Rwanda - Mountain Gorillas

It was a very tough 3 day journey by multiple buses, a shared taxi, and a motorbike from Arusha, Tanzania to Kigali, Rwanda. Buying tickets and getting to the buses were so challenging that I had to involve the police on 3 separate occasions. The level of harassment and deceit was unbelievable in Tanzania. I had gotten into such a heated argument with one of the ticket sellers in one Tanzanian town that I had to ask for a police escort to my hotel to pick up my backpack, return with me to the bus station, and wait with me until the bus left. In order to get to the border crossing from Tanzania into Rwanda I had to share a taxi with a family of 5. In the shared taxi the youngest child squeezed his mother's nipple and breast milk squirted out all over my arm. I just had to laugh since this scene was so outrageous. Since I arrived late in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, I jumped on the back of a motorbike "taxi" to maneuver through the unfamiliar streets of Kigali in the dark in pursuit of a hotel. Of course my driver wanted more money than we had agreed upon before I hopped on. I gave him the money we had agreed upon and abruptly walked away. This was definitely a rough journey to get into Rwanda. Let's just say I took the path less traveled.

My plan was to see the mountain gorillas in the Parc National des Volcans where Dian Fossey conducted much of her primate research. If the name sounds familiar it is because most Americans were introduced to her from the biographical movie "Gorillas in the Mist" staring Sigourney Weaver. In order to see the mountain gorillas you must first buy a mountain gorilla permit at the Rwanda Tourism Board in Kigali. Once the mountain gorilla family is sighted, you are only permitted to view them for a maximum of 1 hour. There are 4 mountain gorilla families to pick from, when buying your permit. There is a family of 4, 6, 12, or 24. The family of 24 is situated higher up on the mountain and in a more densely forested jungle. In other words, you are advised to be in good physical shape since you may have to hike up the mountain and through the jungle for several hours. I purposely selected the family of 24. I even wrote it on my $250 ticket. That's right. It cost $250 for a 1 hour viewing. Nowadays the price can be as high as $500. Although this price may not sound completely unreasonable, in terms of buying power in Africa it is astronomical, but I knew this before I arrived. I bought my ticket to see the family of 24 and the next day took a 2 hour minivan ride to Ruhengeri, which is closer to the park.

As required, I made my presence known at the Office of Tourism near Ruhengeri. My presence would be communicated to the head ranger and I should report to the main station the next morning by 8 a.m. to start the trek to the family of 24 mountain gorillas. The main station is several miles out by dirt road. I had no idea how I would get there, but I would figure something out. From the tourism office I walked a couple of miles back into town and grabbed a bite to eat. I went to a little local restaurant. I got the impression that I was one of the first foreigners to eat there. It is not that foreigners never come to this town, it is the fact that most eat in restaurants that probably cater to foreigners. I personally prefer the ambiance of the local eatery because I wanted to hang out with people from Rwanda. Let me just say that they treated me like a very special guest. Although my Swahili was very limited, we were still able to communicate. (Aside - I really should have paid more attention in French class in high school. It would have come in handy in Rwanda.) The restaurant owner made an extra effort to make sure that my plate was clean, the food was cooked well and was presented nicely. I could not have felt more honored. Small gestures like these make the rough travel worth it. After lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out transportation to the main station for the next morning. After much time negotiating, one motorbike driver said he would do it. He would meet me the next morning at 7 a.m. in the same spot. Good. I had a plan.

The next day at 7 a.m. the motorbike guy is not in our meeting spot. There's no one around to take me to the main station. I start walking to the Office of Tourism, hoping I could find a ride somehow. Low and behold my motorbike guy finds me. He thought I was meeting him somewhere else. It is now closer to 7:30 a.m. I hop on the motorbike and away we go. The dirt road was curvy and full of rocks and pot holes. With one hand I held onto the motorbike and with the other hand I held down my chest. I thought one of my breasts was going to give me a black eye. I was getting concerned because it was getting late, and I was supposed to be at the main station by 8 a.m. At about 8:10 a.m. I jump off the motorbike, told my driver to wait, and I ran into the main station. The tourist group was still there. I hadn't missed my trek.

