Rwanda / Uganda Trip – March 2007 With APTA and Volcanoes Safaris
April 2007 Hello Boys and Girls, Well I have just returned from East Africa… again, and I know you are just dying to hear the news. So here is the (very, very) very shortened version J
So after a late night in Nairobi I made it to the Airport for my “direct” flight to Kigali. Heaven forbid… we landed in Bujumbura in Burundi… Which wasn’t that bad… the airport looked like a typical African village with the Huts and a “Kraal”. The military presence was a scary sight with platoons marching up and down the apron… and considering that we were the only passenger flight there, I recon it a good thing no one on the plane were first time visitors to Africa!
		I finally arrived in Kigali, Rwanda. This turned out to be one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever visited. From a far it seems to be your typical African city with the reminiscence of war still visible and the smell of dust in the air. But the warm spirits of the Rwandese people lifts the
		clouds of stigmata which surrounds the ever volatile region of central Africa. Having seen Hotel Rwanda and passing familiar sites, one is drawn to the inquisitive nature of the human soul. I had to go see the Mille Collines for myself and from there to the genocide memorial, a truly remarkable place. The museum is somber as one would expect, but details Rwanda’s past, present and future, with specific reference to the genocide and the gruesome events that lead to the 1.2 million deaths in 100 days in 1994. Somehow I cannot understand how world leaders can rest at night knowing the atrocities they have both directly and indirectly inflicted onto the Rwandese people. The only thought that comes to mind is that we as a modern human race can never allow something like this to ever happen again… yet… Darfur!!!! It always seems that the children suffer the consequence of our adult human greed. The experience was life changing, and needless to say, I spent the rest of the afternoon wiping tears away.
		The following morning I took some time out with some friends at a coffee shop. With good coffee, 100’s of ex-pats and wireless connectivity, I could have been totally oblivious of the fact that I was in a 3^rd world country in central Africa. I left Kigali that same afternoon with sadness, longing to have spent another couple of days in the city. Rwanda’s roads are fantastic, except that you drive on the right hand side… with a right hand drive
		car…ummm…! The winding road north-west takes you through the 1000’s of hills and valleys - all cultivated. And finally to the town of Rhengere. Which is on the edge of the Parc National de Volcans (or Virungas as it is locally known).
		The following morning we set out tracking in the Virunga mountains. PNV hosts 8 habituated families of which 6 are visited by tourists and the other 2 are for research. We tracked the Sabinyo Family. (Sabinyo is the name of the silverback – which means “chest beater” – Apparently he was a very arrogant youngster who loved beating his chest) The fist sight of these fantastic creatures cannot be explained. One can simply stare in complete awe of these small miracles that walk our earth. Is it worth the $375? Not at all!! It’s worth 10x as much! The hour spent with them felt like 10 minutes. But we were treated to 2 little ones playing constantly. Some gorilla porn. And lots of grunts, farts and indescribable facial expressions. The following day I felt very brave and attempted to climb the Bisoke Volcano. Needles to say I never made it to the top. Hiking at a steady 60 degree angle through 8 inches of mud is no fun. After about 4 hours of continuous up hill, struggling through the mud and braving the elements (believe it or not – SNOW!!) I decided that it’ll be more fun to slide down on my backside. The following morning was quite an eventful one. Very stiff from the previous day’s extravaganza up the bloody mountain, I was on my way up to the lodge’s dining room when one of my fellow travellers
(Jane) slipped and cut her head open. So down to the hospital we go… Having seen what Johannesburg General and Tygerberg Hospitals look like, this one was in pretty good shape (all factors considered). Well to cut a long story short, I ended up in the theatre with “scrubs” and all. Felt quite important… scary thought when you walk outside though and suddenly a thousand waiting faces stare at you with anticipation that the “white” doctor might help them. The good news is that Jane got 20 stitches, which healed very quickly and very well. The sad news is that this hospital in Rhengere was indeed very poor, but they immediately decided to help the tourists. The heartbreaking news is that the whole thing (theatre et al) only cost US$20… 10 more tears to my tally. So after all this we continued on to Uganda the afternoon. Stayed just on the other side of the “Virungas” at Mgahinga. I subsequently ended up doing an additional gorilla track at Nkuringo (complements of my good friend Marilyn Householder). Slightly different to the first one, this one took us straight down a mountain slope through some local farms. No need to have entered the national park as this family (also the only habituated one at Nkuringo) was 2km outside the park. The walk back up the mountain was fun… about 1000ft in altitude in an hour’s walk. I had to prove my youth by staying ahead. Both Marianne and Gayla were giving me good run for my money!
				The walk from Nkuringo to Bwindi North takes about 3 hours through the forest. We opted to drive through “The Switzerland of Africa”, which is very beautiful, picturesque and all of those smiley, happy other things that made up for the 7½ hours it took us to drive. But needless to say, we were very happy to be staying almost inside the Bwindi Impenetrable forest, the spiders and other goggos made a very delightful welcoming party to our rooms.
My final gorilla track would take me up one mountain, down another, up another…damn, I don’t even remember how many! All I know the whole day took almost 9 hours of constant walking, and climbing. But seeing the silverback beating his chest made every step a victory and was worth every breath, sigh and grunt. Some say it’s just arrogance, some a sign of manly hood… whatever it is, the sound of that chest beating, gave my heart a thump and a bump. Our last day at Bwindi was spent hiking to a waterfall. I was the only one to brave the water… After Bill removed the imaginary leaches from my back… we were enticed by hundreds of colourful butterflies… and Jane’s guardian angel organized, believe it or not… a 4^th Gorilla sighting!!
The afternoon we visited a pigmy family who was removed from the Bwindi Forest in the 90’s. One always reads about these short forest dwellers… but seeing them for real and realizing what a giant I really am, was quite a laugh. We left the West-African jungles for East Africa Savannah. Uganda is probably the only country that can offer such diversity, no wonder Sir Winston Churchill called it the “Pearl of Africa”. The drive also took about 7 hours. Spent 3 hours looking for Ishasha’s Tree Climbing lions – to no avail (better get to Lake Manyara to go and see them) From there we had lots of fun with a muddy track all the way to the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park. (our guides would’ve made any 4x4 enthusiast – and Landrover owner – very proud) En route we brushed the border of the Congo a couple of times… the closest we got was across from the river where I was standing… very tempting to make a quick swim for my illegal entrance into the DRC… till the bloody hippos put a damper on my spirits! Running water, flushing toilets and electricity was an absolute bliss. Not to mention mosquito nets and AIRCON!! This made up for running into warthogs, hippo’s and leopard on the way to your room at night. (Did I mention, you have to walk alone… without flashlights?)
			Queen Elizabeth was full of the normal game activities and nothing too spectacular or out of the ordinary. The last day we went Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge. These ever elusive and evading primates knew exactly how to evade us. But we got to see them, albeit through the bushes. The last part of my journey took us over the equator and to Kampala and finally onto Entebbe Airport.
And so I ask myself, what was the highlight of my journey… The first sight of the gorillas, spending time in a Rwandan hospital, the new friends I’ve made… but most of all… the kids! Their effervescent smiles, their friendly waves, their non-judgemental eyes, their complete innocence, oblivious to the world outside theirs and their utter acceptance of people around them! We should all take on everyday with the enthusiasm and total bliss of the enquiring and loving mind of a child!
Well, this is all for now. I hope that my terrible sense of humour and love for writing has enticed you. Please fee free to drop me line any time. Just click on the “Mail me” Link. Till next time. Morné
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