GORILLA TREKKING IN RWANDA: AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE
January 8, 2018
By Lucille Sive
On my most recent trip to Africa, I realized one of my dreams: trekking with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. As an experienced African traveler, I am no stranger to the majesty of Africa: from the spectacular Victoria Falls to the extraordinary animals such as elephants, lions, etc., Africa is truly a destination of wonders. But I wasn’t prepared for this magical experience I am very happy to share with you now.
PREPARING FOR THE GORILLA TREK
The morning of our trek, we met our guide, Bosco, who would lead us through Volcanoes National Park to meet our family of gorillas.
Mountain gorillas are critically endangered: researchers estimate that as few as 880 remain in Africa. So, the Rwandan government strictly limits the amount of gorilla interactions available for tourists—only 80 gorilla trek permits are available per day in the country. The permits reduce the human impact on the gorillas, and the money goes to gorilla conservation initiatives.
Bosco told us about the “Hirwa” gorilla clan, the family we would meet: a clan of 20 members. We were also given basic rules for how to approach the family: avoid eye contact, stay alert, be quiet, disable flash on our cameras and keep our distance from the family.
MEETING THE GORILLAS
It didn’t take long. We hiked for about thirty minutes before Bosco told us that the clan was just next to us. There was a palpable excitement in the air. As we reached the top of the field, we saw the clan: they were busily eating bamboo trees.
The Hirwa family included a silverback (a dominant male), adult females and a few babies. The adorable babies were playing with their mom, having fun in the bushes and even beating their chests to imitate their father. My favourite gorilla baby, however, tried his hardest to feed on a bamboo tree all by himself. The tree was just a little too thick!
The silverback of the Hirwa family was massive! He sat alone in the background, quietly watching over his family. At one point, while I was watching some of the other gorillas, the silverback approached me. I looked to Bosco who told me to stay calm and let the large silverback walk by, and that’s exactly what he did: the silverback touched my leg on his way.
During my time with the gorillas, I realized how close they were to humans: it was like looking into a mirror. Gorillas share 98 percent of their DNA with humans, and the evidence was right in front of me as I saw their behaviours. My experience with the gorillas reinforced my feelings that conserving these creatures for future generations is a crucial mission.
If you are considering visiting Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas, I absolutely recommend it. The experience was unforgettable!
Thank you very much, this is great :)