Awoke to the final
clearing of cups and trash prior to landing in Kigali, Rwanda. Not bad – I think I bagged about four hours
of shut eye on the six and a half hour flight.
Now clutch time: 1) My East African visa never got processed although
they did charge my credit card a hundred bucks.
When I inquired online, they responded by saying to just get it upon
arrival and tell them you already paid.
Well, I printed out that email and… it worked! No issue, passport stamped! 2) With an unscheduled 24 hour delay, I was
worried about my checked bag – everything I need from the gorilla trek (not to
mention Kilimanjaro) is in there… and it made it! There is was, circling on the baggage
belt. 3) After only a few e-mail
exchanges in broken English, I was concerned my 2:00am pick up might not work
out – but Phenie, my driver, was there!
He didn't arrive right away, which got me slightly worried, but then, he
stepped forward from the back of the crowd with a nice big sign with “Dan
Dobson” printed on it. Phew – all
according to (the revised) plan!
Shortly after, we hit the road to
Uganda.
Strange to see people still
randomly walking down the road or just standing there in the median in the
middle of the night – even when we got out of town and into the country-side. The road gently wound up and down and around
the low lying hills, then the fog set in – thick and heavy in some parts. I wanted to sleep but also wanted to keep
Phenie awake – I know how hard it is to drive late at night and in bad
conditions. He yawned a couple times and
had the window all the way down even though it was quite chilly – tell take
signs of a tired driver. So chat him up
I did.
Several times on the drive we saw a
caravan of bicycles with large sacks piled on the back, peddling along the
road. Strange at 3:00 in the
morning. Phenie said the bags probably contained
charcoal (which most locals use for heating and cooking). They travel at night to avoid a
transportation tax – less enforcement in the middle of the night I guess. How peculiar.
Around 4:00am we hit the border. Passport control, then immigration stops on
the Rwanda side, no hurry, lots of waiting.
Hit the toilet and was amused by the wad of electrical wiring hanging in
the corner with water dripping down from the ceiling – not the best setup I’ve
seen. Next, through the “no man’s land”
– a pot-hole ridden dirt road for about one kilometer. I guess neither country wants to pay for
paving this stretch. Still, there were a
lot of buildings along this part and many people walking around asking if you
want to change currency “for the best rate” (of course). Next, fill out another form and then through
Uganda passport control and customs.
Overall, it took about an hour to get through. Hard to describe the surreal scene – so many
people on foot crossing. Phenie said
many will catch the first bus from the boarder to make it to Kampala (about 7
hours away) in time to shop today. Once
on the Uganda side, I got the enjoyment of speed bumps, rumble strips and
larger rumble bumps, every couple of kilometers. “Ugandan traffic police” Phenie calls
them. Forget about sleeping on this
stretch of highway! Driving through
Kabale, he pointed out bright lights shining over large funnel shaped tin
structures – grasshopper traps!
Attracted by the light, they fly up and fall in, but then can’t get
out. Locals collect them for food – a good
source of protein.
We finally hit the Bwindi National
Park turn off and then another 25 km up a windy dirt road to the lodge, arriving
at 7:00am. I had a quick coffee and omelet,
changed (ah, that felt good – been wearing those clothes for over 48 hours
straight!), and went right back out to meet the group for the gorilla trekking.
I got assigned to a group consisting of two
Belgian teachers currently living in the Congo; two Germans, Christian and
Monique, from Munich; Liz, a Canadian living in Liberia (been there four years
and thinks she’ll stay – it’s her home now, she says); and Josephine, an
American living in Mexico City. We
headed into the forest a few hours behind the trackers who are looking for a family
of thirteen gorillas. An hour into our
hike, the trackers radioed that they found the nest from the night before and
were on the trail. We had been following
a rough path until now and hiking up and down very steep hills (at an elevation
of about 7,000 feet!). But now it was
time to turn into the bush to head toward the family of gorillas. The lead guide hacked the foliage with a
machete and we were escorted by a ranger in front and behind with rifles slung
over their shoulders. The guns were not
necessarily for the gorillas, but for the elephants in the forest that can be
very aggressive and territorial.
Drenched in sweat from the high humidity and steep climbs, we were
quickly covered in mud from the moist soil and constant slipping, stumbling and
falling up and down the hillsides. After
another exhausting hour (I think this was one of the toughest hikes I’ve ever
done) we were radioed that the clan was found and was close by. Soon, on a steep slope (black diamond if it
were covered in snow) we heard the runt and saw trees shake. Excitement grew as we had the first sighting
of a young male in the branches above.
Soon after, another one was spotted contently munching leases on the
forest floor. The jungle is so dense it
was hard to see at first but the guide cut down the vegetation so we had a
clear view. The gorillas didn’t seem to
care. They briefly lookup at us and
continued their lunch. A female, then the
alpha silverback, came into view from over a tree. Together now, eating, then the young one climbs
up in the branches. So cute. It comes up and starts nursing away. The mother has enough and stops. The baby cries. The father pats in on the head as if to say,
“Enough, time to nap,” and the whole family sleeps. Unforgettable. We saw a few more of the apes as we made our
way down hill (with great difficulty) but it was better than going back up and
over the hills. At the bottom of the
slope, hacking through the valley floor, the guide hit a wasps’ nest sending us
in full retreat for about 100 meters. Then,
taking a wide berth around the area, we found a rough, overgrown path but it was
heaven compared to bush-whacking!
A few moments later,
we heard a grunt in the bushes. “Elephant,”
the ranger said. The guide told us to
move quickly now and I knew he was serious when the ranger pulled the riffle of
his shoulder and put his hand on the grip.
We clearly saw the large footprint leading into the broken branches of
the freshly plowed path. A few meters
later, and saw fresh dung in the middle of our path. Yes, he was close! Along the way, we heard chimps in the trees,
more sounds of elephants, and lot of exotic sounding bird calls. Sounds like the jungle in here – well, I
guess it is! Another hour and we hit the
main road. Tired and dripping with sweat,
I still had a huge grin on my face. What
an amazing experience. On the way to the
lodge, we saw a black and white Columbus monkey jump tree to tree as if
welcoming us back. I showered an immediately
passed out. I had to rise from the dead
to make dinner at 7:00pm. I ate with Phenie,
then chatted with an older Swiss couple.
They only hiked for half an hour to see their gorilla family! Maybe the guides pick the trek based on the
clients. Ours was a young group and I
was by far the oldest! It was worth it,
though – the hacking through the jungle was half the experience. I enjoyed a couple (well, three) big Ugandan
beers by the fire and then retired for the night.
2025-02-08