I told the ranger that I was there to see the mountain gorilla family of 24. He told me that no one is viewing the family of 24 today but he instead put me in the group of 6. I was furious. There is a big difference between 24 gorillas and 6 gorillas. I paid too much to let this one slide. I told him I would not go. I signed up for the family of 24 and that is the only group I will go see. He should tell me the next time he is going to trek to the family of 24 and I will come back then. I can come back tomorrow, in 1 week, in 2 weeks, or whenever. My schedule was open and I could work around his viewing dates for the 24 mountain gorillas. I think he was shocked. First because I refused to go with the smaller group and second because I arrived on a motorbike by myself. Because of the Rwanda genocide in 1994 most foreigners are too scared to go to Rwanda. Most stay in Uganda, take a very early minivan ride to Rwanda, view the gorillas, and ride back to Uganda on the same day. I was a woman alone in Rwanda (not coming from Uganda) and coming to the main station by hired motorbike. After accessing the situation he realized that I was going to stand my ground. He told me he would most likely be taking a group the next day. I could join that group. As I mentioned, my Swahili was very limited. I asked the ranger to explain the situation to my motorbike driver. My motorbike driver should meet me in the same place, bring me back the next morning and for the same price. Done. I told the ranger I would definitely be back the next morning to view the family of 24 mountain gorillas.

I took the motorbike ride back into town. Just to make sure that indeed I would be viewing the mountain gorillas the next day, I took the 2 hour minivan ride back to Kigali. I complained at the main Office of Tourism, where a day earlier I had given my $250. The woman behind the desk called the ranger's main station and did in fact confirm that I absolutely would be able to view the family of 24 mountain gorillas the next day. I took the 2 hour minivan ride back to the town closest to the park.

The next morning I walked to the Office of Tourism near Ruhangeri. I lucked out this time because the tour group was meeting there in a minivan and had room for me to take the ride up to the ranger's main station. I thanked my motorbike driver and got in the minivan. The tour group turned out to be a group of young, Canadian(?) missionaries working in Uganda. They were taking a day trip into Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas. We began the trek by 9 a.m. There were 8 of us + 1 tour guide and 2 armed guards. One guard was at the front of the single file line and one guard was at the back of the single file line. They were there to protect us from a gorilla gone mad and also from the poachers that may be in the jungle. It took us much longer to get up the mountain than expected, since one of the missionaries was is very bad physical shape. She was overweight and huffing and puffing up the mountain. We had to stop frequently for her to catch her breath. I was very annoyed at this, since the brochure clearly stated that this trek was a tough one and only those in good physical shape should select this trek. The other three treks were much less strenuous. Of course these were missionaries and they were all very sweet. I could not bring myself to say anything negative. Instead I said, "I am glad we are stopping. This gives us a chance to really enjoy the scenery." In truth it was absolutely gorgeous on the mountain, but I was a little too p.o.ed to truly enjoy it.

At one point our guide received radio contact that the trackers found the gorilla family. We were directed to where the gorillas were roaming on this particular day. Before we actually got to the gorillas, the rules of behavior were reviewed. We were to stay in a single file line. We were not to talk or only talk in a whisper. We were to stay at least 20 feet away from the gorillas. It is O.K. if the gorilla comes closer but we are not to go closer. Part of this is for our safety and part of this is so that we do not get the gorillas sick. If a gorilla comes very close, do not look at it in the eyes. You should act timid and let the gorilla be in control. We may take pictures and use video cameras but no flash photography. I knew this in advance so I purchased higher speed film. In the end this choice did not work out so well and most of my pictures turned out a little bit blurry.

After all of the above difficulties, let me just say that seeing the mountain gorillas for an hour was AWESOME, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE!!!! I saw a mother with a baby. I saw two young brothers play-fighting. I saw an overweight female. I saw a couple of gorillas in the trees. I saw 2 male silverbacks. One of the silverbacks charged us and we coyly moved back. He was so close I could have touched him. My heart was beating fast. We heard a couple of loud chest pounds from the silverback to tell us whose territory it was and who was in charge. Again, AWESOME, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE!!!!!

Picture: Abigail with mountain gorilla over her right shoulder.

Would I do it again? You betcha! In a heartbeat.