Going ape in Rwanda
THE RADIO crackled into life and ranger Edward beamed at us. “They’re just half an hour away,” he said, relaying the news from the trackers deep in the forest. Excitement rippled through our small group. We were about to encounter the famous mountain gorillas!
We’re in the mystical Virunga Mountains, a chain of volcanoes shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and home to just over 1,000 mountain gorillas – and more than 600 of them are here in Rwanda.
There are 12 families habituated to humans in the Volcanoes National Park on the Rwandan side – a further eight groups are studied for research purposes only. And this is the only place on Earth where you can see mountain gorillas, as they don’t survive in zoos – if you’ve seen one of these great apes in captivity, it was probably a western lowland gorilla.
Today my party of eight tourists (the maximum allowed on each trek) is heading to see the Kwitonda family.
We’re delighted to encounter one of the bigger groups, with 33 members, including two silverbacks and several babies.
Edward, who has worked in the park for 18 years and yet was as excited as we were about embarking on this adventure, gathered us around to go over the rules one last time: stay at least seven yards away from the animals, no eating or drinking in front of them, turn away and cover your mouth if you sneeze or cough (they’re susceptible to our germs), no running, no camera flashes, no loud noises and no staring down a silverback.
KARIN WRIGHT is delighted and moved by the rare privilege of an up close and personal experience with a family of silverback gorillas in their natural mountain habitat
There is a strict one-hour time limit with the gorillas, so Edward gave us his best piece of advice: remember to put your camera away and just enjoy the moment. The phrase “once in a lifetime” is overused but gorilla trekking permits cost $1,500 per person, so this isn’t going to be an annual activity.
I kept checking my watch as we headed up the slopes, following paths deeper into the bamboo thickets. As the 30-minute mark neared, my heart was thudding in my chest – and not just from the exertion and the altitude.
We stopped in a clearing to meet the trackers who had been out since dawn finding the gorillas for us and we left our stuff with our friendly porters. Even if you don’t need a bagcarrier (we just had small daypacks), many of them are former poachers and they run programmes here to teach the guys that the gorillas are more lucrative alive than dead, so it’s good to support them.
Armed with just our cameras, Edward led us through the last bit of forest – and suddenly there they were! Ten magnificent gorillas just chilling on a flattened bed of bamboo, ignoring us as we stood
there in stunned silence, welling with emotion.
A huge silverback lolled about while a female scratched his haunches, several other males batted away flies and munched on bits of bamboo, females picked ticks off teenagers, while little ones did somersaults around each other.
The only one who kept a wary eye on us was a mother cradling a tiny baby. Around a month old, with big eyes and fluffy hair, he posed for us as our cameras went into overdrive. Then, remembering Edward’s advice, I put my camera away and just soaked up the scene.
IDIDN’T have long though – without warning, the silverback suddenly got up and crashed off through the undergrowth, his entourage trundling after him. Keeping a safe distance, we followed, the rangers hacking away at the branches with machetes as we tried to keep up with the gang. We caught up with them when they stopped for a snack and we were soon surrounded by apes – swinging in the trees, foraging under the bushes, barrelling past us to get to the good fruit (they had no concept of the seven-yard rule!) and generally just doing what gorillas do, while we pinched ourselves with delight.
After exactly one hour, Edward tapped his watch – it was time to leave them be. As we reluctantly departed, we couldn’t believe our good fortune. It had truly been a privilege. I was also lucky enough to be in the country for the annual Kwita Izina ceremony organised by the Rwanda Development Board. This is a huge celebration of conservation and tourism, with wildlife enthusiasts from around the world invited to name all the baby gorillas born each year.
The 23 gorilla “namers” at this year’s ceremony in the foothills of the misty volcanoes included British chef Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall, invited in his capacity as the vice-president of Fauna & Flora International, as well as former Arsenal players Alex Scott and Lauren.
The footballers were there as part of Visit Rwanda’s sleeve sponsorship of this year’s Premier League side
– a controversial move by the tourist board but one the government hopes will be a huge boost for tourism. The country’s President Paul Kagame is a huge football fan and often tweets about his “beloved Arsenal”.
As we retired to the wonderful Lake Kivu Serena Hotel on the north shore of Rwanda’s biggest lake, we reflected on the collaborative efforts of the politicians, non-governmental organisations, rangers, researchers and dedicated conservationists who work so hard to protect these gentle giants – and make sure it’s not just the tourists who benefit.
Besides employing and educating locals, 10 per cent of the revenue generated by Rwanda’s national parks is ploughed back into the development of the communities that border them. It’s thanks to the passionate, dedicated work of everyone that mountain gorilla numbers in the country are up 26 per cent – from 480 to 604 since 2010. Just this month their official status has been reclassified from “critically endangered” – the highest level of threat – to “endangered”, moving them a level further from extinction. It was all kick-started by American Dian Fossey, of Gorillas In The Mist fame, in the 1960s, and you can learn all about her work at the Karisoke Research Center in Musanze.
There is a lot more to this region of Rwanda than gorillas. You can also track chimpanzees and golden monkeys, hike a volcano, cruise around Lake Kivu, visit hot springs, explore huge bat-filled caves or, like I did, paddle around Lake
Burera in a kayak with the friendly guys from Kingfisher Journeys. At the end of my trip around this
phenomenal country, I fancied chilling out for a few days off the beaten track. And so I discovered Red Rocks.
In the village of Nyakinama, just outside Musanze, is an amazing hideaway run by a dynamic little team of enthusiastic locals. Greg and his sister Harriet have created a gorgeous, quirky place to stay – what it lacks in luxury it more than makes up for in charm.
It is so much more than the backpacker hostel it is billed as. There are fun, hand-painted rooms in the main building, and funky safari tents in the grounds. There’s a restaurant serving tasty local grub, a crazy open-air bar and even a recording studio.
Greg and Harriet are heavily involved in uplifting the local community – integrating tourism, conservation and development to benefit residents of the volcanoes region. Visitors to Red Rocks can help local women make banana beer, weave baskets, learn to drum or cook, or visit the community in their homes.
Harriet, who studied in America but was lured back by President Kagama’s request that Rwanda’s diaspora return to help rebuild the country, runs a co-operative of around 300 women, promoting organic farming, nutrition and water conservation, helping them to become self-sufficient. In fact, Red Rocks is a mini version of how the country as a whole seems to be working – together for the common good.
A truly inspirational place. The gorillas are just the icing on a very rich cake.
GETTING THERE
Red Savannah (01242 787800/ redsavannah.com) offers six nights in Rwanda from £5,999pp various board basis. Price includes return flights from Gatwick to Kigali, two nights at Wilderness Safaris Bisate Lodge, two nights at the One&Only Nyungwe House, one night at Ruzizi Tented Lodge and one night at the Marriott Kigali. Included are visits to Akagera and Nyungwe National Parks, Lake Kivu, one gorilla permit per person and all transportation within Rwanda.
Rwanda tourism: visit rwanda.com