Rwanda - Mountain Gorillas

Tuesday, September 17'th

There was a dense fog that morning we left southern Uganda departing for Rwanda. The scene was set for the Dian Fossy biography: “Gorillas in the Mist”. As we cleared the camp

On our way out suddenly we were above the haze and could see the valley of lake Bunyonyi covered in clouds, a remarkable sight. We headed straight for the 'Katuna'/'Gatuna' borderpost, we did not even make a stop at the 'Hot Loaf' bakery.

It was easy to exit Uganda, just the usual paperwork, but entering Rwanda is a different story. First you fill out the form, then you stand in line to talk inspector #1, he copies your information to a visa application and makes a lot of smalltalk. Then you have to talk Inspector #2, to whom you must pay the 35$US (Fall of '96) and do some smalltalk while he copies your data into the large protocol. At the mean time some Rwandaise soldiers are searching the truck for weapons, illegal goods (fugitives ?). The hole process takes an hour and a half. As a surprise Sheila didn't have to get a visa, probably because she is from Canada (French speaking) and Rwanda is a former Belgian colony (also French speaking). however, this would cause some problems later, that she doesn't have a visa.

Finally we were allowed to continue towards Kigali (capital of Rwanda) where we would reconfirm our booking

On the road to Kigali we didn't encounter further problems, it was hard to see that the country was in a state of emergency, the roads were fine, people were working in the fields, but we were in the northern part and the trouble was at the border to Burundi. The infrastructure was perfect, the roads were the best we had seen in Africa so far but the story is that everything is flown in by the Belgians, they are keeping the country going.

We reached Kigali within 3 hours and headed straight for the Tourist office at the center. An other truck was already there. They didn't have any reservations, they should have seen the Gorillas in Zaire but the trouble at the Uganda/Zaire border forced them to try elsewhere, so here they were.

Our reservations did confirm and we started the truck and headed north for the town of Ruhengeri and the fine hotel there. Usually it is possible to park and camp in the garden and use the Hotel facilities for a small fee.

But not this time, an other Overland group had thrashed the hotel the day before and there was no way for us to camp there, thanks to those idiots. Instead we had to drive north-east out of the town to an abandoned Tutsi-resort. In the picture above you see in the distance the Virunga - Parc des Volcans, the national refuge for Mountain Gorillas. Below is the shattered remains of a former luxury hotel that has been a ruin

Now we were feeling the altitude, 10500 feet and we had to adjust to the thin air before the morning where we were to climb all day looking for Gorillas in the mist.

The rain came at sunset and we used one of the pavilions with only a few bullit-holes in the roof, as our kitchen. In Ruhengeri we had announced to local police that we were to stay at the abandoned hotel and as the dinner was ready a group of soldiers arrived. I thought “what now ?” but the drivers

When we were through eating there were plenty left and the soldiers were invited to eat what was left (I think it would have been more polite to invite them to join us while we were eating).

Author in the rainforest

Now we are at least two hours late and we only drive slowly because of the rainfall last night and the steep slopes. At noon the guide proclaim that we can't drive further up the mountain and we have to walk from here on. He said that it would only take an hour but the truth is that it is a three-and-a-half hour mountain climb in the thin air, stressed by the fact that we have to be at the borderpost at 6PM the latest.

But what a great adventure. We are climbing in the real rainforrest, it is mostly bamboo. To make shortcut, to save time,

Climbing up impossible slopes, and sliding down ravines it goes and time is also marching on. Normally the Mountain Gorillas move and make a new nest every day, this is done a few hours before sunset. It is getting critical if we are going to make it and catch a glimpse of the Gorillas. The lights are dim and the colors are dark green and brown. Being there it is hard, almost a nightmare, but thinking back it was like a dream. The humidity, the excitement, the sounds, smells, colors. It all adds up to make a unforgettable day. No one said a word, we were all absorbing the adventure, all you could hear from us were a bunch of people short of breath.

Finally, We were rewarded with a 10 minutes visit to the Susa group and a half-an-hour chase of them when they decide to move and find a new nest.

Read the story by Dough Fine about the Gorillas in Parc des Volcans, Rwanda. Here is a report about the current situation for the Mountain Gorillas.

We are back at the parked truck at 5PM and there is not enough time to get us out of the park and out of Rwanda before the border close. Exhausted we drive back to the abandoned hotel and go to bed early.

Thursday, September 19'th

The next day we head for the Rwanda/Uganda border to drive back to lake Bunyonyi for an other rest. We have saved a yet couple of days so we will stay a day at Bunyonyi.

We reach the border just as the borderpost official has left for lunch. We wait an hour in the immense heat and finally the guard return. Now Sheila has a problem, She does not have a Visa, the guard at entry forgot to give her one (for free) and now she can't get out. A half-hour discussion with the official persuade him and Sheila gets her stamps and are free to leave Rwanda.

No problems at the Uganda border and after a brief lunch we drive back to Bunyonyi through the mountains, a wery scenic route. Whenever we stop to photograph the view, people pop up, out of the blue and claim that we have taken a picture of them and demand to get payed for their contribute to the photo. Alison has the right answer to these

Back at Bunyonyi by afternoon, we quickly make camp, now we are the only group here and we get the good place for our tents, by the bank of the lake but further down the shore at a more spaceious spot. Freddy have started preparing dinner and we join the preparation. It will be ready in half an hour, I decide to have a go at the shower. Well, it is a bit primitive but well worth the effort. In the afternoon a huge boiler filled with lake water is heated on a bonfire. You bring your own bowl and mix the hot water with cold from the lake, then a cup to use when rinsing yourself and off to the shower hovel, isolated at the edge of the camp.

The lights are getting dim by now and it is difficult to see what you are doing. But this have been practiced several times so I guess complete darkness wouldn't be a show-stopper. It have been days since my last shower so I take my time to also do some shaving, my first since Nairobi - a ten day beard is in fact difficult to shave off with a use-once-razor but I manage and is reborn, fresh and clean and ready for some pasta-beef with vegetables and perhaps a beer if there are any left.

Dinner and camp-fire. An other Overland-team has arrived. They are driving the Cairo-Cape tour and have already been going for months so they are providing most of the entertainment with strange stories from their trip so far. Travel-tips are exchanged, they inform us of a lorry that have tipped over and one of the roads out of Kabale is blocked/closed. They had to detour a day to get to Bunyonyi. It is late before we crash, no plans for tomorrow and the frogs hardly bother me, I fall asleep in a second.

Friday, September 20'th

The day is spent reading/canoeing and playing cards. Freddy need new supply and a trip is made into Kabale. The heavy rain today cause some trouble for the Kabale-trip. The drive back take two hours and driver and passengers are muddy, all over when they finally return. Then we play this game where you get written the name of a subject on your forehead and it is up to you, to guess who you 'are',

Because we are not all from the same culture the persons/characters are not that dificult to guess, the big thing though is finding the best tactics. Perhaps I got easy ones, but my strategy was to ask questions with negations like “I'm not one of the Beatles?” and get a “Yes, you are not” in return so I could continue. I gave Ann the character of “Hamlet” from the Shakespeare play. It took hours to guess because he is a real/fictive person and a theatre-play/movie, but she wouldn't give up. I don't think she ever forgave me for that.

Dinner at sunset and sort of early to bed, we have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow. Out of the mountains, crosing the Equator and camp in the Uganda capital, Kampala and get in touch with the outside world, have a bit of luxury in the big city.