R51 Rwanda - Gorillas in the Mist
Sunday, 7 May 2017 10:31 pm
The day started cold and wet, raining actually, which was not a good sign.
Agashya ( or Special ) is the name of the large leading Silverback because when he took over the group from his rival he did not kill his predecessor’s offspring.
Which is unusual and thus Special.
We had been warned that the track to our group would be about 1 1/2 hours of very muddy and slippery and sometimes up hill slope.
With that in mind we elected to have the optional ‘helper’ for Lyn to save her knee.
Across hand ploughed and soggy paddocks, then into the national Park itself with huge stands of bamboo.
The trail gets slippery and shoes sink until they fill with mud.
Still it rains and the mist surrounds us.
The scout party is out front and they have located our group...
We are allocated 1 hour exactly with the group and just then the rain stops!
So Lucky.
The another walks past us with her 6 month old child.
Then we find the leading Silverback.
He is around 30 years old
We see him only briefly before he flashes his silver back and disappears into thicker vegetation.
More of his offspring are close by
That is the Silverback just behind me, so you do get very close.
Only 10 minutes before our hour is up down comes the heavy rain again.
Here the mother protects her young from that cold rain.
One of our group had serious trouble walking in, hence for US$200 you can be carried in and out by 4 porters.
We leave the area knowing the Gorillas are in good hands.
These guys stay with the group from 8am to 3pm every day, checking on their wellbeing, health and safety.
Back in the car park we are swamped by ‘Truck Tourists’
At US$750 each...was it worth it YES !
Before we left we were told we were very lucky. “Yes I agree we saw 12 Gorillas for that group.”
“No! Not that. The government just announced the cost will now be US$1,500 each. Effective immediately !”
Yes we were doubly lucky !
Back at:
R210: Kinigi Guest House/Camp Volcanoes National Park
Cost: RF 5,000 (A$7) /person
Today: 22 Kms
Africa Total: 38,932 Kms
Altitude: 2,318 Metres
Tomorrow into Uganda