Last weekend Michael and I were invited to Rwanda to see the gorillas with Pete and Juliana Sylvester from Royal African Safaris. What a treat! It really is one of the most amazing experiences one can have. Drizzle running down the neck, slippery mud paths, monster biting ants and all the rest that is associated with really damp forests just pale into insignificance when you catch your first sighting of a 39 year old, 200 kg silverback mountain gorilla called Guhonda head of Subyinyo Group. The heart is beating fast when you see how massive these creatures and you are and only a couple of meters away. A few minutes later and you realise just how peaceful and gentle these creatures are and so courteous to their females and their young. However, a rogue blackback might get a thumping, discipline is key.
The other group – Kwitonda – that we visited had a silverback called Charles, slightly smaller but just as impressive and he was in the mood for love. Despite being glared at and photographed by the paparazzi he and his mate enjoyed themselves. The babies in this group were really playful too – possibly because it was a much drier day.
Rwanda is an extraordinary country – the plastic bag is banned and the streets of Kigali are clean – just no litter – so strange compared to Kenya where the country is festooned in plastic. The people were totally charming, friendly, attentive and intelligent. The music and the dance were fantastic almost contemporary. There are just millions of people living on a very small piece of land, luckily the soil is so rich and fertile that they grow bananas and potatoes for export to the Congo – huge Russian planes take off several times a day to fly into Goma laden with food. No one is hungry, but they certainly live in a close proximity.
The ‘gorilla industry’ is booming and very well organised – there are a set number of permits issued each day – there are eight groups of gorillas visited on a daily basis, maximum of one hour and only in the mornings. Only eight guests are allowed in each group. Security scouts stay with the groups all day and night so searching for them in the morning is usually quite a quick affair, but they can move fast so sometimes it is not a guaranteed outcome. Porters are there to carry your water bottle and camera – the more people benefitting from the gorillas has got to be a good thing – the gorillas need space, so they have to pay their way in Rwandan economics.
The gorilla guides are also crucial – we were accompanied by Augustine on day one, he was charming and funny and informative and totally relaxed with the group of gorillas and we all felt very confident in his ability to communicate with Guhonda – the silverback.
Francois accompanied us the next day, he is a bit older and more experienced, worked for Diane Fossey and really has an affinity with the gorillas. His sense of humour was excellent and his ability to imitate a silverback was fantastic.
Another point of interest in Kigali is the Genocide Museum; it is also the burial place of over 250,000 Rwandans. The museum is very well set up, informative and moving and visited by tourists and Rwandans themselves, I suppose trying to understand what happened in their country and determined that it will never happen again.
I would definitely recommend this trip to everyone!
