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Gorilla trekking… the measure of adventure<\/strong> Heading into Rwanda<\/strong> The first thing we notice is the landscape. It\u2019s hilly, green and the land looks well tended. Of the countries we have seen this one is distinct. Gone are the flat plains of Kenya and Tanzania. And it doesn\u2019t have the red soil typical of Uganda. No wonder they call this the Switzerland of Africa. I thought it was a clich\u00e9. But as the truck groans its way up and down serpentine roads, it all begins makes sense.<\/p>\n \n It also makes me realize how much we\u2019ve seen in the past few weeks on this tour. Africa has so much diversity and taking an overland trip, like the Tucan Travel tour I\u2019m on seems and ideal way to see it.<\/p>\n On the truck I read Romeo\u2019s Dallaire\u2019s \u201cShake hands with the Devil\u201d a book about the UN commander who saw the country fall helplessly into chaos. So when we entered Rwanda, I expect this country was going to carry the scars of this devastation. I expect downtrodden people, with dour, listless looks in their eyes.<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t have been more wrong.<\/p>\n \nAs per everywhere in Africa, when we stop the truck for lunch, the first to approach are the children. They look very serious for their age. But after Matt takes some photos of them and shows them the images on his viewfinder, they break out into smiles.<\/p>\n \nSoon, younger children follow. They whisper amongst themselves and eye us cautiously. Again, after doing some pantomime, it\u2019s not hard to get them laughing. Then, before we know it, it seems that they entire lunch spot is teeming with people. Kids, adults, everyone is standing around, mostly smiling, chatting. They do seem a bit more reserved than in Uganda but as soon as we approach, they smile brightly.<\/p>\n \nAnd when we pack lunch up and head back into the truck, they follow us and linger outside. Then, as the truck rolls forward, they follow. Most walk, but one young kid actually runs with the truck for at least a kilometer. I think to myself that maybe here is the reason East Africa produces so many world class long distance runners!<\/p>\n \n The lead up to the Gorilla Trek<\/strong> Our base for the trip is a nondescript town called Rhuengeri (also known as Musanze) and we\u2019re staying on the grounds of a pastoral centre. Here we get upgraded. Being a camping tour, an upgrade means we get to sleep in real beds, with real mattresses. It\u2019s amazing how luxury depends on what you\u2019ve had before – the dorm feels like a sumptuous palace.<\/p>\n The Gorilla Permit Centre<\/strong>: \n There’s a palpable excitement in the air, as this is the day we\u2019ve all waited for. The road to the permit centre is beautiful. It seems that the parks name is apt – Parc des Volcans houses five extinct volcanoes and these loom overhead.<\/p>\n The land is verdant. Children meander down the road in packs on their way to school.\n<\/p>\n Finally, we arrive. After hanging around we meet our guide, and we group together. There eight permits per family and only seven of us so we are joined by Mark, a Brit living and working in Angola.<\/p>\n \n The guide shows us a placard with gorilla faces. He points to the top right photo. \u201cThis is Charles\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to meet his family\u201d.<\/p>\n Charles\u2019 family is known as the Umubano group. The guide explains the history. \u201cBefore the genocide, in 1994, Charles was part of a different family,\u201d he reminisces. “We stopped tracking the gorillas in Rwanda in 1994 because it was too dangerous with the war. When we started again in 2001, we found that Charles had started a new family. And because the war had ended, we called the family Umubano.\u201d He tells us the word means peace in Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda.<\/p>\n Turns out that Charles was a renegade gorilla who saw an opportunity to run away with two females and start a new family. And, fortunately for us, this family now has 12 individuals, four of which are infants. The guide tells us we\u2019re lucky. Charles\u2019 family is known to be an active, curious one, which means we\u2019re likely to have lots of interaction.<\/p>\n Preparation for Gorilla Tracking<\/strong> We load into a small truck and our guide jokes that we\u2019re off to get an African massage – a euphemism for one of the most boulder strewn roads I\u2019ve seen – even by African standards. \n \n Matt, who has a 300 zoom focuses in. \u201cGORILLAS!!!!\u201d We look carefully at the scene. And soon we realize there is something there. With my zoom I can finally make it out. There are, indeed, wild gorillas here.<\/p>\n The hour begins<\/strong> The next thing I remember is looking down a steep hill. Nick, who is a few paces ahead whispers \u201cGorillas, oh my god, gorillas!\u201d Below us is a female with a baby and another young male. What amazes me is that my heart is going 1000 miles a minute, while they look so peaceful, so composed. I break out my camera and start snapping madly. This first contact is one of my favorites, because I hadn\u2019t yet figured out the rules for the next hour.<\/p>\n The guide tells us that at all times we should keep 7 meters distance. But, as the young male approaches me, I quickly learn that the seven meter rule is one imposed by humans – this gorilla family obviously hasn\u2019t been briefed!<\/p>\n The guide tells us we need to move, and we struggle up the steep embankment as the male easily gains on me. Finally I reach the flat trail and, unfazed, the gorilla pushes right past me into the bush, only a couple meters from where I\u2019m standing.\n<\/p>\n \n The group idles forward to a flat clearing. It\u2019s here we get our first glimpse of Charles. He\u2019s unmistakable, on all fours with his massive knuckles pushed against the ground. It seems that he\u2019s posing, pushing his silver back towards us. He\u2019s an amazing display, and everything about him exudes power and strength. Around him are his family. There must be four or five that are busying themselves. They chew branches, and graze on vegetation, while all the while Charles stays poised on the hilltop.