experience. The permit to see the gorillas is expensive but knowing that in addition to experiencing something so rare, you know your money is going to not only protect these endangered animals but also to help the surrounding communities through initiatives that support education, clean water, and medicine.
