Rwanda Gorilla Trek

A trip to Rwanda is a trip of a lifetime. We spent a few days there in the land of a thousand hills as it is called. It is a beautiful country and the people are very friendly and nice. we landed in Kigali after a long flight from New York with a layover in Brussels. We were picked up at the airport and as we made our way to the hotel we passed through the city of Kigali which is quite modern in the new parts having nice new buildings. After a dinner overlooking the pool we went to bed early for a good night's rest. Breakfast was overlooking the pool and the buffet was very good. The guide came to pick us up and took us through he city and out first stop was the Genocide museum. we spent 3 hours there and it was a very moving experience to learn about the history and visiting the graves of all those that were impacted by the horrors of genocide. each and every family in Rwanda has had at least one member of the family who was lost to the Genocide. 

After this visit it was time to head to Lake Kivu which is north of Kigali - it is about a 3 hour drive and we stopped for lunch on the way there. We arrived at Lake Kivu late afternoon and spent the rest of the evening relaxing on the shores of the lake and enjoying drinks while watching the glorious sunset. Dinner was on a terrace by the pool and with a view of the lake. There was a live band and many locals were enjoying dinner and the music. The next morning after breakfast we went on a hike through the local village and saw how the local people live on the hills and amongst the banana trees. The children were very excited to see foreigners like us and followed us for a while all the time smiling and at time asking us for money.

After lunch we were taken by our guide on a short drive to the border of Congo. This was followed by a ride on the lake - it was a small open boat and we went alongside the shores of the lake - there was a beautiful view of the Volcanoes. We saw many hotels along the way and also local fishing villages and were able to get out the boat and walk around in one of the villages. The fishermen were getting ready to go out in their boats - fishing is done all night and there are 3 boats that are attached to each other and they go as a group of three. It was a lovely ride and a nice sunset as we headed back to the hotel. 

The next day was a two hour ride to the Virunga lodge which would be our home for the next 3 days. It is hard to describe the views along t way as we made our way up the volcano and we climbed up the view got better and better - the lodge is on top of a Volcano (dormant now) and it is totally breathtaking. Each room is a small villas with a huge living room, a big bedroom and a large bathroom. This luxury lodge has a communal dining experience which was wonderful as we ate drank and exchanged our experiences with other residents of the lodge.

Early next morning, we were woken up by delivery of the morning tea service at our doorstep. After a cup of tea, we headed to the dining room for a hearty breakfast and then it was off to the Gorilla trek.The lodge provided gaiters that cover our ankles and helped us get fitted for them. We had on our hiking boots, our packed lunch in our backpacks and ff we went to the base of the Volcanoes National Park for a briefing session where were assigned to our group of 8 trekkers with one guide. It was  a short ride to the start of the trek where we hired a porter for each person (it was 10 US Dollars for one) and the porter is very useful to guide you as well as carry your backpack. The first part of the hike was through a flat area that was quite muddy and then it it got a little steeper. There was one person with a machete who cut away any bamboo growth to provide a makeshift trail. After a 90 minute hike, the guides told us that the Gorilla family was not too far. All of a sudden we were upon them and the first one we saw was huge Silverback (the male member of the family). After a few feet of hiking we saw a mother with a baby and we spent 10 minutes observing both of them. Another few feet away was another female just hanging out and eating and further up was another mother with a baby. We were mesmerized and watched this family for one hour and then it was time to go back down. It was quite difficult to go down as it had started raining and the area was very muddy and slippery. The porters did a wonderful job in guiding our steps and helping us cross over little streams and extremely narrow pathways. We could not have done it without the porters. No matter how strong you think you are do use a porter!!