<\/p>\n Cameras are snapping and we\u2019re all trying to reconcile the fact that we\u2019re in a jungle in Rwanda, and that in front of us is a family of wild gorillas. You\u2019d be surprised how often over the hour I thought this must be some bizarre dream.<\/p>\n \n The infant<\/strong> \n The guide starts making low grunts and waving a leaf. The little guy does an impish twirl, as if showing off his latest moves. He\u2019s like a little kid who knows he\u2019s adorable and is keen to have adults confirm it. He stares at us, with a look of curiosity, it\u2019s not unlike what any kid does when confronted by a strange animal.<\/p>\n But as he almost touches Mat, the guide hollers again. The little gorilla does another roll and then continues down the path.<\/p>\n Charles<\/strong> \n Up until now, I haven\u2019t feared for my safety, but suddenly I\u2019m a bit nervous. I mean, what if this gorilla doesn\u2019t want us here? This is after all\u00a0his<\/em> home, and\u00a0we<\/em> are the guests. And what does a 300 pound silver back gorilla do with unwelcome guests anyway? But the guide doesn\u2019t urge us to move. And soon, he\u2019s right in front of us, only a meter away. And just has he passes, he stands up, beats he chest and walks off into the bush.<\/p>\n We\u2019re all a bit stunned.<\/p>\n The next half hour we stick to roughly the same area. We spot a mother with a tiny baby on her back. This is the youngest gorilla, only 4 months old. We later learn that the gorilla population in Uganda (which has a separate group) is stagnant, but Rwanda has seen 12 new gorillas in 2009 alone.<\/p>\n \n We also see a gorilla in the trees, who is swinging, tarzan style. It looks like fun, I\u2019m almost tempted to give it a try. Then the guide tells us there are 10 minutes left. We try to argue. It seems impossible that 45 minutes went by that quickly. But, he shows us his watch. For the final ten minutes I consciously put down my camera. I\u2019ve been so busy snapping I\u2019ve hardly had time to appreciate what I\u2019m seeing.<\/p>\n In spite of their size, these are docile, gentle creatures. They are contented to munch on the thick vegetation while the little gorillas play. Perhaps, I think, it\u2019s ironic that it\u2019s me who feared the gorillas. After all it\u2019s humans that have brought them to the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n And then, in the fastest hour of my life, the guide tells us we\u2019re done. All of us try to sneak a few more minutes, but he urges us on.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tough hike back, but we\u2019re all buzzing about our experience. And there\u2019s one thing that we all seem to agree: $650 was a bargain for the experience we had with Charles and his family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kevin Smith, sales rep travels to Africa to visit Rwandas gorilla community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[11,26,12,27],"yoast_head":"\n
\nHave you ever heard of the human travel gauge? That\u2019s when you tell someone you\u2019re close to like your mom, grandmother, best friend etc. about your next off the wall adventure. The more shock they register, often the better and more authentic experience you will have.
\nMy human travel gauge is my mom and telling her that I was going to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda got a good 8.5\/10. It was great news, a sign that I was in for a real dandy. At the same time, this is to be the most expensive hour of my life. To see the gorillas, I\u2019ve shelled out CAD650. That buys me one hour, just sixty minutes of face time with the gorillas. I had a lot of time on the overland truck to ponder this. It works out to $10.83 per minute.<\/p>\n
\nPerhaps there\u2019s no African country in the world that is so notorious for bad things as Rwanda. It was here that over 1,000,000 people died in 100 days. So when we cross the border from Uganda, everyone on the Tucan Travel truck looks a little apprehensive.<\/p>\n
\nThere are only 700 wild mountain gorillas left in existence. That\u2019s it. If these 700 individuals are poached (which is still a risk given the high prices paid for gorilla parts) a whole species will cease to exist. So, aside from the obvious costs of paying the guides and trackers, my 650 will also go to conservation efforts that will ensure these animals persist. It makes the high cost a bit easier to swallow.<\/p>\n
\nOur gorilla trekking day finally arrives, and we\u2019re up at 6:00 to head to the permit centre where we will meet our guide and learn which family we will track.<\/p>\n
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\nEach day, before the tourists arrive, trackers head into the mountains to try and locate the habituated families. Trackers believe the family is about a two-hour walk from the centre. We\u2019re told that gorillas generally only move a couple kilometers per day. The hard part is the terrain, since it\u2019s very dense and locating the family can involve bushwacking potentially treacherous terrain.<\/p>\n
\nFinally, we arrive at the base of a towering, almost perfectly conical volcano. We\u2019re given special sticks that have beautifully rendered gorilla carvings at the handle. And after some initial photos, we begin our walk.<\/p>\n
\nAt our first sighting the guide sets his clock. We get exactly one hour with the gorillas. He tells us leave our bags, and only bring our cameras as we follow a steep banked trail for the last 5 minutes to Charles\u2019 family.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the little infant gorillas comes towards us. The guide tells us we have to move back – the little guys tend to be the most curious and he is likely to get too close. There\u2019s a strange give-and-take here. We want as close an encounter as possible while the guide has the responsibility to keep us back. But the infant (we later learn he\u2019s three years old) comes closer and stares at Matt in the eyes.\n<\/p>\n
\nA few minutes later, we have our best encounter with Charles. He\u2019s been on the hilltop the entire time, but he suddenly gets up and starts walking towards us. It\u2019s now that his size becomes apparent.<\/p>\n