We climbed up and up through mountain villages. We could see lots of industrious people hoeing and weeding ready to plant maize before the wet season starts in earnest. We saw terraced crops of potatoes, maize, lemon grass (citronella), beans, peas, rice (dry mountain rice), pyrethrum daisies, cucumbers, squash, tea bushes, and tomatoes. In the rocky or stony ground and along the paths were eucalyptus gum trees.
I sat next to a 36 year old man from Burundi who had studied in Kampala. He had graduated with a BSc and was working at a university in Burundi and had been lecturing in Kigali. His field was livestock improvement and farm management. He had finished lecturing and was going to spend the weekend visiting his family in Ruhengeri (now known as Musanze, after the new president rezoned the provinces).
We got off in Musanze and took a minivan to the small dusty village of Kinigi just a few kilometres away. Most tourists stay at the hotels and lodges in Musanze but they were too expensive for us so we chose a guesthouse near the national park office. From Kinigi we had to hire 2 motobike taxis to take us the 3 kms to the guesthouse. Of course they wanted to charge us extra for the backpacks that we had to strap to our backs anyway. John bargained them down to half the rate they wanted but we paid them the starting price anyway. At the end of the day they will never do the job for less than it is worth but it is always interesting to see how much more they expect 'muzungu' to pay!
The guesthouse had a great view of the volcanoes and mountains that surrounded it. We didn't have a booking but got a nice double room with a hot shower and TV with one local channel. The rate included breakfast and we could eat at the restaurant for lunch and dinner. We did think we might be able to get some food for lunch in Kinigi village but only found a few carrots and tomatoes in the market and a shop with dry bread. As the locals grow so much of their own food they have no need of factory made provisions.
The early morning misty view reminded us of the Chinese scroll paintings.We had a bit of time before our trip to Volcano National Park to see the gorillas so we spent some time getting acclimatised to the altitude and walking about the area. The local kids would race from hoeing their plots to come and say hello and ask our name in their best English. This would be followed by 'give me money' or 'give me pen' and an enterprising couple of boys wanted English dictionaries that we could buy them in the market. Sometimes there would be hordes of them following us with their hands out for money.
In Kinigi village I spotted these two boys with their home made wire truck. I first saw these when I was in Africa in 1976 and have been looking to get a photo of one since we arrived in Africa 5 months ago. I raced around the back of the shops hoping to catch them as they came around the corner. I pretended to take a photo up the street and then they saw me and walked up to me and greeted me so I was able to get a shot without them knowing I was taking it of them. We have not seen very many of these toys and maybe they have been replaced by plastic toys made in China instead.
There were not many guests at the guesthouse over the 3 nights we spent there. Most people arrived late, got up early, and moved on the next day. Even the staff were surprised that we stayed 3 nights. We met a German lady who had been volunteering with an NGO (Non Government Organisation). She taught the women tailors how to draft patterns and give shape to the clothes that they made for their clients.
Another guest was Katya was from Slovenia and she was working in Kampala, Uganda. She had to cross into Rwanda to have her visa renewed. She worked in media, producing and directing video productions. She also sang jazz in a Ugandan group and has invited us to see them when we go to Kampala next.
When we had got our park permits to see the gorillas we asked if we needed any other information to see the gorillas and were told that we would be told everything at the 7am briefing. In the meantime we learnt from other guests that we needed to hire a driver and a 4 wheel vehicle to get from the park office to the start of the walk to the gorilla groups, and back. We also learnt that the rate for the vehicle was $80 US for the walks nearby and $120 US for the furthest track. After paying $500 US for the park permit it seemed very steep and the vehicle mafia had set the rate so there was no negotiating it. However John met an English guy who offered a ride in his vehicle.
In our group of 8, which is the maximum size of a group visiting the gorillas, were
James, the English guy, who is working as a civil engineer for a Kenyan company and his Norwegian girlfriend Vanja. She worked for a Norwegian company based in Kampala designing crash helmets. We met Jessica, from US, who worked for Peace Corp and had been 2 months in Kigale doing administrative work. Leon, Kirsten (UK) and Kaitlan (US) were doing their medical electives in a rural hospital in Uganda. Most were in their middle twenties and we managed to keep up with them on the walk.
We had chosen to see the Susa group, which we had read about in Dian Fossey's book "Gorillas in the Mist", and it is the largest habituated group they visit. It took a couple of hours to get to the start of the trek. At this time of the year the gorilla like to eat bamboo which is full of moisture after the rains. The walk through the bamboo groves was stunning.
Trackers are employed to follow the gorillas everyday. This helps prevent poaching of the gorillas and the guides are in touch with the trackers by radio so they know where the groups are. Along with the guide we had an armed guard and we were also offered porters if we needed them but no one did.
The gorillas were in the top of the 4 metre high bamboo so we had to climb up to see them. The bamboo was covered with vines so we were able to stand on top of the bamboo to see the gorillas. Sometimes we would hear the bamboo crack as a too heavy gorilla swung on it and he would go crashing down and then scramble up for a new pole.
An old femaleThe gorilla are so used to humans that they just carried on as though we weren't there. All groups are only allowed an hour with the gorillas and only 40 people a day are given permits.
We saw a set of twins and they rolled down the vine covered bamboo or wrestled with each other.
A laid back guy.Each gorilla is given a name and once a year there is a naming ceremony for them. The gorilla can be identified by the grooves above his nose and, like fingerprints, each one is different. Groups are still studied as they were by Dian Fossey.
The leader of this group probably weighs 300kg and as the males get older they get a silvery back. The immature males have black backs. After the gorillas had finished feeding they rested under the bamboo so we went under to watch. This silverback strode past John and Leon as they were crouched with their cameras. John could have breathed on him he was so close. Amazing! The silverback had a red gash below his lip as he had been in a fight with the second silverback in the group who fancies his chances for the leadership.
This gorilla found a wild banana to eat. They eat about 16 different types of vegetation. There was a well pregnant gorilla and she sat away from the group eating and resting and she looked as though she would give birth at any time. The gestation period is the same as for humans. One young male gorilla rushed at us a few times and the guide, Edward, would shoo him away. Edward said he wants to touch people but the policy was not to let them do that.
There are 258 gorilla now (in Rwanda) and the population is increasing. However there are also gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.
We all enjoyed the experience very much and came away thinking about the future of these rare animals and the effects of tourism on them and the communities, as well as the costs for keeping up such projects in the future.
